Hi there was just wondering do you think it is ok every once and a while not to feed for a day,so that the betta doesnt get to used to constent feeds?? Only wondering . I feed mine morning and night but no set times. Thanks Mark

I usually feed mine in the morning and at night, but having a days break can actually be beneficial to the fish. I wouldn't go more than a couple days, max, though.

Actually, the first betta I bought was from Walmart, and the bowl said to feed every 2-3 days. I love feeding my fish... I have to just remember that they don't like being fed too much. :P

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55 gallon: 8 black skirt tetras, 6 emerald cory cats, all live plants, 2 large pieces of Malaysian driftwood. Hoping to get Angelfish.
10 gallon 1: 1 female betta, 1 albino cory cat, 1 spotted cory cat.
10 gallon 2: Betta Sorority as of 8/29.
2.5 gallon: SNAILS.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl... year after year...

I feed Diablo two times a day sometimes and one time a day some days if I think he is kind of slow or if he is in sleepy mode before I get ready to feed him his supper and some days if he is particularly busy chasing the kuhlis and cannot be bothered with breakfast and then I get busy at supper time and he gets off to sleep before supper he goes with no food but he is healthy and happy and just meets me in the morning doing the "betta dance" for his breakfast. He is happier getting fed when he is ready and we do not have hard and fast rules about it here. I never feed him more than twice a day and never overfeed him any time I do feed him but how often otherwise (I once was hurt in an accident and had no one to take care of my fish ... at that time 9 tanks worth .... for 5 full days and they got no food for the whole time and they were all fine and happy to see me when I got home.) is entirely up to how we both feel at the time. I do not like to go more than a day with no food and I like to work in at least one pea treat during the week but otherwise one day a week it probably won't hurt. I would not do the missing on a regular basis or more than one day a week unless it was under emergency circumstances like I mentioned above. I find that he really does better with one meal a day usually at breakfast and then let him decide when to go to bed on his own actually. Bettas are pretty forgiving as long as you give them personal attention when you do feed them and don't overfeed them to give them tummy aches.

Rose

Yep.

and every now and then for a week or two.

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I respectfully disagree with the week or two idea but a day or so now and then won't hurt .

Rose

I feed my fish once a day 6 days a week. One day a week without food is good.

My betta gets fed once daily if he's lucky, often with a day or two between feedings. His diet is mainly frozen bloodworms (relatively high in fat) and seems to keep him in good condition overall.

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There used to be a regular bunch who believed that that was the way to feed bettas ... feed 6 days and a fast day on the 7th. I quit that and just feed them when they act hungry in the mornings and sometimes surprisingly, my bettas seem to act more interested in other things but not often. Sometimes they seem to need to have a night snack but I generally feed light at night if at all but sometimes they go to bed before I have them fed and I do not get a fish up to feed them. Now that Diablo is my only one and he is an older betta he generally goes to bed early so I miss about 4 nights out of 7 with him. He is a healthy betta with this schedule and as long as he is happy with it so am I. Like I said before, the important thing is not to overfeed them at any one time and not too many times in one day so one or two times a day with not too many days missed overall should work.

Rose