Food for Betta

Question
Dear Chris,   
My son's family has two male bettas in the small double bowl with perhaps three cups of water in each.  The fish flakes instructions say to feed the fish once or twice daily.  My daughter-in-law says the pet store told her to feed them one time about twice a week.  There seems to be a large descrepency there.  How often and what should she feed these two lovely fish. The older one is over a year old and has lost almost all of his color.  He is splotchy and mostly grey. Is there a reason for that?  Thank you for the answer.  Mary

Answer
Hi Mary;

Far too many bettas are killed by bad advice given by fish store personnel. There are some knowledgable store people out there, but far too many are just not. They are often misinformed in the first place just to make a sale, and simply spread that info to their customers. It's a shame.

In my opinion, twice a week feeding is not enough. It's barely a survival ration. Bettas need food daily, and only once that day. Feed them a portion of food the size of one of their eyeballs. That's how big their stomachs are. They can be fasted one day per week to help keep the digestion going smoothly, but not everyone does that and they seem to do fine.

I am concerned about the amount of water they are kept in and the color of the older fish. While it's true he has survived all this time in there, it may indeed simply be surviving and not having a happy life. His faded coloration is an indication that something is wrong. Bettas need a gallon or more of water each to stay healthy and live a long life. The water must be changed every week as well. Temperature is also a consideration. Most bettas are kept too cold. Bettas are tropical fish that need to be in 76 to 80 degree temperatures.

I could go on and on, but here are some web sites to reference instead;

http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/newtobettasthisisforyou.msnw
http://www.healthybetta.com/Care/page1-general.htm
http://joshday.com/bettafaq.htm
http://www.siamsbestbettas.com/care.html
http://www.bettatalk.com/
http://americanfishguy.tripod.com/bettacare.html
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettas.htm

I am so glad those poor little fish have someone in their lives willing to find out what they need. Yes, they are "just fish", but they are living, breathing, feeling creatures. It is our responsibility to care for them humanely if we decide to take them in. I hope it's possible to convey this info to your daughter-in-law without offending her. Do your best, as only us moms can. ;-)

At Your Service;
Christine Robbins