Strange eating habit

[babygeige]

I moved me new delta, Peter, to the 2.5 gal that I had Finn in. He seems much more relaxed in this bigger tank that he was in the 1.5, so I'm happy about that.
But, Peter has very strange eating habit though. He always takes a bite of something and then spits it out. He just keeps doing this over and over. I'm assuming that he's somehow getting at least a little nutritional value from this since he doesn't look like he's starving to death, but why does he do this?

I've tried Hikari betta dots, Algae flakes, Aqueon flakes, and he'll even do this with frozen shrimp and bloodworms. It's really strange.

His head doesn't move up and down in the same "chewing" sort of way that other bettas do when they eat. Maybe he has a weird mouth or something...?

[Carl]

I have seen this behavior many times before, but I cannot say definitively what the cause is.

I have noticed this has happened usually with dry foods, and often even soaking foods still results in this habit.
But this does not seem to be the case here with Peter since he does this with frozen shrimp & bloodworms.

Some success with dry has been achieved by me by soaking in water for 5 minutes plus or soaking AND adding fish oils (such as Omega 3) which not only enhances flavor, but nutrition as well. The hard part is that this is a oil and does not mix in the soaking water, so it needs to be added either before the water or after the soak.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

Have you tried feeding another betta near him and then slowly making your way over to feed him? I have found that if a fish sees another get fed before it, they seem to get more eager to eat Maybe that will get Peter to eat better.

Also, try to feed him or all of your fish at a similar time each day. If they know food is coming, fish will get antsy and beg for food (also with an increase in appetite).

Also keep in mind that it takes a few days for a betta to get used to a particular food. They may spit it out the first couples days you give it to them but that doesn't mean they won't love it later.

Last, make sure you feed him small pellets or small flakes. My bettas will spit out pellets or flakes if they are too big sometimes even if they like the food I am giving them. I hope that helps. I have had this issue too in the past so i know where you are coming from.

[babygeige]

I try to feed my fish around the same time every day so he knows it's coming. In fact, he'll come up to the surface in anticipation, he just doesn't swallow all of it. He has to be getting little bits off. Maybe the pieces are too big, although none of my other fish have any issues. Perhaps he's just a picky dude.

I'll try smaller bits. And I'll try just sticking to one food for a few days too, instead of trying a little bit of everything, hoping to find something he likes.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know how it works out!

[bikeguy33]

omething els to consider....and this is a tough one to tell....but perhaps his jaw is deformed and he doesnt have the ability to chew and swallow as per the norm...but if this is the case....as you mentioned he isnt getting thin or anything......as long as the food comes in and out of his mouth....he MUST be getting at least a little from it. i would just watch him closely...

[babygeige]

Yeah Bill, that's what I'm starting to think may be the problem. He just has an odd way of chewing, if that's the right word.

I fed all my fish frozen bloodworms yesterday. I put one small to normal size piece in and he had a big of trouble with it. He managed to bite off a small piece. Then I threw a teeny tiny piece in and he seemed to keep that down ok, so I think I'm just going to have to be careful to feed him very small bits of food.

Do you think, if this is the case, that it would be better to feed him twice a day?

[Carl]

Jul 3, 2009 13:45:32 GMT -5 babygeige said:

Yeah Bill, that's what I'm starting to think may be the problem. He just has an odd way of chewing, if that's the right word.

I fed all my fish frozen bloodworms yesterday. I put one small to normal size piece in and he had a big of trouble with it. He managed to bite off a small piece. Then I threw a teeny tiny piece in and he seemed to keep that down ok, so I think I'm just going to have to be careful to feed him very small bits of food.

Do you think, if this is the case, that it would be better to feed him twice a day?

In my opinion I think 2 or even 3 small meals per day would be a good idea.

Carl

[babygeige]

It makes me wonder how he survived at Petco. I'm certain they don't pay attention to make sure each and every betta is eating their food. Maybe he wasn't there long before I grabbed him...

I will try to remember to feed him at least twice a day.