How Long A Betta Fish Can Go Without Food

Any betta owner wanting to go on vacation has probably wondered, how long can a betta fish go without food?

Most bettas can live 10 to 14 days without food, though it isn’t healthy. Their bodies begin suffering adverse effects after a few days of hunger.

It’s not good to leave a betta without food for over three days. Owners need to plan for their betta before they go on vacation, as they would for any other pet.

Bettas may refuse food if they’re experiencing stress or illness. In these cases, the hobbyist must determine what’s wrong with their fish and solve it. The longer a sick betta goes without food, the sicker it’ll become.

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How Long Can A Betta Fish Go Without Food?

Most bettas can go without eating for about 10 to 14 days, depending on their health.

Bettas are opportunistic hunters. They mostly eat small insects and crustaceans in the wild. They’re always searching for food because they never know when their next meal might come.

Wild bettas may sometimes go days without finding a meal, and they won’t starve to death. Captive-bred bettas have retained this ability. It’s not healthy for them to go more than a few days without food, though they won’t die.

How Long Can You Go Without Feeding Your Betta?

We don’t recommend going without feeding a betta for more than three days in a row.

Owners should only forgo feeding their bettas when they will be away for a few days. Bettas should get food daily when someone’s home. The only minor exception is having a fasting day once a week.

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Why Is My Betta Fish Not Eating?

Betta fish may stop eating for many reasons: most commonly, stress or illness.

Bettas experiencing stress are more likely to get sick or develop an infection. Illness is common with poor water quality, cold water, and poor nutrition.

Bettas that are sick or stressed become lethargic and lose their appetites. Solving their stress or sickness is the best way to get them to eat again.

Test the water, check the temperature, or remove aggressive tank mates. Examine the fish for signs of injury or illness. Determine what kind of illness it has and treat it.

Constipation

Another common reason bettas may stop eating is constipation. Betta owners are prone to overfeeding their fish, which leads to constipation.

Many bettas continue trying to eat while constipated, often making their condition worse. Once a betta cannot defecate at all, it will stop eating.

They Don’t Like The Food

A healthy betta may not eat simply because they dislike the food.

Bettas trying food for the first time might reject their new treat. Try offering them different kinds of foods until they find one they like.

Why Might A Betta Fish Spit Out Their Food?

Bettas may spit out their food if their bellies are full or if they’re constipated. They may also spit it out if they don’t like it or to try to break it apart.

Bettas love to eat and won’t stop eating because their bellies are full.

A full stomach can’t hold any more food, and the betta may have to spit it out. The same goes for constipation. The betta’s digestive tract is so backed up that it cannot handle any more food.

Conversely, bettas might spit out their food if they don’t like it. Like humans and other animals, bettas are individuals with their own preferences. They won’t eat food if they don’t like it.

Finally, bettas sometimes spit out larger, dryer food like pellets and freeze-dried food. These foods are sometimes too big for a betta to eat comfortably.

They will inhale the food and spit it out a few times. The water softens the food, and the force of the spitting breaks it apart.

How To Get A Betta Fish To Eat

The best way to encourage a bored or picky betta to eat is by offering variety and switching up their diet.

Don’t feed bettas the same food every day. It’s hard on their digestive system and can lead to boredom.

We recommend feeding pellets three days a week. Give frozen or live food twice a week and freeze-dried food once weekly. Include one fast day every week to help with digestion.

Try offering them a different flavor. Give them frozen bloodworms if they usually eat frozen brine shrimp to change things up.

A sick or stressed betta likely won’t eat until conditions change. Provide treatment to sick bettas to help them feel better again. Remove the stressor so the betta feels more comfortable in their home.

Here’s What Happens When Bettas Don’t Eat

Bettas that go more than four or five days without eating will begin starving. Their aggression levels may increase, and they’ll attack other fish in the tank. They will lose weight as their body uses up its resources.

A betta that’s starving has a weak immune system. They are more likely to get a bacterial or parasitic infection because their bodies can’t fight them off.

A betta without food for many days is likely to experience organ damage. Damage can progress into failure, which eventually causes death.

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What Can Betta Fish Eat?

Bettas are carnivores that need a meaty, high-protein diet to be healthy. Food that caretakers buy in stores should have a similar nutrition content to that of a betta’s wild prey.

• Bettas should eat pellets most days of the week to stay healthy. Pellets have a high protein content and contain many other minerals.
• Flakes are a good second option, though they rarely have as much protein or nutrients as pellets.
• Freeze-dried foods are more protein and nutrient-dense than both pellets and flakes. They are also far dryer and can cause constipation if fed every day. We recommend feeding freeze-dried foods once a week or as an occasional snack.
• Live foods contain the most nutrients and trigger bettas’ feeding response. They can be a pain to keep fresh and sometimes have parasites. Many hobbyists think it’s not worth the risk.
• Frozen foods are an excellent alternative to live foods. They contain almost the same amount of nutrients. There is no risk of parasites like there is with live foods. The high moisture content helps with digestion and prevents constipation.

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How To Get A Betta Ready For Vacation

Fortunately, there are some things we can do to prepare tanks for long periods away. These steps ensure the fish stay fed, the water remains stable, and the owner returns to healthy fish.

Check Your Betta

Inspect the betta for any signs of injury or illness before going away. Owners may want to cancel their trip if their fish seems sick. A sick fish left alone is likely to get worse and die in its caretaker’s absence.

Keep in mind that a young, healthy betta will be able to live longer without access to food than an older betta. Owners of old bettas may consider using a pet sitter or automatic feeder.

