Is my betta fish okay?

Question
Hi there,

I just got a betta fish a few days ago, and he's living in a half gallon tank. He seems happy enough in his new home...he swims around regularly and reacts to things and everything. But his favorite place seems to be at the bottom of the tank. Also, he's kind of odd about eating. I tried to feed him some flakes, and he was just not interested at all. So the next time I fed him, I tried pellets, and he still wasn't very excited, but once the pellets sunk to the bottom of the tank he trolled around and ate them. Today I tried the pellets again, and he was still kind of uninterested/confused about the food floating on the top of the water. When the pellets sunk, he ate them, but then, quite a while later, he seemed to spit a couple back up! Any clue what's going on with my fish?

Thanks,
Erin :)

Answer
Hi Erin;

Bettas often don't eat for the first couple of days or so because everything is new and they are often in shock. Once that period is over, he may need a water change though. In a half gallon tank, 100% needs to be changed twice a week. They spit out food if they aren't feeling well from dirty water. If you have done that already he may just not like the food he is getting or his water is too cool.

Bettas are tropical fish and need their water to be 75f to 82f all the time. Too low and they often spit out their food.

If the water is already warm enough, try freeze-dried worms or frozen brine shrimp and see if he likes that better. Those foods have a different "aroma" that attracts picky eaters. Stinks to us, but is very appetizing to Mr. Betta! You should vary his diet anyway to keep his digestion working well.

Here is a good link to more info about bettas;

http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/newtobettasthisisforyou.msnw

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins