bala sharks and betta fish

Question
I have 3 bala sharks a betta fish and 5 male baby guppies. I read somewhere that it is good to feed sharks fresh veggies , so my question is what veggies do i feed these fish as a treat? I already give them tubifex worms,krill and brine shrimp. but i want to give them fresh stuff. I just got my betta a couple of days ago and everyone says that they like to be slow and not move around alot, ever since i put him in the tank with everyone else he has been so happy swimming around trying to catch the male baby guppies even though he cant catch up with them is this normal ?

Answer
Hi Tara,

Congrats on getting a betta! I have some in my 29g tank and 55g tank and they are very lively. They are slow moving, but whoever said they don't move around a lot is not true. They don't move very much in a jar because they are unhappy and there isn't much room. Is your betta a male or female? Your betta chasing the male guppies is normal, but those two will not be suitable, if your betta is a male. Male bettas should not be kept with other long-finned, fancy colored, slower moving fish. Guppies are not the slowest fish, but they are one of the slower ones. Also, make sure your baby guppies are not small enough. Bettas are carnivores so your baby guppies can get eaten. But since they were living well with the bala shark, it might not be a problem. Once your guppies develop the fins and the coloration, and your betta is a male, it might be a good idea so remove either the betta or your guppies; unless you want to see your guppies without any fins left. If you wish to keep them both, put lots of tall plants. That is because the guppies are top-swimmers, and having plants that reach the top can give good hiding spots.

It is good for any non-carnivore fish to have fresh veggies. But since your betta, as mentioned before, is a carnivore, fresh veggies cannot be his/her main diet. Some good vegetable that you can give to your fish are: spinach, zucchini, squash, lettuce, ect. When giving spinach or lettuce, I like to clip them with "veggie clip" against the wall. This way, even middle and bottom swimmers can get the food, but just my top swimmers. You can try clipping squash too, but I usually attach them to something like chopsticks so the squash is in the middle region. Keep it clipped for a several hours or more, but surely take them out for overnight. We don't want them to rot :] Instead of clipping, you can also chop them. Chop them bite-sized and just give them like flake food. Although, I prefer to clip them over giving them chopped. It is because more gets wasted when fed chopped, and by clipping, the fish can "graze" on it naturally.

If you have any further questions, let me know.
Happy fish keeping!

Barb