Can Betta Fish Eat Bread & Breadcrumbs?
Bettas have a slightly different diet than most tropical fish. Betta fish are carnivores, and they also have small teeth, which means they need high protein food, in order to stay healthy.
There are many fish species that are more than willing to eat bread, such as guppies, platies, mollies and goldfish, although bread is not a very healthy food for them. But can bettas eat bread and breadcrumbs?
You should never feed your betta fish bread or breadcrumbs if you want to keep your pet healthy and happy. Most likely, your fish will not accept it anyway, so there is the point of throwing it into the aquarium.
A common beginner mistake is to think that every fish can be fed with breadcrumbs. When it comes to Bettas, they can only truly thrive if you keep them on a protein-based diet.
Carbon-based meals cause bloating even for us, humans so it can be even worse for a betta fish. It can also cause constipation which is even worse and can be fatal for fish.
If you are looking for something out of the ordinary to feed to your pet, then you try feeding tiny pieces of veggies occasionally.
Boiled spinach, cucumber, boiled pea and lettuce are among the best choices betta owners recommend, though I recommend going for a full carnivorous diet.
Why You Should Avoid Feeding Bread?
The problem with bread is that there are often additives among the ingredients that can be harmful for your fish. There are dozens of different types of bread that can be found in a typical supermarket. Most of them contain at least one additive that is not safe for your fish to consume.
These include sugar, yeast, food coloring, flavors, corn syrup, folic acid and so on. Moreover, you also need to take the water condition into consideration. If you would feed bread to your fish, the leftovers would cause an ammonia spike in the water that is hard to deal with.
The water contamination is also visible, as it becomes rather cloudy. In a home aquarium, it is important for the water to be as clean as possible. The well-being of your pet hugely depends on the water conditions. Another thing that makes bread unhealthy for Bettas is that it can cause bacterial infections and other diseases for them.
What do Betta Like to Eat?
Bettas thrive on a protein-based diet and they should get their dose of protein strictly from meats. Out in nature, they hunt for bloodworms, brine shrimp, insect larvae and daphnia, just to mention a few. The great thing is that you can find these foods to them at home as well.
All you need to do is to go to the nearest pet store and they will surely have at least one of the above-mentioned Betta foods. Or, another great alternative is to feed them pellets that are specifically made for Betta fish. Those contain all the nutrition that your little pet requires on a daily basis.
What to Feed Betta Fish When Out of Food?
When out of commercial fish food, there is no need to worry. If you can find some chicken meat in your kitchen, then you can prepare that for your little pet. All you need to do is to boil it without adding any spices. Then, cut it into tiny pieces and it will be ready for your Betta fish to consume it.
Pork, beef and tuna are also acceptable, although the tuna has to be packed in water, not in oil. The latter contains a huge amount of fat which is not healthy for Bettas at all.
How Often to Feed Betta Fish?
In order to avoid overfeeding your Betta fish, you need to feed him the amount of food he can eat in about 2 minutes. After that, any food that you can see in the tank is considered as an extra snack. If you don’t remove it, your fish is eventually going to eat it and thus eat more food than necessary.
Set a consistent schedule of feeding your Betta once every 12 hours. This will be easy for you to remember and also healthy for your little pet. Anything more than that is considered as overfeeding and can cause digestive problems.
Occasional treats such as vegetables should be fed to them in moderation, only a couple of times each week.
Wrapping Up
Bread is something that can be potentially harmful to your Betta fish. Although other species such as Guppies and Goldfish can eat it, it is certainly not recommended for a carnivore. Knowing whether your fish is an omnivore, herbivore or carnivore is important because fishes can’t really eat foods outside of their preferred diet.
But there is no need to worry, every fish species has its own list of treats that can be fed to them occasionally. For Bettas, boiling some peas or chopping up some cucumbers is a great idea. In general, your fish can live a great life on pellets and occasional live foods as well.
