How Often to Feed Your Betta Fish?

If you are the responsible new owner of these amazingly colored little swimmers, you are probably asking yourself how often to feed your Betta fish. There are quite a few suggestions that can be found online, and some of them vary a lot between them.

So, let us try answering all the most important and common questions about feeding here, all at one place.

A general rule says that adult Betta fish should be fed once per day, or every second day. They need a balanced and fully nutritive meal plan and, more importantly, they need to get it regularly.

That is why feeding your pet fish around the same hour each day is the best way to keep them healthy.

Should You Feed Betta Fish Multiple Times a Day?

Some owners prefer feeding their Betta fish two or even three times a day. And that is completely fine, as long as feeding portions are reduced to the minimum then. The suggested daily intake has to be respected at all times, so if you decide to feed your Betta multiple times a day, make sure that the amounts are appropriate.

It is also good to keep in mind that, with more often feeding activities, there will consequentially be more cleaning activities, too. Fish which eat more times a day will most likely leave their waste more often, too.

Additionally, there can be more food leftovers which will eventually sink to the bottom of the tank and owners will be required to clean it up more frequently.

How Long Can Betta Fish go Without Food?

Betta fish can be simply fine during the first four or five days without food. After that, they will start starving and their tiny bodies will get into a purely survival mode. They seem being able of surviving up to two weeks with no food, but rarely without some negative consequences for their health.

Skipping four to five days of feeding (every now and then) should not be a health concern for your pet fish. Even more, some owners like skipping one feeding day on purpose sometimes, as some occasional fasting time can ensure a healthier metabolism to Bettas.

However, all that goes above such periods of time can seriously damage the health of your pet fish. Even if they manage to survive longer periods of time without any food, one can be almost sure that such fish are definitely not healthy anymore.

How Often Should Betta Fish Have Bloodworms?

Betta fish are primarily little carnivores, so they love getting tasty treats like bloodworms. However, such meal is best to be offered a couple times per week only, as they are way too rich in fat and protein to provide a healthy diet.

As already mentioned earlier, Bettas need to have a balanced and nutritive meal plan in order to grow healthy. And feeding them with bloodworms on a daily basis can bring to the opposite result: an unhealthy, obese, or constipated fish.

Bloodworms make an amazing source of protein and they are super rich with fat, so they really do make a delicious and healthy treat. Feeding your pet fish with such treat two to four times per week is highly advisable, as long as you do not make this their primarily source of food.

Commercial fish food with meat-based ingredients and a minimum 40% of overall protein is the best regular food source for your fish, while bloodworms make an amazing occasional treat.

Can a Betta Fish Eat Too Much?

Betta fish can often eat too much if their owners offer larger quantities of food than necessary. This can eventually lead to obesity, but also to other common sicknesses, such as bloating or constipation or even swim bladder issues.

In the wild, Bettas are learned to feed whenever they get a chance for it. Food is not offered regularly in the tropical areas where they live, so they can impulsively grab all the insects which cross their paths, to ensure they will not be hungry afterwards.

However, in captivity, they tend to have the same impulsive feeding reactions, without knowing that food will be handled regularly, so this can lead to overfeeding. That is why sticking to the right amounts of food is essential, even if your pet fish may seem hungry sometimes.

Overfeeding your Bettas can not only damage their health, but also worsen the quality of the water in their tank. Fish can produce significantly more waste when feeding on more than normal quantities of food.

Furthermore, some meal leftovers can sink to the bottom of the tank, creating even more waste and depriving the tank of the right oxygen amounts. This will consequentially lead to more cleaning activities being required.

To conclude, offering the proper amounts of food to your pet is just as important as offering the proper meal types.

Can Betta Fish Live for 4-6 Days Without Feeding?

For those owners who need to leave their Bettas unattended for some days, a time range of 4 to 6 days without feeding is perfectly fine. Obviously, if not happening on a regular basis.

You can leave for your vacation adventure with no remorse, as long as you make sure that your water heater and filter are functioning fully properly.

Also, please remember not to place too much food in the tank, thinking that maybe your Bettas will feed on that during the days you are absent. They will either overfeed or food will sink and pollute their water.

If you are planning to be away for more days, a good idea would be asking a friend to feed your fish or even to mount a vacation feeder on your tank. Such feeders can be programmed to automatically drop small amounts of food into the tank every now and then.

Conclusion

Betta fish are quite the social little pets, and they often seem to follow their owners around the tank asking for food. However, this does not mean that they need to be fed.

The best and healthiest option for your pets is to always feed them on a regular basis, using the appropriate amounts of nutritive meals.