Betta won't eat

[Blackaddder]

I bought a Betta about 3 weeks ago and I have so far never seen her eat anything. When I feed the fish, she watches the food float past her face but doesn't react to it. She seems healthy enough, although she likes to hide more than my other betta (a male, now deceased) did.

Also, although the store told me she was female, she is as brightly coloured as any male I've ever seen. Is there any way to tell?

 

[icecubez189]

both males and females are brightly colored, best way to tell is their fin. a female will have very short tail and anal fins whereas a males will be large and wavy, although sometimes hard to tell when they are young.

you say when your feeding other fish, the betta just watches, you mean there are other fish in the tank right? what kind are they and how large is the tank? do you know the water paramters?

 

[webcricket]

What are you feeding her? My bettas would only eat the floating betta pellets at first. This is probably what they were fed all their lives. Any flake food I tried went untouched.

 

[Blackaddder]

She is in a 29-gallon tank w/ 3 zebra danios, 2 swordtails, a panda cory, a couple of shrimp and a couple of snails. The parameters are

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5

I have fed her both pellets and flakes and she ignores both.

 

[WrittenLyric]

I would try a different brand perhaps. Bettas are notorious for not eating during the transition period, however 3 weeks is a long time. Hikari sells a package of floating pellets that also help address stress. So give those a shot, they come in a small enough package that you won't feel as bad if she doesn't take to those either. Also, try blood worms to intice her. She may actually be nervous near the danios because they usually tend to be rather spastic swimmers.

Good luck.

 

[bettagurl]

this is what i feed my bettas
live bloodworms
live mosquito larva
freeze dried bloodworms
freeze dried mosquito larva
freeze dried brine shrimp
live brine shrimp
as a daily food i feed 3 betta bio gold pellets unles the betta im feeding has a swollen tummy then i give them skinned peas soaked in raw steak or burger blood(they like the tast).i have a bunch of bettas(check sig)sometimes they give me problems with eating.keep us updated on how she's doing