New betta, feeding question

[irishspy]

Hi all,

Well, I finally had time to go to the LFS and pick out a new betta to replace the late, great Rocky T. Betta. I came home with a lovely blue half-moon betta, with white trim on his tail. I picked him not only for his looks, but for his feisty personality: the whole time I was looking over the bettas, he was flaring and challenging his neighbor.

So, I took him home and acclimated him. I can already tell his personality is a bit different from Rocky. Whereas Rocky showed no shyness and was investigating me right away, Louie (for "Louie T. Betta") has been more bashful, hiding amongst the plants when I come near. Not at all what I would have expected, given the way he was acting in the store. I'm sure he'll get over that, soon.

I'm a little more concerned about his eating, however. At the store, I bought a small packet of Hikari betta pellets -- Rocky loved these. I didn't feed Louie for his first 24 hours, so today was his first feeding, and I figured he'd be hungry. Nope. He swam up to the pellet, looked at it, and swam away.

Now, can I assume he'll get hungry enough to eat what I give him, or should I try something else?

He shares the tank with one lone panda cory (the lone survivor) whom he leaves alone, and two amano shrimp. I haven't seen them since releasing Louie into the tank ... I don't think he's eaten them. :lipssealedsmilie: More likely, they're hiding from the "monster" under the driftwood and in the plants.

Anyway, it's good to have a betta in the house again. I'll post pictures after he gets more willing to show off. :thm:

 

[xoparis]

If he wont eat the pellets, you could try coaxing him to eat some live brine shrimp, blackworms, or freeze dried blood worms, and then ween him off to pellets.

 

[rich311k]

I would try the pellets again he may just be adjusting. I feed mine flakes, freeze dried blood worms and the pellets. Once a week they get a frozen blood worm each.

 

[Redneck Woman]

Congrats on your new betta!!! Can't wait to see pictures!
When I first got mine it took him several days to start eating good. I finally got him to eat some flakes after the third day.

 

[THE V]

Betta's, being on the decidedly less active fish category, really don't require that much food. Just toss in a few pellets every day and walk away. Anything that the betta doesn't get the cory and the shrimp will make a meal of. Mine will never eat when I'm watching him. He thinks he has to flare at me.

Give him a few days to acclimatize he's probably confused by the 10 gallons of space to swim in.

 

[irishspy]

Thanks, folks. Yeah, I think he's still adjusting. I also think he's found where the shrimp are hiding -- he was staring long and hard at the space under the mopani wood.

I'll try another pellet tonight and, if he doesn't like it, I'll vary with some flake or a freeze-dried bloodworm. Bettas can't resist that. :drool:

 

[platytetrafan]

Yeah my betta Sammy was extremely skiddish and shy in the beginning hiding in his plant would only come out for food. I moved my other betta tank closer to his and when he saw the other betta he started swimming around more now he greets me swims right up to the front of the tank and has more personality it took a few weeks for him to be comfortable but now he is fine. All my bettas eat bettamin flakes daily and freezedried bloodworms once a week with a once a week fast. They are doing fine with this diet. Can't wait to see pics of yours he sounds very pretty.

 

[irishspy]

I moved my other betta tank closer to his and when he saw the other betta he started swimming around more

Hmmm.... Maybe I'll put a hand mirror up to the tank tonight to see if that excites him. Maybe he needs to think he has a rival. :idea:

He ignored the flake food last night. Tonight I'll try a freeze-dried bloodworm.

 

[irishspy]

Just a quick update: I finally got him to eat tonight! :thm:
I first teased him with a hand mirror to make him think he had a rival and get him out in the open, and then gave him a couple of freeze-dried bloodworms. The first one he wasn't sure about, but he must have liked it, because he was practically chasing the toothpick for the second. :grinyes:

Hopefully he'll start to come out of his shell more, now that he knows he gets food in this joint. Oh, and at least one of the shrimp is still alive: I saw it sneaking a peak over the wood when it thought Louie wasn't around. :uhoh: