Betta Fish Chews Food And Spits It Out
Most times that s because the fish has literally bitten off more than he can chew.
Betta fish chews food and spits it out. Your betta s stomach is roughly the size of its eyeball and some pellets are even bigger than that. The size of the stomach is as large as the eye so their capability to digest food depends a lot on the size of the food they consume. Even if he keeps spitting out food dont worry.
One of the most prevalent causes why your betta could be spitting out food is due to the size of the food itself. Bettas and most other fish do not chew their food. No that s normal fish don t chew food so if the diameter of the food is to big for his throat what he does is takes it in to his mouth squashes it and the spits it back out then tries to eat it again.
They eat things small enough for them to swallow whole. Bought him some betta pellets now and he keeps doing the same thing he eats chews spits it out then catches it again chews spits it out and then i usually have to fish it out of the tank. Feed small portions of a variety of foods and eventually your fish will eat.
However this doesn t mean he s not eating. Sometimes betta owners become concerned when they see that their pet is spitting out his food. This too is common behavior and it s believed to be a mechanism for breaking down and softening the food.
So in a lot of cases your betta will spit food out a couple of times because he literally can t swallow it. Don t worry he s fine. My suggestion is to switch to a different type of betta food and give him a treat often like blood worms.
Whilst it could indicate little more than they are softening up a tough piece of flake it could also mean that they are ill or unable to eat. Bettas often do not prefer flakes and will eat them at the last resort. As long as your pet is still eating and showing interest at feeding times there s not usually anything to worry about.