beta eating

Question
I just bought a male beta fish.I tryed feeding him beta bites but he would not eat them.So I gave him tropical fish flakes and he ate them.My question is should I keep feeding him the tropical fish flakes,should I try to make get him to eat the beta bites,or should I buy another type of food.Also can you tell me how many times I should clean his tank,he lives in a 2 gal tank with a filter

Answer
Hello Shaun,

well now, lots to cover here!

Betta eating:

I've seen betta survive quite well off of just tropical flake. the best thing i can say to that (not having kept one myself) is check the analysis of the foods. try to seek out a flake that matches the betta food in proteins, fiber, fat, etc. the fish really doesn't need any one specific food, so long as he seems to eat well, eat enough, eat regularly, and eat healthily. Try the green top part of broccoli. just make sure the pieces are small enough for him to chomp down on. If he doesn't seem interested in the betta pellets, you might want to try blood worms, or other frozen / live foods. he may just be a picky eater and only want flake too. I've seen it go both ways.

again, best bet is to just make sure he gets the right nutrients for his breed and make sure he stays healthy. He may also want the flake because that's what the pet store gave him. after a few weeks he just might grow used to his bettabites.

tank cleaning:

in a 2 gallon tank with a filter, the only thing your missing for a well balanced tank is live plants. The filter will keep the water clean and free from large amounts of waste and rotting food. cleaning the filter cartridge with water the same temperature as the tank once a month (or replacing it entirely when it clogs) isn't a bad idea. but with some gravel, and a nice live plant you may never need to clean the tank. Just the occasional water change if it gets cloudy or off balance for nitrates and pH, and of course, filter cleanings. Personally, i think the betta would be happier with a plant to hide in, eat, and swim around. Again, it's truly up to your pet to decide how much work you need to put into it. If he is a heavy waste producer and fouls up his water fast, weekly water changes might be needed. sometimes gravel cleaning is important too. Just be careful to avoid cleaning the filter cartridge AND the gravel at the same time. Bacteria grows in those two places that are important to ammonia and nitrite filtering. without a good supply of that bacteria, your water will become toxic to your fish.

Just keep track of his health, and make sure his water is good and clean and even if he only eats flake, he should be fine. no worries!