As much as bettas can eat goldfish food, constantly feeding them that can cause issues like fading, a weak immune system, and malnutrition. Bettas require protein-rich and highly nutritious food to stay healthy. A good diet has different elements: freeze-dried foods, pellets, flakes, frozen foods, and live foods.
Betta fish can eat goldfish food. However, this should not be counted as their main meal because bettas are carnivorous and need more proteins than goldfish, which are omnivorous by nature.
Ensure you only use goldfish food for bettas as an emergency when you run out of supply or when goldfish and patties are kept together (which is not really advisable). Keeping goldfish and betta fish in the same tank is always difficult due to their different dietary and temperature needs. However, goldfish can occasionally eat betta food to get protein.
Goldfish food that bettas can eat
Bettas need proper nutrients to survive and remain healthy for an extended time. Fish food comes in various brands, the most common in the market being pellets, freeze-dried foods, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and goldfish food. Each fish species has a unique diet designed specifically for them. So, can betta fish eat goldfish food?
Additionally, some foods have better nutritional benefits that support high betta color changes and personality. Below are examples of the most common goldfish foods you can give to bettas.
1. Goldfish flakes
Most flakes have a clear water formula for easy feeding. Your betta can digest them quickly with zero problems to enhance their brilliant colors.
2. Goldfish granules
Granules sink to the bottom of the fish tank or bowl without clouding the water. They have live fish flavors to encourage better feeding.
3. Goldfish powder
This food is ideal for fish breeds such as betta, goldfish, shrimp, fancy guppy fish, and neon fish. It is a pro-vitamin meal to help reduce fish stress as it absorbs quickly.
Betta fish in the wild and the tank eat different types of meals. In the wild, they can consume worms, mosquitoes, larvae, insects, brine shrimp, and common water fleas like daphnia. The environment is resource-limited as they feed on even smaller fish.
The diet of aquarium bettas varies depending on their owner. The most common choices are pellets, shelled peas, bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, crickets, mealworms, and ghost shrimp. You also have the option to pick live, freeze-dried, or frozen food types to feed your betta.
The betta pellets should contain 50% proteins, and freeze-dried meals serve as treats for your betta.
Betta fish vs. goldfish food
You must consider protein levels when choosing the type of goldfish food to feed bettas. Apart from just the pricing, they always need more proteins in their food than goldfish. Color-enhancing benefits should also be considered when feeding bettas.
| Betta fish food | Goldfish food |
| Pellets made for bettas | Plants |
| Insect larvae/Tiny insects | Prawns |
| Worms/bloodworms | Bugs |
| Brine | Algae |
| Shrimps | Goldfish flakes |
Usually, an ideal diet has daphnia, brine shrimp, and dried bloodworms with minerals and vitamins. This diet helps keep your betta’s vibrant color more brilliant and improves lifespan.
Additionally, goldfish food like betta pellets has proteinous ingredients. This maintains your pet’s bright colors while managing energy levels. The meal is also highly digestible to reduce fish waste, making them ideal for daily breeding.
Goldfish food is safe for your bettas and doesn’t cause immediate issues. Despite being cheap, goldfish food lacks the nutritional value to keep your fish healthy and vibrant.
This food is ideal for short-term use if your fish food supply is over. Some common ones are goldfish flakes containing probiotics to help the fish’s digestive system and promote nutrient uptake. Most brands are easily digestible to enhance easy feeding and reduce waste.
Dangers of feeding bettas goldfish food
Bettas show their bold colors when they are happy. They will display these vibrant colors if you provide them with a protein-rich and balanced meal. Unfortunately, lesser-quality fish meals like goldfish flakes can lead to poor feeding.
Avoid making it the main meal if you plan to feed your betta goldfish pellets. It’s suitable for emergency food shortages. Possible dangers of feeding bettas goldfish food include the following:
1. Weak Immune System
With a poor diet, your betta will have a weak immune system. Organs like the spleen, kidney, and thymus affect the functionality of the fish and can cause sluggishness, diseases, infections, and even early death.
2. Messy Feeding
Poor-quality fish foods are messier than protein-rich and high-quality ones. Most betta pellets are created with water-based feeding systems. This means if your fish doesn’t eat the flakes, it’s likely to decompose quickly while leaking excess nutrients. Similarly, your betta remains hungry, causing additional stress like inactivity.
3. Reduced Size
The size of your fish reduces if you feed them only goldfish meals. They don’t get the required proteins to suit a healthy diet. What’s more, hunger can trigger your fish to attack other tank mates.
4. Color Change
Feeding your beta with only goldfish is one of the reasons why your betta is turning white. Illnesses, injury, stress, and old age usually cause a change of color. If your betta is stressed because of poor nutrition, the vibrant colors appear in grey, black, white, red, or a mixed color combination.
Put your fish by a light source (lamp) to stop the fading. It will help the colors to get brighter and darker. Also, feeding your betta with color-enhancing meals such as brine shrimp and herring helps enrich its overall look.
5. Change of Behavior
Depending on the food quality, your betta fish might stop eating. If you only provide goldfish food, it lacks all the necessary nutritional requirements. Offer a better protein-rich meal with nutrients to keep them active and healthy.
6. Water Conditions Changes
Goldfish food can cause the tank’s water to get dirty, especially if your fish leaves them uneaten. A poor living area typically leads to bacterial infections and illness. Improve the water quality by changing it regularly and removing waste products.
7. Diseases
Some betta fish diseases and illnesses are caused by poor diet. Let’s see some popular ones below:
a. Fin and Tail Rot
This disease affects your betta’s tails and fish and causes them to rot. Commonly it’s caused by fungi or bacteria in dirty water, making the parts discolor. If the fish food stays uneaten for long, the water is murky, which isn’t ideal for a betta fish environment. Fortunately, this condition is reversible by cleaning the water and using medications.
b. Dropsy
Dropsy is caused by a bacterial infection and affects your betta kidneys leading to swollen abdomen and belly. The high levels of internal fluids also cause sunken eyes and outward-sticking of the white scales. Fortunately, cleaning your tank and feeding your fish vitamin-rich meals improves the symptoms.
c. Mouth Fungus, Eye Cloud, Pop Eye
All three of these 3 illnesses are caused by dirty water and bacteria. You can avoid these ailments by regular conditioning and changing the tank’s water. For severe cases, use antibiotics like Tetracycline to cure the disease.
d. Swim Bladder Disorder
The other term for this ailment is flip over because it forces your fish to float on the water’s surface. It swims upside down or sideways, and sometimes it lies at the base of the fishbowl. Poor water conditions, bacterial infections, and constipation generally cause it. Maintaining a high-quality water tank, feeding your betta with fiber-rich foods, and avoiding overstocking help improve the symptoms.
