Food types
Feed types
This table lists some common types of feed for betta and other aquarium fish.
| Feed | Type | The age of the fish | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infusoria | alive | 0 - 4 weeks | Easy to grow, and you don't need a starter culture. |
| Rotifers | alive | 0 - 4 weeks | A little more nutritious than infusoria. A starter culture is required. |
| LiquiFry etc. | liquid "dry feed" | 0 - 4 weeks | Can be used as a substitute for infusoria, but is not as nutritious. |
| Hard-boiled egg yolk, crushed | fresh food | 0 - 4 weeks | Pressed through a coffee filter. Contaminates the aquarium a lot, so feed carefully and vary with other types of feed. |
| Microworm | alive | 3 weeks - 3 months | Fairly easy to grow provided you can obtain a starter culture. |
| Artemia | live/frozen/dried | 1 month + | Varies in size; the biggest ones are too big for fry. |
| Fry | alive | 1 month + | Many kill defective fry by feeding them to larger fish. |
| Red mosquito larvae | frozen/dried | 2 months + | People can become allergic to these. |
| White mosquito larvae | alive | 2 months + | These can infect the betta with fungus. Check that they are lively and fungus-free. |
| Meat/offal | fresh food | 2 months + | Must not be salted or full of additives. Can be cut to a suitable size. |
| Hard-boiled egg yolk in pieces | fresh food | 3 months + | Fine to give to adult fish every now and then, perhaps especially to females. |
| Flake feed | dry feed | 3 months + | Can be crushed between the fingers and given to 1-month-old fry. |
| Granules | dry food | 3 months + | Can be crushed between the fingers and given to 2-month-old fry. |
| Fruit flies | alive | 3 months + | Mainly for adult fish and large fry. |
| Feed tablets | dry feed | Not ideal for bettas, but usable if both fish and keeper are patient. |
Dry feed
For everyday use, flake food or granules are easy and perfectly fine for adult fish, as long as you vary the diet with some frozen or live feed in between.
Remember that dry food in opened packaging loses large parts of its nutritional content long before the expiry date. Buy from well-known manufacturers, and never bigger boxes than you can use up within six months.
Frozen food
Red mosquito larvae can cause allergies in humans, and in allergic people they can cause strong reactions. Use a utensil instead of touching the mosquito larvae with your fingers, or wash your fingers well after touching them. Avoid putting your hands in the aquarium for a few hours after feeding them.
Frozen Artemia (English: brine shrimp) is also available from aquarium shops. The size of this feed means that it is generally best suited to adult fish.
Ox heart can be bought from the butcher, frozen and grated for the fish. You can also buy pre-grated frozen beef heart in the aquarium shop, but of course it costs a lot more. Some people avoid beef heart because they believe that fish cannot digest its fat properly.
Live feed
You can buy live mosquito larvae in many aquarium shops. They must be of excellent quality—dead larvae in the bag indicate otherwise—or they may expose the fish to fungal infection.
Many live foods are easy to culture yourself. Infusoria and microworms are good examples. You can read how to culture them on the separate live food page. Artemia (also called brine shrimp) are small saltwater shrimp that are a little more difficult to grow yourself, which is why it is more common to buy them frozen from a pet shop.
Fresh feed
Bettas may eagerly accept suitable leftovers from the refrigerator. They readily eat both fish and fish offal. Fish eat so little that setting aside a small unseasoned portion will not deprive your guests.
Do not give them too much meat or fat from birds or mammals. Also make sure it is not salted, spiced, smoked or full of preservatives.
Variation
It is wise to vary the diet. But be aware that if you feed for a long time with only one type of feed, then suddenly switch to another type, this can be a shock.