Are sinking shrimp pellets healthy for Bettas?

Question

I like to give my fish a variety of foods, as it has been proven that the wider the variety, the healthier the fish. I have a lone Betta in a 5gal aquarium. I feed him floating betta pellets, and once a week I peel and defrost a pea, that he munches on. He gets freeze dried bloodworms occasionally and I sometimes crumble up freeze dried shrimp, that he gobbles up as well.

I notice that sometimes his floating Betta pellets will sink to the bottom, and he ALWAYS follows it down and eats it off the bottom. I know shrimp is safe for them to eat, but what about sinking shrimp pellets? They have additional ingredients besides just shrimp, so I wonder if it's safe to break them up smaller and supplement this into his diet as well? I use the pellets for my corydoras in my other tanks. Maybe he's getting enough variety, and it's not worth the risk? Or is it fine, and there is no risk? If it's not good for him, are there any other suggestions besides what I have listed for giving him variety? Thanks.

Answer 1

I absolutely agree that a varied diet is great for the health of your fish. If you're talking about something like these:

I feed these to my community tank as a supplement. The base ingredients are pretty similar to the standard 'staple' tropical fish flake that I feed generally. My loaches and Bristlenose catfish love them as do the Gouramis. The tetras are a little small to have a chance at eating these successfully but the Gouramis have no issue.

As always, adapt the food for the mouth size of your fish. You may find that your Betta loses interest in the food if they can't easily eat it (although it looks like yours will follow, as you say). Watch out for choking too and make sure it's easy to fit the food in their mouth. I tend to avoid feeding high fat foods regularly because it can lead to issues like 'Droop Eye'. You can check the ingredients on the back to ensure there is also nothing that might harm them.

This is a great instructional video on how to make your own fish food to ensure that your fish are getting the best they can (although it's less money-saving on much smaller fish):