Marine Betta, Peaceful...Or Not.

[Kmsutows]

Hoping my beta will be more open for food in the DP. He shows no interest in anything but live ghost in the quarantine. ;Bored

I would try wiggling some larger chunks of LRS or even the next time you make shrimp at home when peeling the raw shrimp save a couple of the ends to give him (no shell) we always save the ends for ours.

Another cool fact I read on marine betta is there apparently has never been a documented case of one getting ich

 

[clarity1981]

Hoping my beta will be more open for food in the DP. He shows no interest in anything but live ghost in the quarantine. ;Bored

I would try wiggling some larger chunks of LRS or even the next time you make shrimp at home when peeling the raw shrimp save a couple of the ends to give him (no shell) we always save the ends for ours.

Another cool fact I read on marine betta is there apparently has never been a documented case of one getting ich

I tried EVERYTHING in quarantine, krill, mysis, jumbo mysis, table shrimp, LRS, you name it, wouldn't go near it I threw a few ghost shrimp in there, bam, gone in a few seconds. I was really worried about target feeding him in the larger DT. Put him in my DT with my other fish, first feeding, went right for the pellets. Couldn't believe it. Every fish is different. I'm guessing maybe the extra flow made the other food look more enticing.

I wouldn't let it scare anyone off though. It seems most have been able to get them adapted to frozen foods eventually.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Thx I don't see pieces everywhere, maybe a couple of small pieces of spines but I've seen that before. I'm guessing the urchin has squeezed himself into the rocks somewhere. dang the betta is gorgeous though

You might have a mantis shrimp in the rock. They definitely eat the f*8* out a long spined urchin, and since they punch the crap out of the shell, it's harder to find pieces. Eventually you would, though, unless the urchin is in the rock somewhere.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Got a marine beta recently aswell! He being very picky atm and wont eat anything but live ghost shrimp. He used to eat frozen at store but having a hard time converting him back.

I've noticed that with bettas, if you provide him the best possible setting, as in a lot of caves, overhangs, dark spots, slow moving inhabitants, and good water, they will eat more readily and be more open to the frozen stuff. However at first I've always fed guppies and ghost/grass shrimps live, and they've eventually started eating mysis with the rest of the fish. When I've had them in a brighter lighted, and more active tanks, they've even shied away from taking small guppies, which they all love normally, ime.

 

[mort]

Hoping my beta will be more open for food in the DP. He shows no interest in anything but live ghost in the quarantine. ;Bored

I weaned my betta with ghost shrimp. I initially added them live and then used to snip the spinal cord just before I added them so they looked intact but weren't moving. If it ignored them I would blow them about in the current and this got the betta interested. It's then just a case of slowly introducing other foods using a extended period of not feeding to keep them hungry and more likely to feed.

Betta really don't need that much food for such a large fish. They can easily go a couple of weeks or longer between feeding with no problem, so don't worry if it takes a while for it to get eating. I feed mine 3 times a week with a a decent sized chunk but even then it's not always interested.
I read an article years ago, think it was by Scott w Michael, where a betta disappeared in a tank without being fed for months and it was fine when it was found. It was believed that it sustained itself by eating bristle worms and mine certainly cleared my tank of them so they can fend for themselves.

 

[Goodair]

Put in ghost shrimp into the QT but the bets showed no interest in them. I've tried krill on a straw, very thin fishing line moving around different types of food, and even the dropping the ghost shrimp right next to it.
So I put him in the DP now and will see if his appetite will come back. Gonna see if he/she shows any interest after a few hours.

 

[rkpetersen]

Does anyone have any tips on feeding the betta?

Good advice here.
I had one many years ago. It was an awesome and beautiful fish.
I fed mine feeder guppies. Probably not the perfect food for this fish, but it did fine with them.
And if you want to see a truly amazing predatory behavior, let your comet hunt down a tiny fish.

 

[OrionN]

I got a pair in my 320. Perfect fish. Took me three try before I got the pair. They do beat the heck out of each other if they don't pair up.

