Betta (Fighter Fish) Won't Eat

Oh yes, 15 gallons is a great sized tank for a betta. If he doesn't already have friends then I would suggest getting cory catfish. Very peaceful and won't compete with the betta for food.
 
Hi there,

I tried feeding the Betta some bloodworms tonight, My other fish (Platys, Dwarf Gouramis and Zebra Danios) Seemed to beat him to the food, So he doesn't get to eat anything.

It seems that the Betta doesn't even know that there is food inside the tank.


Thanks for any help...

Dan
 
Part of the problem is that for the majority of his life, he has been stuck in a little cup. When food was dropped in, it had nowhere to go and there was no one else to eat it. There was no filter current to blow it around.

Try turning off the filter during feeding. This will help him.

Also, because of living in such a small space before you got him, his muscles are weak and he is adjusting to the new current in the water that is produced by a filter, as well as adjusting to the fact that his home is no longer 3 inches tall. He's still trying to figure out how to eat!!
 
Yeah, it took my little guy a couple of days to figure it all out and I had to turn off the filter. But now that he's big and strong he chases the food as if it had wings and threatened to fly away :)
 
Try to pick one area of the tank where you'll always feed your betta at. Bettas can be easily trained to come to a specific corner, and no other when it's feeding time. This allows them a better chance of getting to the food before any of the other fish do. ;)
 
Our newest betta, Flame, didn't eat for a few days after we got him into his new 10 gallon home. We have to turn off the filter and the air wall to get him to eat. The first few days food would practically fall on his nose and he couldn't get it.

I have faith though that in a few weeks he'll be just like our other betta boys, Charlie and Ghost and chase food down with the best of them.

Just give your new guy some time. Feed him in the same place, turn off your air and filters, and try to distract the other fish while your feeding him.

Good luck :)
 
Thanks for the excellent advice!!!


Cheers everyone for the help, when I feed him tonight I'll switch the filter off, And feed my other fish the tropical food and the Betta some of his special food bought today, Obviously in a different corner than the rest of the fish....



Cheers,

Dan
 
A good way to feed less greedy fish is as follows:

1. Obtain a large piece of pipe, longer than your depth of water & wider than your fish.
2. Place the pipe into the tank vertically trapping the fish in the pipe.
3. You can now drop some food down the pipe and only the captured fish can eat it.

Not very useful for big, fast moving or easily scared fish, but should work well with a new betta.
 
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