Betta won't eat

[aviaryAlbacore]

I got a betta fish a week ago, and I never see him eat when I feed the rest of my fish. I first tried tropical fish flakes, like what the other fish eat, and he may occasionally eat one, but spit it out. I then bought floating betta pellets, which he does the same thing, spits them out. This has been going on for a week, and I'm worried about him, he doesn't seem to have as much energy. Today I got dried blood worms, which he ate one or two, successfully, but then he spits others back out, and still won't eat anything else.

What do I do?

[nikelodeon79]

What is the temperature of the tank, and what are the other tank inhabitants? How long has the tank been set up, and is it cycled?

What brand of betta pellets did you try? I like the hikari pellets, and my bettas always agreed (tried Omega One, and they were not very enthusiastically received).

Dried bloodworms are pretty much worthless, IMO.. not a lot of nutritional value. Try frozen bloodworms, (thaw them first in a cup of tank water). I would only give ONE un-thawed bloodworm per day, as bettas are usually piggies and will eat themselves to death.

[Tiari]

More info on the other inhabitants of the tank, and what the tank is like (temp, cycled) would help pinpoint the problem.

Make sure you watch your Betta while he eats, and stay there, watching the whole time. Many Betta will put a pellet in their mouth, spit it out, take it back in, several times before finally eating it. One reason is, the pellets are very hard, and often too large for its mouth. They will do the spit out thing to soften it up, to get it to be able to be swallowed. They will do the same thing with dried bloodworms, but rarely if ever do it with thawed frozen food.

Try getting a small dish, and putting a teaspoon or so of tank water on it, and setting two or three pellets in it to soak for about two or three minutes. Offer the soaked pellets then to your Betta, and see if that helps.

If your Betta Bud still won't eat, try some Hikari freeze dried brine shrimp. I don't know too many betta that will refuse those.