How much to actually feed a Betta?

[Supermassive]

I've heard you should really only feed food equal to about the size of their eye. Is that actually true because my Betta could eat that amount of food in about 10 seconds or less?

[nabokovfan87]

Slightly on topic, let's check out what this study says!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340920309409

Essentially, there is a bit of science that goes on and the best way to know how much to feed is to actually weight the fish and use a % of bodyweight.  I don't recall the exact number, but Zenzo did talk about it in his video.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

Detailed version:
 

 

[Supermassive]

@nabokovfan87 Thanks for the info! He said 1% of the fish's body mass should be fed and he said you can use the eyes as an estimate. So yeah I barely have to feed anything to my fish. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/27/2023 at 5:45 PM, Supermassive said:

@nabokovfan87 Thanks for the info! He said 1% of the fish's body mass should be fed and he said you can use the eyes as an estimate. So yeah I barely have to feed anything to my fish. 

Yeah.  Based on that study, the recommendation is 2 feedings per day.  Small amounts and that's seemingly the best we can do.

[Supermassive]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:02 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Based on that study, the recommendation is 2 feedings per day.  Small amounts and that's seemingly the best we can do.

That study was specifically for juvenile fish. They were only 30 days old when they started the study and 90 days old at the end. I think it would have to be different for adult fish.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I give my dude 4-5 pellets twice a day or a very small piece of Repashy once a day. Or Frozen bloodworms, 4 or 5. Same qty with frozen brine shrimp: 4 or 5.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Lennie]

Even betta pellets seem to vary in size.

My suggestion would be keep your portions small and observe their weight gain over time if you are confused. Take a detailed picture today, and start with a feeding routine and observe the weight gain. If it looks healthy you are good. Too much weight= decrease the amount you feed. I barely see people underfeed but if so, then increase the food amount later on.

 

Also activity level of a plakat male and elephant ear long fin male is not the same. So this could also play a role I think. A sports guy takes much more calories compared to someone who is inactive 

 

[Supermassive]

On 10/28/2023 at 8:55 AM, Lennie said:

Even betta pellets seem to vary in size.

Yeah even when they both say 1mm the size can be different. I have some northfin 1mm betta pellets, and bug bites that are also supposed to be 0.25-1mm but some of the bug bites are like 5 times bigger than the 1mm pellets.