feeding a betta fish

Question
Hi!  My husband just recently bought our daughter a betta and we are unsure of how to feed it. We feed it once a day (4 pellets).  Is that a good amount?  Also, we are leaving to go out of town for a week.  I have been told that he will be fine not feeding him for this long, but I'm a little worried.  Any recommendation on that?

Answer
Hi Kim,
 4 pellets or so seems fine.  The key is to feed the fish what it will eat right away and never to put food in for it to "eat later".  Such food just rots and fouls the water and can kill the fish.  

 Yes, you can go away for a week but DO NOT dump a bunch of extra food in before you go or your fish will not likely be around when you return.
Feed it normally before you go and it should be fine. It will be hungry when you return but that should be okay.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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