Food is necessary to keep your betta fish active and healthy. However, too much of anything can make your fish suffer from critical issues.
Knowing how often to feed your betta fish and in which quantity is necessary to prevent them from issues like constipation and bloating. So, How often to feed betta fish? Let us find out.
Feed your betta fish two times a day to ensure adequate feeding. Betta fish have a stomach size similar to their eye, so ensure feeding them 2-3 pellets at a time twice a day, and the quantity of live foods will be as same as pellets. You can make them fast on Sundays to maintain their appetite.
This article will discuss how often to feed our betta fish, and also, we will discuss the ideal dietary requirement of a betta fish. So, let us get into it.
Contents
How often do you need to feed betta fish?
Many betta owners end up overfeeding their bettas by providing lots of food at a time.
Bettas have stomach sizes similar to their eye, meaning they cannot digest lots of food at once.
To avoid overfeeding, you should feed your betta fish 2-3 pellets at a time twice a day.
The same quantity goes for live, freeze-dried, and frozen food.
Feeding your betta fish adequately will ensure their longer lifespan and healthy life.
Feeding more than 3-4 pellets at a time will result in overfeeding.
Also read: Why Is My Betta Fish Not Eating?
How often to feed a baby betta fish?
Feed your baby betta fish four to five times a day in very fewer quantities.
They will not be able to feed a good amount of food once or twice, so we have to feed them more often than adult betta fish.
Consider feeding your baby betta (4-6 months old) with Hikari Betta Baby Pellets to provide them with all the nutritional value they require for their faster growth.
You can buy this product at amazon: Hikari Betta Baby Pellets.
Betta fish ideal dietary requirements
Food plays an important role in keeping your betta fish healthy and ensuring their longer lifespan.
Feeding your betta fish with their required food will also help them enhance their color.
Bettas are carnivore fish and require high-quality protein-rich food in their everyday life.
| Serving Quantity | Serving Quantity | No of Times |
|---|---|---|
| Betta Pellets | 2-3 pieces at a time | 2 times a day |
| Brine shrimp | 2-3 pieces at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 2-3 pieces at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Bloodworms | 2-3 pieces at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Daphnia | 2-3 pieces at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Tubifex Worms | 2-3 pieces at a time | 1-2 times a week |
Consider feeding your betta fish with betta pellets every day as a staple part of their diet.
You can feed them live, frozen, and freeze-dried food once or twice a week as a treat to your bettas.
Consider feeding them with bloodworms, brine shrimp, tubifex worms, mosquito larvae, and mosquitoes as live, freeze-dried, and frozen food.
| Days | Betta Food |
|---|---|
| Monday | 2-3 pellets twice a day |
| Tuesday | Live, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day |
| Wednesday | 2-3 pellets twice a day |
| Thursday | 2-3 pellets twice a day |
| Friday | Live, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day |
| Saturday | 2-3 pellets twice a day |
| Sunday | Let your betta fish have a fast on Sunday to maintain their appetite. |
Also read: Can Betta Fish Eat Earthworms?
Do we need to feed betta fish every day?
Feeding your betta fish an adequate quantity daily will ensure their faster growth and development.
Feed your betta fish a variety of food, including betta pellets, bloodworms, mosquito larvae, and brine shrimp, to fulfill their dietary requirements.
Yes, you can let them fast on Sunday so they can digest their food, and it will prevent issues like constipation and bloating.
Feed your betta fish 2-3 pellets two times a day.
Bettas have a stomach size similar to their eye, meaning they have such small stomachs and will not be able to digest lots of food at a time.
This is why we suggest feeding your betta fish in small quantities twice a day.
How long can betta fish survive without food?
Your betta fish will live on their own for two weeks without food.
If you are going out for a week or two, you don’t have to worry as your bettas will manage.
Make sure not to feed your betta fish extra food before moving out, as it will not do anything good to them. Instead, they will suffer from overfeeding.
You can consider adding an auto feeder if you don’t want to keep your betta fish without food.
Also, if you are moving out for three weeks to months, you have to install an auto feeder.
An auto feeder will automatically provide your betta fish food every 24 and 12 hours, whichever you want.
Just set the quantity and time you want to feed your betta fish, and your auto feeder is good to go.
Make sure to test the auto feeder by adding it a week before leaving so that you can ensure that it is working right.
You can consider using FISHNOSH Automatic Feeder for your betta tank as it is easy to use and will ensure feeding your betta fish adequately with the quantity they need.
You can adjust the quantity that you think is enough for your betta fish.
This auto feeder can program up to 9 feeds a day, so you can set the quantity and timings according to your requirement.
You can buy this product at amazon: Fishnosh Automatic Feeder.
Can you overfeed betta fish?
Overfeeding your betta fish will make them suffer from a life-threatening condition.
Overfed betta will suffer from bloating and will stop eating at all.
Your betta will come under stress and become vulnerable to diseases.
Overfeeding will lead to constipation and obesity also.
All this will weaken your betta, and in severe cases, it can pass away.
Overfeeding will also result in uneaten food and excess fish waste in the tank, polluting water conditions.
Poor water conditions can result in ammonia and nitrite spike in your betta fish tank, which can make them suffer from a critical condition.
Conclusion:
You should feed your betta fish two times a day, taking a gap of 12 hours between each feeding.
Feed them 2-3 pellets at a time to avoid overfeeding.
Remove the uneaten food from the tank to prevent poor water conditions.
Also, you can feed them live, frozen, and freeze-dried food once or twice a week as a treat.
The quantity of live, frozen, and freeze-dried food should be the same as pellets.
Overfeeding will lead to bloating and constipation, making your betta fish suffer from life-threatening conditions.
Reference: NCBI, ResearchGate, Wikipedia