Can Betta Fish Eat Bloodworms? (Betta Ideal Dietary Requirements)

Foods are essential in keeping your bettas and other fish healthy. Therefore, feeding your betta fish food that fulfills their ideal dietary requirements is necessary.

So, knowing what to feed your betta fish is necessary. Bloodworms are rich in protein, and fishes love to feed on them, but can betta fish feed on bloodworms? Can betta fish eat bloodworms? Let us find out.

Betta fish can eat bloodworms once a week in the quantity of two to three pieces. However, bloodworms are high in protein and contain too much fat, so we should not make it a staple part of our betta fish everyday diet. Consider feeding them frozen bloodworms, as it is safe for them.

This article will discuss whether betta fish can eat bloodworms, and also we will discuss the ideal dietary requirements of betta fish. So, Let us get into it.

Can I feed bloodworms to my betta fish?

You can feed bloodworms to your betta fish as they will love to feed on them.

Being a carnivore species, betta will eat almost every kind of live food.

You can feed bloodworms to your betta fish, but it should not be a staple part of your betta fish’s daily diet.

Bloodworms are high in protein and fat and should not be a primary source of your betta fish diet.

Also read: Can Betta Fish Eat Earthworms?

Betta fish ideal dietary requirements

Food plays an important role in keeping our betta fish healthy and ensuring their longer lifespan.

Bettas are carnivore fish and require meat-based high-quality, protein-based food in their daily diet.

Serving QuantityServing QuantityNo of Times
Betta Pellets2-3 pieces at a time2 times a day
Brine shrimp2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Mosquito larvae2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Bloodworms2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Daphnia2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Tubifex Worms2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
This table shows the ideal dietary requirements of a betta fish.

There are pellets that are specially made for your bettas. You should feed them with betta pellets, and it should be a staple part of their weekly diet.

Also, in the wild, bettas rely on mosquitoes, larvae, and insects that fall on the water.

You can feed them with bloodworms, brine shrimp, earthworms, mosquito larvae, and tubifex worms to your betta fish.

Also read: Can Betta Fish Eat Mosquito?

How often to feed bloodworms to my betta fish?

Bloodworms contain too much fat and high-protein content, which stops us from making it a staple part of our betta fish everyday food.

Consider feeding your betta fish 2-3 bloodworms once a week.

DaysBetta Food
Monday2-3 pellets twice a day
TuesdayLive, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day
Wednesday2-3 pellets twice a day
Thursday2-3 pellets twice a day
FridayLive, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day
Saturday2-3 pellets twice a day
SundayLet your betta fish have a fast on Sunday to maintain their appetite.
This table shows the feeding routine for your betta fish from Monday to Sunday.

It should not be a primary source of food for your betta fish.

Also, it is not only about the bloodworms; we should only feed our bettas any live, freeze-dried, and frozen food once a week.

Also read: How Often To Feed Betta Fish?

Can betta fish survive only feeding on bloodworms?

As we discussed above, we should only feed bloodworms once a week to our betta fish.

So, according to that, we now know that bettas cannot survive relying only on bloodworms.

Bettas require food on a daily basis to ensure their faster growth and development.

Consider feeding your betta fish with 2-3 betta pellets twice a day, taking a gap of 12 hours between the feedings.

Bloodworms and other live food should be provided to your betta fish as a treat once a week.

Which is the best option, live, freeze-dried, or frozen bloodworms?

There are three ways to feed bloodworms to our betta fish:

  1. Live bloodworms
  2. Freeze-dried bloodworms
  3. Frozen bloodworms

Let us discuss which is the best way to feed bloodworms to our betta fish.

ParticularsLive BloodwormsFreeze Dried BloodwormsFrozen Bloodworms
AdvantagesLive bloodworms contain more nutrients than freeze-dried and frozen bloodworms.They are easy to store and feed and don’t sink because of being lightweight.Frozen bloodworms are easy to feed and can store for up to 6 months in a freezer. Also, it contains more nutrition than freeze-dried bloodworms.

There is a zero risk of infection as the freezing process eliminates all the bacteria and parasites.
DisadvantagesHigh risk of carrying bacteria and parasites.

Fresh bloodworms are much more expensive than freeze-dried and frozen bloodworms.
Loses some of the nutrition during the drying process.

Your guppies get less nutrition and more fat.
There are no disadvantages to frozen bloodworms.
Price rangeLive bloodworms are much more expensiveFreeze-dried bloodworms are easily affordableFrozen bloodworms, too, are easily affordable.
This table shows the differentiation between live, freeze-dried, and frozen bloodworms.

How often should we feed food to our betta fish?

We should feed our betta fish two times a day, taking a gap of 12 hours between each feeding.

Betta fish have a stomach size similar to their eye, meaning they can only eat a little food at once.

So, we have to break their meals into two parts, which will help them digest their food easily.

So, consider feeding your betta fish 2-3 pellets at a time twice a day to ensure adequate feeding.

If you feed them more than that, you will overfeed your betta fish, which many betta keepers mistakenly do by thinking 2-3 pellets are very few.

Overfeeding can make your betta fish suffer from constipation, bloating, swim bladder disease, and stress.

Also, you must know that betta fish under stress for a long time will become vulnerable to diseases and parasites.

Overfeeding will also pollute your betta fish tank water with excessive fish waste and leftovers.

So, consider feeding them adequate amounts to prevent all these issues.

Conclusion:

You can feed bloodworms to your betta fish. Also, they will love to feed on bloodworms.

Bloodworms are rich in fat and protein, so make sure to make it a manageable part of your betta fish diet.

Consider feeding your betta fish bloodworms two to three pieces once a week.

Betta pellets should be a regular part of your betta fish daily diet.

Feed your betta fish two to three pieces of pellets or any other food you provide at a time to avoid overfeeding.


Reference: Wikipedia, Sapub

Recent Posts