 

[mort]

Put in ghost shrimp into the QT but the bets showed no interest in them. I've tried krill on a straw, very thin fishing line moving around different types of food, and even the dropping the ghost shrimp right next to it.
So I put him in the DP now and will see if his appetite will come back. Gonna see if he/she shows any interest after a few hours.

It's always worrying when something doesn't feed but these can go without food for a very long time without harm. So my advice would be to just let it settle in and try again every couple of days. They can be shy to feed so back away from the tank after adding food and just watch from a distance.

 

[OrionN]

If your tank is large with plenty of LR, he will do just fine hunting for pods and worms in the rock work.

 

[Fourstars]

I purchased fifty glass shrimp at the same time, never needed them because both ate frozen shrimp the first 48hrs. The largest one will sometimes not eat for a few days, so I think they are a bit finicky, so just give it time. I think putting him in the DT tank was a good move, they need to hide. My mushroom tank is now full of glass shrimp, pretty cool in their own right.

 

[Goodair]

I purchased fifty glass shrimp at the same time, never needed them because both ate frozen shrimp the first 48hrs. The largest one will sometimes not eat for a few days, so I think they are a bit finicky, so just give it time. I think putting him in the DT tank was a good move, they need to hide. My mushroom tank is now full of glass shrimp, pretty cool in their own right.

He finally ate! Dropped some food in front of the cave he sits in and walked away. Went to peak and saw him eat everything I put there! Seems that the PVC fittings weren't comfortable with him since he was surrounded with light colors and now that he is surrounded in dark, he is comfortable to eat! Thanks everyone for the suggestions! He swims around at night and just seems alot happier than when he was in the QT alone where it was more open and bright. The foxface is near him and both don't bother each other, definitely a peaceful fish as long as it doesn't see it as a potential meal. The panther grouper on the other hand is very aggressive and territorial.

 

[Kmsutows]

If your tank is large with plenty of LR, he will do just fine hunting for pods and worms in the rock work.

They dont eat pods... just large foods but they can go a long time without feeding

 

[Kmsutows]

Put in ghost shrimp into the QT but the bets showed no interest in them. I've tried krill on a straw, very thin fishing line moving around different types of food, and even the dropping the ghost shrimp right next to it.
So I put him in the DP now and will see if his appetite will come back. Gonna see if he/she shows any interest after a few hours.

They really dont need to be QT'd. There has never been a documented case of them having ich. They should take well once in display but really only need a larger meal every few days or so

 

[OrionN]

They dont eat pods... just large foods but they can go a long time without feeding

MB hunt and eat various crustaceans like amphipods and mysis, not copepod which are too small, and worms in the rock work. I have seen my MB with a mouthful of bristle before so I know he eat the bristle worms. Amphipods can reach the size of nearly 1/4-1/3 inch.

 

[Kmsutows]

MB hunt and eat various crustaceans like amphipods and mysis, not copepod which are too small, and worms in the rock work. I have seen my MB with a mouthful of bristle before so I know he eat the bristle worms. Amphipods can reach the size of nearly 1/4-1/3 inch.

I've never seen this in all the years I've had mine so maybe some will when small? Mine will only eat something as small as large mysis if hes really hungry or excited.

 

[Alexreefer]

My marine betta would eat an entire cube of squid every day! He is 8'' and has a great personality. He won't bother bigger fish but have seen him go after my shrimps. Also very interesting how he uses his tail to make prey go into his mouth

 

[Ardeus]

My larger marine betta (I hate the name so much that for the first time in my life I named a fish) is about 5".

I have these 2 guys in the fuge. The female is little over 1", the male close to 2".


At what size will they be safe with the marine betta?

Their "swimming" pattern seems just perfect for a marine betta prey.

 

[Jon Fishman]

All depends on how ya raise em’




(couldn’t help myself)

 

[egwich]

I've always wanted a Marine Betta. Might get one instead of a Flame Angel. They are just the coolest looking fish.