Do betta fish only eat pellets

[SeaBidder]

I'm at my wit's end with these finicky eaters. My bettas won't touch frozen brine shrimp, freeze dried brine shrimp, or insect bites - it's like they're turning up their noses. I was stoked when I found frozen Krill, but nope, they're not having it either. They're pellet-holics, only interested in those Omega One Pellets. I used to feed the oldest one frozen blood worms, but that stopped after the columnaris outbreak in my sorority tank. What's going on here? I'm sick of serving the same old thing every day. The one thing they do enjoy is chasing newly hatched brine shrimp, but honestly, I'm over making those all the time. Any suggestions would be great.

[fineman]

I guess it's a plus that Omega One Pellets are a good option for them, even if it's getting old feeding the same thing every day.

[coltin]

Try live foods like daphnia or freshly hatched brine shrimp - they're usually a hit. Aphids, midges, or mosquito larvae might also do the trick. White or grindal worms are another option worth considering. If you're still keen on bloodworms, look for the frozen, irradiated kind - that should minimize the risk of columnaris or other issues.

[infold]

I recall reading somewhere on this forum that bettas can be pretty stubborn about their food preferences - they tend to stick with what they know and love until they're forced to make a change.
My own betta's a good example of this. He's on Hikari mini pellets now and he's really taken to them. When I first brought him home, though, he was a flake food fanatic - that's all the pet shop had been feeding him, and he wouldn't touch anything else. I had to gradually wean him off the flakes and onto the pellets, which I prefer because they give me more control over his diet. To be honest, I'm not a fan of flake food - it's just too easy to overfeed with it, and it's not the healthiest option either.

[angelica]

My aquarium crew's a big fan of these. I recently picked up Fluval bug bites, and the response was overwhelmingly positive - except for my CPD, who gave them a hard pass. They're absolutely crazy about the dennerle stuff, though. The smell's quite pungent, even to human noses, so I have to stash it away where my curious cats can't get to it. No idea if they'd actually like it, but they're certainly intrigued.

[kingrise]

My betta's being super picky, only accepting his pellets and the occasional dried blood worm - that's literally it, nothing else seems to interest him.

[fineman]

my betta's a picky eater too, he's stuck on Northfin Betta bits and freeze dried blood worms, nothing else seems to interest him, not even freeze dried daphnia or flakes, and don't even get me started on frozen shrimp.

[SeaBidder]

I've had a small breakthrough - they're now eating some San Francisco Bay Freeze Dried brine shrimp. It's supposed to be good for them, so I'm hoping to get them accustomed to this and their Omega One pellets. They also seem to like New Life Spectrum.

[coltin]

To prevent addiction to one food, I believe in feeding a varied diet. It's common for many species, not just Bettas, to refuse other foods if they're fed the same thing every day. I've seen it happen when an owner runs out of food and tries a different brand or type, only to have the fish reject it due to taste or texture.

It's similar to feeding children or even some adults - if the food is different and unusual, they'll often refuse to eat it. A varied diet should include dry, frozen, and if possible, live foods. This reduces the risk of malnutrition and the chances of food being rejected when different items are introduced. If you keep offering different foods daily, most fish will start to accept them within a week or two. Just be sure to remove uneaten food to prevent water pollution.

In my experience, feeding a mix of foods has been beneficial. My fish used to get a range of dry foods, including goldfish, tropical, and vegetable flakes, as well as sinking and floating pellets. I also offered freeze-dried foods like bloodworms, daphnia, and tubifex. Frozen foods included marine mix, marine green, bloodworms, brineshrimp, mysis shrimp, and raw prawn. And when available, I'd feed live foods like weevil moths, aphids, small flies, midges, mosquitoes, mozzie larvae, ants, ant eggs, and brineshrimp.

[SeaBidder]

Try live foods like daphnia or freshly hatched brine shrimp - they're usually a hit. Aphids, midges, or mosquito larvae might also do the trick. White or grindal worms are another option worth considering. If you're still keen on bloodworms, look for the frozen, irradiated kind - that should minimize the risk of columnaris or other issues.

I've always fed a variety, it's just that my bettas seem to have their own preferences. My oldest used to go crazy for frozen bloodworms, and he'd even eat freeze-dried brine shrimp. But after I stopped feeding the bloodworms due to my betta sorority getting columnaris, he just lost interest in everything except his Omega One pellets. My red betta, on the other hand, has only been with me for a few months, and he's never shown any interest in anything other than his pellets - I know the LFS I got him from feeds frozen bloodworms, but I guess he just wasn't impressed. My new one is still settling in, so I'm not sure about him yet. I'm going to keep trying to get them to eat the freeze-dried brine shrimp, and I might even break down and buy some frozen bloodworms - I'm looking for the irradiated ones you mentioned, though, I'm a bit hesitant to try them again.