When you bring a pet to your home, you assume the responsibility of caring for them all your life.
Even if you live a busy or hectic life, you should take the time and strive to make sure your pet is happy and healthy.
This is especially true for pets that cannot communicate with you at all. Dogs and cats let you know when they are hungry or feel a little bad.
On the other hand, pets such as goldfish and betta fish will not tell you that something is wrong. It is your job as a pet’s ‘father’ to observe your betta fish and discover what is happening.
One of the most worrying cases for any pet owner is when your pet is not eating as usual. Without the right food and nutrition, your betta fish can get sick, which eventually leads to the inability to do basic things, such as swimming and floating, as well as losing the beautiful colors of its scales and fins.
Here are some tips for beta fish owners if their pet is not eating.
Watch your fish
Before you can make an assumption about your fish’s eating habits, you must observe how they observe exactly how much they actually eat.
Some fish eat more than others, so even if you think your fish do not eat normally, they may be eating a little and letting the rest of the food float.
Generally speaking, you should only feed your fish with an amount that they can eat within two minutes of dropping. Anything more than that would overfeed them.
Watch your betta fish carefully when you drop the food to see if you are not really eating, or if you are simply giving it a little more food than you can handle.
Discovering why
Once you establish that your betta fish is not eating, you should find out why. Your fish could not be eating for a variety of different reasons.
As the first option and the best course of action, you should take your betta fish to your local veterinarian and see if they can diagnose a problem.
Relying on your veterinarian with this situation is important because you not only get an expert opinion and diagnosis, but also save precious time trying to find out what is wrong.
If you discover that you cannot go to a veterinarian soon, then it is a good idea to investigate and try to help your betta fish.
Fortunately, betta fish are very resistant, and as long as you don’t put it off for a week or two, the wait is likely not to affect the fish too much.
Change your food
Betta fish are a bit demanding when it comes to their food, especially if you give the fish flakes. If you don’t like the taste, spit it out immediately.
If this is the case and you realize that your betta fish is only eating a little and spitting out the rest of the food, it may mean that it is time to try a different type of food. Your little friend only has a refined pallet and prefers some different tastes in his meals.
A good tip that you can use to easily solve this problem is to mix your food. Trying a different brand of fish food, or adding more than one variety to your fish’s diet by including small vegetables and pellets should do the trick.
Digestive system health
If you realize that even after changing your betta fish food you are not yet eating, this may indicate an underlying health condition. Most of the problems that affect a fish’s health revolve around its digestive system.
Because fish do not have a real stomach like humans, their digestive system constantly works to collect nutrients from food and get rid of body wastes.
If your fish’s digestive system has a backup or is not working properly, this could cause your fish a stomachache and prevent them from eating.
You can tell if your betta fish has stomach and digestive problems if they don’t eat as they normally do. Having trouble swimming up and down your tank also points to health problems.
A good way to free your fish’s digestive system is to introduce it into foods with more fiber. Small vegetables such as peas in small quantities can help you do just that.
Give your fish only one or two skinless peas to add more fiber to your diet and help clean your digestive tract. After a week of this, your fish should feel good again!
You can continue adding peas and other fiber-rich vegetables to your fish’s diet from time to time to promote and maintain good digestive health.
Over feeding
If you see that your betta fish is not eating despite changing your diet and adding more nutritious foods to your menu, feeding may be the cause. Overfeeding can also cause digestive problems and can damage the fish system.
Surprisingly, feeding your fish is not as problematic as feeding them, so it is important to feed them only what is necessary for them to be healthy.
A good way to know if your fish is being supercharged is if you find pieces of food long after you have fed your fish. This points to the fact that your fish cannot eat as much as you are giving it.
An easy solution for this is simply to reduce the amount of food that is deposited in the fish tank. You can also try skipping one or two feeding schedules to help your fish’s digestive system resolve itself.
If the excess feeding of the fish really caused them to stop eating altogether and you practice using better amounts and feeding habits, your fish should return to its original feeding patterns in a few days.
Finding out why your betta fish is not eating can be difficult to do alone, but with your veterinarian, you can add another player who is on the side of good health for your fish. If you ask your veterinarian for help, it gives your fish a better chance of having a quick recovery.
You and your veterinarian can work together to find out why your betta fish is not eating. After your veterinarian diagnoses the cause, you can follow his advice on how to remedy the situation. In this way, you can give your fish the love and expert help they need to lead a happy and carefree life.
