The 5 Best Betta Fish Foods You Need to Try

Not all betta fish are created equal. Some betta fish are born with a flat stomach like a miniature shark. Others are picky eaters and will eat anything you give them. If you are one of these people, it can be very stressful to refuse to eat. To satiate their hunger pangs, you have many high-quality, high-protein foods that you can give them.

#1 Frozen Bloodworms

Given that betta fish eat small insects, crustaceans, and other meaty foods in the wild, frozen bloodworms (the bright red larva of midge flies) are one of the best foods you can provide them. They are available at most pet shops in the form of individual foil-sealed cubes, or a frozen slab which you can cut into pieces. Hikari is our favorite brand in the United States. Their bloodworms are high quality and produce clean results.

A betta fish is unlikely to finish an entire cube in one session. To make it easier, you can freeze the cube in containers and feed a few bloodworms with a pipette (or tweezers). Although most betta fish can live on only bloodworms for their nutrition, many fish require a varied diet. To ensure that your fish have all the nutrients and vitamins they need to live a healthy and long life, rotate at least two to three foods.

Blackworms Live

Live foods are the best options for betta fish, as they most closely mimic their natural diet. We recommend live blackworms because as a true freshwater species, they can live for quite a while in your aquarium without fouling the water. Your betta fish will enjoy watching them burrow into the substrate. This provides hours of enrichment as he hunts down each one.

Living blackworms can have the disadvantage of not being available at your local fish store and could bring in parasites. However, we still highly recommend them, given how nutritious and mentally stimulating they are for bettas. Just make sure to get the blackworms from a reputable fish store that keeps them refrigerated in clean, odorless water.

#3 Betta Pellets

While pellets may not be the most natural-looking choice, they combine the most important nutrients a betta fish needs into a bite-sized package. Betta food pellets work well because they don’t dissolve quickly in the waters and they tend to float at surface. This is great since bettas use their mouths to consume from the water surface.

Xtreme Betta Pellets

Xtreme Betta pellets are a great choice. They contain high-quality proteins such as krill and come with a scoop so you don’t overfeed. The small containers can also be used to keep one betta fish. It is not a good idea to buy large quantities of fish food to be used for years. The expiration date might still be valid, but the food will become old and stale through repeated exposures to moisture and oxygen. This can lead to potential health problems for your bettafish.

Freeze-Dried Foods

Freeze drying is a method of preserving food in a lightweight, dry form factor while retaining as much of the original nutrients and taste as possible. We love brine shrimp and freeze-dried bloodworms as an alternative to frozen food. They don’t need to be frozen and float in the water. They can be portioned easily for appropriate-sized meals and can be removed from the aquarium if necessary.

Hikari Freezed Bloodworms

Insect Based Pellets

Fluval Bug Bite Betta Formula is another type of betta food. It is made primarily from black soldier fly larvae. This helps to closely mimic a betta fish eating an insectivore diet. It is rich in quality protein as well as essential vitamins and minerals that will help your betta stay healthy. This slow sinking granule is not something that some bettas will want to eat, but it’s worth having if you have tank mates such as corydoras and tetras.

Fluval Bug Bites – Betta Formula

In our experience, most bettas are not too picky and, if kept in a community tank with other fish, may even choose to snack on other foods you feed the aquarium. But if you’re looking to add more variety to your betta’s meal plan, give one of these top five go-to foods a try and your betta fish is sure to beg for more.