Diet and Feeding

Betta Gillfriend care rules: one betta per tank. Mirror or flare practice: one 2-minute session a day, with at least 2 rest days a week. Train: up to 10 minutes a week.

Bettas are carnivores. In the wild they eat mostly insects and insect larvae, small crustaceans and zooplankton taken from the water surface and among plants. At home, a good-quality betta pellet makes the best staple, with a little variety on top.

The most common feeding mistake is giving too much food, not too little. Overfeeding fouls the water and contributes to bloat, constipation and buoyancy problems.

Foods

Food	Role	Notes
Quality betta pellets	Staple, every day	Choose a pellet made for bettas or carnivorous tropical fish. Pellets should be small enough to swallow whole.
Quality flakes or micro-pellets	Alternative staple	Fine for bettas that accept them. Remove what isn't eaten.
Frozen foods (bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, mysis)	Treats and variety	Thaw in a little tank water first. Feed in moderation (Illinois vet hospital).
Freeze-dried foods	Occasional treats	Very light and dry. Many keepers soak them in tank water first so they don't swell in the gut.
Live foods	Enrichment, conditioning for breeding	Buy from reputable cultured sources. Wild-caught live foods can carry parasites (see below).
Plant roots	Not food	The Illinois vet hospital is clear that bettas cannot live off plant roots, despite the old "betta vase" idea.

Warning: Merck Veterinary Manual notes that wild-collected live foods can bring in parasites and disease. For example, copepods such as Cyclops (and similar small crustaceans) can carry Camallanus worms. Buy cultured live foods from a trusted supplier, or stick to frozen.

Warning: RSPCA Australia advises never feeding foods containing mammalian fat (such as meat or cat food). Fish cannot digest it properly.

Storing food

Merck notes dry food loses vitamins over time. Keep it cool, dry and sealed, and replace it roughly every couple of months after opening.
Throw away any food that smells off, clumps or shows mould. Mouldy food can contain toxins (aflatoxins).
Buy small containers so they're used up quickly.

How much to feed

There is no exact number that suits every betta, because size, age, activity and the food itself vary. Sources give slightly different rules:

Source	Guidance
RSPCA Australia	Once a day, only what's eaten within 2 minutes
University of Illinois vet hospital	Only what's eaten in about 3–5 minutes
PetMD	Once or twice a day

Betta Gillfriend recommendation: feed a small amount your betta finishes in about 2 minutes, once or twice a day. Start small, a few pellets per meal, and adjust based on body shape.

Tip: A betta's stomach is often described as being about the size of its eye. That's a handy rule of thumb, not a scientific measurement. The real guide is your betta's body: a gently rounded belly after eating is fine; a bulging belly, or a belly that stays swollen, means too much.

Reading body condition

Body shape	What it suggests	What to do
Belly flat to slightly rounded, back straight	Good condition	Keep going
Belly bulges after every meal and stays big	Overfeeding, or constipation	Feed less, add a fast day
Belly sunken, spine or head looks big compared to body	Underweight, or illness (e.g. internal parasites)	Check water and diet; see an aquatic vet if it continues
Belly swollen with scales sticking out ("pinecone")	Possible dropsy, a serious sign	See Dropsy

Giants

Giant bettas like Rip need more food than standard bettas because they are much bigger, but the same rules apply: a small meal, eaten quickly, adjusted to body shape. Because giants produce more waste, keep a close eye on water quality.

Feeding schedule

A simple weekly plan many keepers use:

Day	Food
Mon	Pellets
Tue	Pellets
Wed	Pellets, plus a small frozen treat
Thu	Pellets
Fri	Pellets
Sat	Frozen treat (e.g. daphnia or brine shrimp)
Sun	Fast day, or a very light meal

Remove uneaten food within a few minutes, using a pipette or net.
Feed at roughly the same times each day, after the lights have been on for a while.
Holidays: a healthy adult betta can generally manage a few days without food. That's safer than "holiday feeder" blocks, which can foul the water. For longer trips, ask a friend to feed small, pre-portioned meals.

Fasting

Many keepers include one fast day a week to give the gut a rest. This is common hobby practice rather than something tested in studies, so treat it as optional. It's a sensible way to make sure you're not overfeeding.
In a research colony, about half of bloated bettas recovered after 24–48 hours without food, so a short fast is a sensible first step for mild bloat.
Don't fast a fish that's already thin or recovering from illness without advice from your vet.

Preventing bloat and constipation

Feed small meals. This matters most of all.
Soak dry and freeze-dried foods in a little tank water before feeding, so they swell outside the gut.
Vary the diet with frozen foods such as daphnia or brine shrimp.
Avoid brine shrimp shells. A research colony found that unhatched brine shrimp eggs and shells caused gut blockages and buoyancy problems, so their keepers separate shells from hatched shrimp.
Keep the water warm and stable, at 76–81°F (about 24–27°C). Cold water slows digestion.
Watch the poop. Normal faeces are small and dark. Long, stringy, pale or white faeces can signal a gut problem or parasites (see Internal parasites).

Tip: You may read advice to feed a skinned pea for constipation. This is hobby folklore with little evidence behind it, and bettas are carnivores. A short fast, then a meal of daphnia (often recommended for its roughage), is the gentler first step. If bloating continues for more than a couple of days, see Constipation and bloat.

Treats and enrichment feeding

Treats should be a small part of the diet: a couple of times a week, in place of a regular meal, not in addition to it.
Live foods such as cultured daphnia or brine shrimp let a betta hunt, which is great enrichment.
Target feeding: offering food from tweezers or near a target stick can be used for training (see Enrichment and flare training). Use part of the day's food, not extra.
In a research colony, bettas fed only dry food bred less successfully than those that also had live food, a reminder that variety matters.

Sources

Care guide by Betta Gillfriend (Bespok Labs, BC, Canada). It is general information, not vet advice. If your betta is sick, ask an aquatic vet.