Marine beta struggle

[rhondajk]

Hi all. My son in law got a marine barts for me for Xmas. I’ve had him 6 weeks now and ive never seen him eat. Everything I’ve tried he just turns away like leave me alone. I’ve tried live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, live blood worms, shrimp and talapia from seafood counter soaked in garlic, small mollies, and ghost shrimp. I think I saw him go through the motions of trapping a ghost shrimp but didn’t see him eat it. This fish is causing me sooo much stress and anxiety

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all. My son in law got a marine barts for me for Xmas. I’ve had him 6 weeks now and ive never seen him eat. Everything I’ve tried he just turns away like leave me alone. I’ve tried live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, live blood worms, shrimp and talapia from seafood counter soaked in garlic, small mollies, and ghost shrimp. I think I saw him go through the motions of trapping a ghost shrimp but didn’t see him eat it. This fish is causing me sooo much stress and anxiety

This is generally a norm. They are super bashful and rarely eat up front and within a couple of weeks will hang out and await food to approach them and take it in. They are not your typical fish to come out and chase down food.
You have some the basic foods for it and its just a matter of it accepting it.
Mine for about 8 months never came out if I were near the tank.
So - Is it eating without your knowledge?
One way to see id the next time you feed,
set your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there.
Review the video and see if it is eating when you are not there

DO NOT OVERFEED TO GET IT TO EAT. More problems will arise with the added uneaten foods

 

[Pico bam]

Mine rarely eats in front of me. Took a long time for him to be comfortable. I just put in a little extra food so there more floating around, More opportunity for the fish. And leave the room.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi all. My son in law got a marine barts for me for Xmas. I’ve had him 6 weeks now and ive never seen him eat. Everything I’ve tried he just turns away like leave me alone. I’ve tried live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, live blood worms, shrimp and talapia from seafood counter soaked in garlic, small mollies, and ghost shrimp. I think I saw him go through the motions of trapping a ghost shrimp but didn’t see him eat it. This fish is causing me sooo much stress and anxiety

Welcome! Glad you joined. I'm glad there is already good information here in the thread for you. Fingers are crossed it all works out! If you love to watch fish eat and given this is such a super shy fish, perhaps you'll even put a camera on your tank so you can watch them all the time without fish realizing it - and perhaps give you peace of mind when vacationing that all is fine back home.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Gtinnel]

Welcome to R2R. I don’t know much about marine bettas, but I’ve never had a fish turn down live white worms.

 

[CoralB]

Welcome!!

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here!

 

[dstockwell]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[jsker]

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello there, and welcome to the channel.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Welcome! Do you know if the betta was captive bred or wild caught?

 

[Adolfo]

 

[Fishy888]

Hello and welcome! The people here are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. We’re glad you joined! Hopefully you’ll start a build thread so we can see your reef as it progresses.

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[rhondajk]

This is generally a norm. They are super bashful and rarely eat up front and within a couple of weeks will hang out and await food to approach them and take it in. They are not your typical fish to come out and chase down food.
You have some the basic foods for it and its just a matter of it accepting it.
Mine for about 8 months never came out if I were near the tank.
So - Is it eating without your knowledge?
One way to see id the next time you feed,
set your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there.
Review the video and see if it is eating when you are not there

DO NOT OVERFEED TO GET IT TO EAT. More problems will arise with the added uneaten foods

I did that for a couple weeks and then had a phosphate spike and had to treat that and do water change. He has been in there 6 weeks so he has to be eating because he doesn’t look weak or super skinny.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I did that for a couple weeks and then had a phosphate spike and had to treat that and do water change. He has been in there 6 weeks so he has to be eating because he doesn’t look weak or super skinny.

Theyre sneakt feeders and Im sure it has been why I sggested the phone trick- Always a good assurance by seeing it on video

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the Reef