Quick answer: bettas eat mostly small animals. In the wild they take insect larvae, tiny crustaceans and insects that land on the water. At home, feed a good-quality flake, fine granule or pellet once or twice a day, no more than your betta finishes in a couple of minutes, with daphnia or bloodworm as an extra once or twice a week in place of a meal. Goldfish food is not a betta's regular food, and peas and holiday feeding blocks have no place in its tank.
We do not sell bettas, or a food made only for them, but several foods on our dry goods shelf fit the advice for them: tropical flakes, fine granules, and freeze-dried daphnia and bloodworm. This guide covers what bettas eat, which of our foods suit them and how to use them, how much and how often to feed, and what to do when you go away.
What Bettas Eat in the Wild
The betta, or Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), lives in still, shallow water in South-East Asia: rice paddies, ditches, swamps and ponds. FishBase, the global database of fish species, records it feeding on zooplankton, mosquito larvae and other insect larvae, and Practical Fishkeeping adds the small crustaceans that shelter among water plants and the ants and flies that land on the surface. The RSPCA groups bettas with the surface feeders, fish with straight backs and upturned mouths that live just below the surface.
The Everyday Food
For the everyday food, the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA), the UK trade body for the ornamental fish industry, recommends a good-quality flake or pellet. Specialised betta pellets are sold too, and Practical Fishkeeping says dry foods are accepted, flake and small granules among them, though a varied diet is best.
Three of our foods fit that advice. Our Ultra Tropical Fish Flakes are a tropical fish flake with insect meal as the first ingredient, at 46.2 per cent protein. Our Insect Granules are 1 mm granules led by mealworm meal, at 44 per cent. Our Tropical Fish Flakes are a blend of seven flake types led by fish meal, at 47 per cent. Feed one, or rotate two for variety.
A betta has a small mouth, so crumble flakes between your fingers before they go in. Practical Fishkeeping notes that granules of 1.4 to 2 mm suit only the largest male bettas; ours are 1 mm. Watch the first few feeds of any new food, and net out anything that settles on the bottom uneaten.
Daphnia, Bloodworm and Other Extras
OATA lists small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, small bloodworm and tubifex as extras for bettas, and the RSPCA calls daphnia and brine shrimp a supplement for tropical fish. Our dried daphnia are whole, freeze-dried water fleas at 50 per cent protein, and our freeze-dried bloodworm are midge larvae at 55 per cent. Both float at first, so a betta can take them at the surface. Break bloodworm into pieces small enough to swallow, and give a portion no bigger than your betta's eye in place of a meal once or twice a week; the vets' advice we read keeps treats to that. Our guide to what daphnia is has more on the water flea itself.
Some keepers soften freeze-dried food in a spoonful of tank water for a few minutes before feeding; either way, feed only what goes in a couple of minutes. Practical Fishkeeping also lists brine shrimp and mosquito larvae among the foods bettas take, and we sell neither. Live food, bought or collected, can bring disease into a tank, and the RSPCA warns that livefood packs can introduce it. Freeze-dried food carries less risk than live food, though no dried food is sterile.
How Much and How Often
The advice differs on how often to feed, but not on how much. OATA's advice for bettas is once a day, no more than they eat within a few minutes. The RSPCA suggests two or three small feeds a day for fish in general, each no more than they eat in two to five minutes. Once a day follows OATA's betta advice and twice a day sits at the low end of the RSPCA's general advice; either way, give only what your betta clears in a couple of minutes. A rule of thumb some vets use is a portion about the size of the fish's eye.
Overfeeding is the mistake to avoid. The RSPCA says it is better to underfeed than overfeed, because fish suffer more from poor water than from a light meal, and food left uneaten rots and fouls the water. Net out anything left after a couple of minutes and give less next time. Some keepers skip a day's feed now and then, but none of the UK bodies we read asks for it.
Warm Water and Appetite
Bettas are tropical fish. OATA says a heater is needed all year round, and the Anabantoid Association of Great Britain's guidelines put them at around 24 to 28°C, with as little change as possible. In cooler water a betta is less active and eats less, so if yours loses interest in its food, check the thermometer, and test the water, before you change the food.
What Not to Feed a Betta
- Goldfish food as its regular food. Goldfish foods are made for a fish that eats far more plant matter: Practical Fishkeeping puts pond foods at about 25 per cent protein, against closer to 45 per cent for tropical foods. The RSPCA's advice is not to feed tropical fish flakes to goldfish, or goldfish flakes to tropical fish. Our guide to what goldfish eat covers the other side of that.
- Peas and other vegetables. Bettas eat mostly small animals, and a pea is not a betta food: keep peas for goldfish and other plant-eating fish.
- Pieces too big to swallow. Break bloodworm and crumble flakes small.
- Meat and dairy. Practical Fishkeeping advises keeping animal meat and dairy fats out of a fish's diet.
- More than it finishes in a couple of minutes. Leftovers foul the water.
- Holiday feeding blocks. The RSPCA does not recommend them: they release a lot of food quickly, and much of it can rot.
Going Away
The RSPCA says tropical fish need feeding every day while you are away, and asks for someone to check the fish and the equipment daily. Measure each day's food into its own small bag for your fish-sitter, so a well-meant extra pinch does not foul the tank. An automatic feeder still needs someone to check it every day, and Practical Fishkeeping finds that granules cope with the damp inside a feeder better than flakes. Do not feed extra in the days before you go. We found no UK welfare body that gives a number of days a betta can go without food.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best food for betta fish?
OATA's advice is a good-quality flake or pellet as the everyday food, and Practical Fishkeeping adds small granules; give daphnia or bloodworm as an extra once or twice a week.
Can betta fish eat flakes?
Yes. OATA recommends a good-quality flake or pellet, and Practical Fishkeeping says flake and small granules are accepted. Crumble flakes small first.
Do betta fish need special betta food?
Practical Fishkeeping's answer is no. Specialised betta pellets are sold, and OATA's advice is a good-quality flake or pellet.
How often should I feed my betta fish?
Once or twice a day. OATA's advice for bettas is once a day; whichever you choose, give only what your betta eats in a couple of minutes.
How much should I feed my betta?
What it clears in a couple of minutes, and no more. Some vets use the size of the fish's eye as a rough guide to a portion.
Can betta fish eat bloodworms?
Yes, as an extra. OATA names small bloodworm among the extras for bettas; break it into small pieces and give it once or twice a week in place of a meal.
Can betta fish eat peas?
A pea is not a betta food. Bettas eat mostly small animals, so keep peas for goldfish and other plant-eating fish.
Can betta fish eat goldfish food?
Not as their regular food. Goldfish foods are made for a fish that eats far more plant matter, and the RSPCA advises against swapping tropical and goldfish flakes either way.
How long can a betta fish go without food?
We found no UK welfare body that gives a number. The RSPCA says tropical fish need feeding every day while you are away, so arrange a fish-sitter with pre-measured portions, or a feeder someone checks daily.
What human food can betta fish eat?
None is needed. Keep meat and dairy out, and plain vegetables are not betta food either; keep to a flake, granule or pellet, with the extras above.
Do I need to soak freeze-dried food for a betta?
No, not for a surface feeder: freeze-dried daphnia and bloodworm float at first, so a betta can take them dry. Some keepers soften them in a little tank water first; either way, feed only what goes in a couple of minutes.
The rest of our fish foods, from pond sticks to algae wafers, are on our foods for reptiles, turtles and fish page.
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