my betta isnt eating

Question
QUESTION: hey ron,

My betta hasn't eaten properly for almost 2 week and i fear he may die soon because of lack of food. I feed him pelets normaly but he suddenly stopped liking them so i switched to betta flakes which he hasn't taken to either, he seems to have trouble eating them, he always twitches when he gets one in his mouth. I fed him a pea last week to see if he was constipated, but there is not very much feacel matter in his tank. I love my betta and he is very big and happy and I couldn't bear to see him die after only havimng him for about 4 months- and yes I'm a kid searching for advice, I've come to you before.:)

Please help my betta!!

Hayley

ANSWER: Hi Hayley,
 Bettas often stop eating when their water changes for the worse. Have you been doing regular weekly partial water changes?   Also, is the temperature in the tank up near 80oF?  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ron,

Well to tell you the truth we change my betta's tank maybe every 2 weeks, he does have a large tank though I think it's about 6.7 litres. He doesn't have a water heater which means that his water is the temperature of our house which is around 70 degrees. I feed him every other day and he seemed to be taking well to his new pellets but he later spat them out :( His tank is not merky water at all because we have a very clean household and we would not like any of our pets to be suffereing like that.

Answer
Hi Hayley,
  You really should get him a heater.  He will like it alot.  

  It is also normal for a fish to spit out new food.  That's how they "taste" it to see if it is okay to eat.  They try a bit and spit it out.  It takes them a while (days, sometimes longer) to transition to a new food.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>