The 5 Best Betta Fish Foods You Need to Try
Not all betta fish are created equal. Some fish have a bottomless stomach, while others have a picky eating style and are willing to eat whatever you give them. The refusal to eat can cause stress if you are the latter. Fortunately, there are many high quality, high protein foods you can try feeding them to whet their appetites.
#1 Frozen Bloodworms
Frozen bloodworms, the bright red larvae of midgeflies, are an excellent food choice for betta fish. They eat small insects, crustaceans and meaty foods in nature. These can be purchased at your local pet shop in either individual foil-sealed cubes or a frozen slab you can cut off pieces. Hikari is the American brand we prefer to buy because their bloodworms have the best quality and are very clean.
A betta fish is unlikely to finish a cube of cubes in one sitting. To make this happen, you might need to place the cube inside a container and give a few bloodworms a pipette (or tweezers) to help. Most betta fish would be happy to live off a diet of only bloodworms, but like humans, your fish requires a variety in nutrition. To ensure that your fish have all the nutrients and vitamins they need to live a healthy and long life, rotate at least two to three foods.
Live Blackworms
Because they closely match their natural diet, live foods are the best option for betta fish food. We recommend live blackworms because as a true freshwater species, they can live for quite a while in your aquarium without fouling the water. They like to burrow into the substrate, which provides hours of enrichment for your betta fish as he hunts them down one by one.
This disadvantage of live blackworms is that they are not always available at local fish stores and they have the possibility of bringing in parasites. We still recommend them because they are so nutritious and mentally stimulating for bettas. Make sure you get blackworms from a reliable fish shop that keeps them in refrigerated, clean water.
#3 Betta Pellets
Although pellets might not look the best, they provide the most essential nutrients for betta fish in a small package. They don’t dissolve quickly in the water, and they float on the surface which is a nice feature for betta fish that have upturned faces and are used to eating directly from the water surface.
Xtreme Betta Pellets
Xtreme betta pellets are a good choice. They have high-quality protein like krill, come in a handy scoop to avoid feeding too many fish, and they come in a small, compact container that can be used for one betta fish. You don’t want a large jar of fish food that you can use for many years. While the expiration date may still be good, the food will grow old and stale from repeated exposure to moisture and oxygen and can potentially cause health problems with your betta fish.
Freeze-Dried Foods
Freeze drying is a method of preserving food in a lightweight, dry form factor while retaining as much of the original nutrients and taste as possible. Therefore, we love using freeze-dried bloodworms and brine shrimp as an alternative to frozen foods. They don’t need to be frozen and float in the water. They are easy to portion for the right amount of food and can be removed from the tank easily if they don’t finish all.
Hikari Freeze-Dried Bloodworms
Insect-Based Pellets
Fluval Bug Bite Betta Formula is another type of betta food. It is made primarily from black soldier fly larvae. This helps to closely mimic a betta fish eating an insectivore diet. It contains high amounts of quality protein, as well as other essential vitamins and minerals to boost your betta’s health. This is a slow sinking granule, which some bettas may not go after, but if you have other tank mates like tetras and corydoras, they will readily finish up any leftovers your betta leaves behind.
Fluval Bug Bites – Betta Formula
In our experience, most bettas are not too picky and, if kept in a community tank with other fish, may even choose to snack on other foods you feed the aquarium. These top five foods are sure to please betta fish.
