Spirulina.............

[kukana d]

Will bettas eat spirulina?Is it good for them? I'm trying to find a way to get some veggie type things into them-w/o having to feed them peas w/ a toothpick

[lclayton]

Mine likes the occasional algae pellet, they're pretty small so I just soak it for a minute or so. But then again he eats anything given half the chance.

[blackteles]

Hiya Susan,

Here's a link to an article on feeding spirulina to bettas and tropical fish. Looks like it's very beneficial to all fish from what I see. Hope this helps!

JCOL

Spirulina Info

[kukana d]

Thanks,Dennis It sounds so good I'm thinking about eating some myself!

[caitie]

Hey Susan, if you do decide to feed them spirulina do watch them carefully for a day or two. I agree that spirulina is beneficial for all fish but in my personal experience it has caused bad constipation issues with almost all my bettas. I think it is because bettas are mostly carnivores and don't really need much vegetable matter in their diet. I usually give them a small piece of the goldies gel food (mostly peas and veggies) once or twice a week.

[kukana d]

So,Edith,do veggie-type things constipate them?

[caitie]

Well I'm not 100% sure but in my case it always has except for the bit in the gel food. I know some people say they feed them veggies and have no problem but I've never been able to. My bettas are never constipated since I stopped fooling around with their food. They now all get 2 hikari bio gold betta bites 4 days a week; gel food 2 days and 1 day of fasting.

[kukana d]

Doesn't the gel make a mess? I just made a TON of it,but am thinking I need to make a diff batch b/c this is not a solid gel.

[caitie]

Yeah it does foul up their water a bit so I usually give them a tiny piece and they pick through the gravel for it. Also I give it to them the day before and on the wc day. So they get two days straight. They need very little of it, the size of one eye so it doesn't do too much damage in the water but it has to be pretty solid tho.

By the way if you've never given it to them do it only on wc day! The first time or two mine had no idea what that was and wouldn't go after it. Now it barely touches the water.

[Pearlscaleperfect]

I generally do not feed betta greens of any sort unless they are severely constipated. Protein is always better for them than plant matter because they have evolved to be carivorious fish and don't really gain nutrients from greens efficiently like other fish do. Feeding them peas is like when humans get diherrea (sp?), since they don't process it well they don't gain nutrients from it and it just clears out their system. you could equate it to trying to make a lion a vegetarian, overall it's just not healthy for the animal. Some frozen bloodworms once or twice a week with one day of fasting will eliminate the need to feed peas at all really. Trying buying a few different pellet type foods and making a mixed batch so their daily food will be varied and contain different amounts of nutrients. I don't see any benifits of feeding greens/peas to betta at all and I won't do it unless they've been constipated more than a few days, normally fasting and some time flaring in front of a mirror works wonders.

[kukana d]

Wow,some great info-thank you,ladies