Betta with feeding problem. Tries to bite but misses the food.

Question
QUESTION: I just bought a pair of betta and I'm feeding them JBL betta flake food.
The female is eating perfectly well. But I'm having problems with the male betta.

It's not that he has no interest in the flake food.
From what I've seen in other bettas, they normally just grab the flake gently from the surface.
But for this male betta, things seem a bit different. He grabs the food aggressively, attacking the flake food like it's an insect on the surface. That's okay. The problem is that, he CANT HIT THE FOOD. He strikes hard, but misses the food all the time. He just overshoots and misses the flake food entirely. After a few times attacking and failing, it just ignore the food.

I tried making the flake sink and when the flake is sinking, he still misses it sometimes, but at least he can still eat it.
He's producing very little feces, meaning that he really isn't eating much.

What seems to be the problem? Could it be some problem with the eyes, or some cerebellar (hind brain) problem giving him coordination problem?

What can I do about it?
I've put some BettaRelax, a ketapang extract (indian almond leaves) and things still remain the same.
The betta is a Pastel by the way.


ANSWER: Heh,

I am hoping that you didn't put the male and female in the same tank. If you did you need to remove one IMMEDIATELY. If left alone, one will kill the other. If they are together than that explains why he is missing the food. They cannot be put in the same tank unless you are breeding them and I hope that is not what you intend to do. Breeding Betta;s is not an easy thing to do and you have to be ready to have upwards of 500 fry in the tank. In you do not have them in the same tank let me know since there might be another problem. Place them in their own tank that is no less than 2.5 gallons. Make sure they each have a heater set at 82 degrees. When they are in their own tank DO NOT allow them to see each other. Make sure you do 25% water changes every 5 days and let me know once they are in their own tanks. When you do, I can help you out better.

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

QUESTION: No. They're not kept in the same tank.
I'm aware that they're fighting fish =)
I have them in two separate aquarium. About 2gallon each.

Currently, his pattern of feeding is still the same when i use flake food. Still missing the flake food all the time.

This is my solution for now. I take a bit of flake food, add some water to make it moist and then mould it into small pellets. He's feeding alright with the pellets. Finally I'm seeing normal looking feces.

But I'd really like to know why is it so and whether there's any solution to this besides using pellet food.

And yes, i'm intending to breed them =)
I have some experience in guppy breeding, gonna try my luck with bettas now =)

I'm jz worried that if he has problem aiming at food, he may have problem with the eggs during spawning which he has to pick up and put back into the bubble nest.

Thanks for your help. Hoping we could share some experience. Do you have any web sites? Or any recommendations for betta enthusiast?

Answer
Heh,

I also breed guppies and the two breed are very different. The chances of your fish actually breeding and raising fry are around 20%. Betta's are full grown at 6 months of age. The fish you buy at the pet store are over a year old. At that age, yes they can breed, but getting good strong fry out of them is almost impossible. If you do get eggs half of them will not hatch. Of the eggs that hatch half of them will not make it to 2 weeks old. Please, if you plan on breeding, get your Betta's from a breeder not a store. I have been breeding Betta's for quite some time. I started out with pet store fish which bombed big time. They are NOTHING like guppies. There is a big chance that your male will actually eat the eggs or any fry that hatch. Also, at the age they are now, bubble making is not easy in the spawning nest and there is a great chance that his nest will not stick, or it will taken apart while mating. I hope you know that she will lay anywhere between 100 and 500 eggs, and that is if she is young and very healthy. After 2 days you have to feed all the fry that hatched, no less than 3 times a day. You have to breed brine shrimp, or vinegar eels or micro worms and that takes at least 2 weeks. After about a month, you have to have a tank for every fry. Males need to be removed and put in their own 2.5 gallon tank with a heater set at 82 degrees. DO NOT place then in small cups or jars. That is 100 plus tanks you will need and 100 plus heaters you will need. You can try to keep the females together since they grew up together but it doesn't mean they will get along. If they don't, then there is that many more tanks and heaters you will have to have on hand. The breeding tank has to be no less than 10 gallons. There has to be a heater set at 84 to 86 degrees, and a sponge filter. It has to be a sponge or the intake will suck up the fry and kill them. If the water perimeters are not perfect the fry will die. You will be the Betta parent for 6 months until they are full grown. You have to have the room to house hundreds of tanks and filters and live food. You have a breeding pair. Chances are they will not breed. The male has to pick the female. Sometimes I have to go through all my females just to find the right female for him. While spawning you have to watch the THE ENTIRE TIME SHE IS IN THE TANK, and this could means hours or even days. You have to be there to remove the female or male of the other gets too crazy or you will find one dead. I have 7 breeding pair and sometime the choice works and some times it doesn't. With him taking care of the fry, you will see that a lot will not be picked up off the bottom and put in the nest. Like I said, the Betta's you have right now are over 1 year old and passed their breeding prime.

I am not trying to talk you out of breeding. What I am doing is making sure you know what is needed to spawn and what is needed to house them after they are born. Some people think that because they are fish they can handle things, but Betta's are one of the hardest tropical fish to breed. Please have everything you will need for the next 6 months BEFORE you even think about breeding., and that includes brine shrimp eggs and the hatchery, the vinegar eels and the housing for them, the micro worms and the housing for them. Make sure the adults are conditioned for 2 weeks BEFORE you attempt to breed. Make sure you have the room for upwards of 500 fry BEFORE you attempt to breed. Make sure you have homes for all the fry BEFORE you breed. Please, if you have any questions at all, contact me at jaymie_johnson1972@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to help you out. Just remember, breeding Betta's take a lot of time, patients and money.