Check The Water Parameters & Do A Water Change

It’s best to check the water parameters before leaving for a trip to ensure they are healthy.

Do a water change if the water parameters are off. Owners won’t want to leave a dirty tank behind as it will only worsen while they’re gone.

Test the water after cleaning to see if the parameters are better. If the numbers are way off, caretakers may need to do a few water changes to get their water perfect.

We recommend doing a water change even if the parameters are perfect. Leaving a betta with a fresh, new tank sets it up nicely for a long time alone.

As a reminder, these are the healthy parameters of a betta tank:

• Ammonia: 0 ppm
• Nitrites: 0 ppm
• Nitrates: >40 ppm
• pH: 6.5-7.5
• Temperature: 75-81°F (23.9-27.2°C)

Check The Heater For Damage

Check the heaters for any damage, like cracks in the plastic or glass. Replace it with a new one if there is any damage.

Heaters can malfunction, and owners cannot do anything if they aren’t home to witness it. A malfunction can cause the heater to shut off, making the water too cold. They can also cause the heater to become very hot, which can kill the fish.

Check the thermometer to ensure the heater is running correctly.

Use Timers

Timers are a traveler’s best friend. Hook a timer to the light to maintain the fish’s day-night cycle. A timer will turn the light on for 12 hours during the day and off for 12 hours at night.

Maintaining a fish’s day-night cycle is crucial for its health.

Use A Lid

Lids are wonderful for avoiding evaporation.

Water evaporates quickly, especially in warm houses. Many owners must top off their water every two to three days to maintain the proper water level.

With a lid to keep the water inside the tank, the water level can stay high.

Low water levels contribute to dirtiness and, if they get too low, can cause the heater and filter to short.

Prepare The Food

Fish need to eat when their caretakers are on vacation. Whether the owner is hiring a pet sitter or using an automatic feeder, they must prepare the food.

Automatic Feeders

Setting up an automatic feeder is fairly straightforward. Follow the directions for the specific machine to fill it with food and set the timer up correctly.

It’s best to set automatic feeders up a few days before vacation. Hobbyists should let it feed the fish even though they’re home. They can watch the feeder to ensure it works correctly and dispenses the right amount of food.

Pet Sitters

Get the food ready for the pet sitter so they know what and how much to feed. Travel pill cases are nifty for this.

Put the betta’s pre-portioned meals in separate compartments. Pre-measuring each of their meals prevents the sitter from overfeeding.

Dissolvable Pellet Blocks

Simply place these in the tank before leaving the house.

Read the package to know how many blocks to put in the tank. A solo betta will need less food than one living in a community tank.

Write Instructions For Your Pet Sitter

Prepare a checklist for the pet sitter to prevent confusion.

Here are a few things they may need to know:

• How much to feed and when
• How to fill up the tank if the water level is getting low
• Don’t forget to let them know to use a water conditioner
• When to turn the lights on and off
• Check the temperature
• Check the heater for damage

Caring for a betta for a week or two isn’t usually difficult for pet sitters. It’s always nice to make their job easier and prevent confusion with a checklist.

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How To Keep Your Fish Fed While On Vacation

Use a pet sitter, automatic feeders, or dissolvable food blocks to keep bettas fed when on vacation.

Fish keepers must make a plan for their fish while they’re away on vacation. Like cats or dogs, owners can’t leave their fish unattended for long.

Is It Okay To Leave Them Without Food?

Owners going away for a short vacation can forgo feeding their fish for a few days.

Pet sitters are often unnecessary for short, two to three-day vacations. A betta will not starve within this time frame. The fasting period can even be good for clearing out their digestive system.

Never leave a betta fish without food for over three days, or it’ll begin having adverse health effects.

Use A Pet Sitter

The best option for vacation is to hire a pet sitter. Friends, family, or professionals with fish-keeping experience will benefit the betta.

A pet sitter can come to the home every day or every other day to feed the fish and check on their health. They can even check the tank and top off the water if necessary.

We highly recommend that hobbyists use a pet sitter if they plan a vacation longer than a week. A sitter can test the water, top off evaporated water, and do a water change if needed.

We don’t recommend using a pet sitter that doesn’t have any fish-keeping experience. While well-intentioned, inexperienced pet sitters can make deadly mistakes.

They may overfeed the betta, leaving the tank dirty or causing digestive issues. Or, they could forget to add conditioner to the new water before topping off the tank.

Use An Automatic Feeder

An automatic feeder is the next best thing to a real pet sitter. Automatic feeders work well for long vacations of more than three days.

Feeders are set on a timer to dispense a fish’s food at the same time every day. Hobbyists can set the feeder to dispense the amount of food their fish needs.

Some feeders come with several compartments for different kinds of foods. These are great for bettas on a varied diet.

Fill the separate compartments with pellets, flakes, or freeze-dried food. Some automatic feeders can even handle frozen foods.

The downside to automatic feeders is that they can malfunction. Sometimes, they dispense more food than the betta can eat, leaving the tank polluted. Other times, they may stop working altogether and the betta could starve.

Use A Dissolvable Block Feeder

Hobbyists can use dissolvable feeder blocks if a pet sitter or automatic feeder isn’t an option.

Block feeders contain food pellets inside a thick block of chalk-like calcium sulfate. The calcium sulfate dissolves slowly in the water, releasing the pellets inside. It is designed to provide fish with a bit of food every day while their owners are on vacation.

We don’t like these feeders because they tend to leave tanks dirty. They can cause dangerous, and potentially fatal, ammonia spikes.

FAQs

Should You Fast Your Betta?

Some hobbyists fast their bettas once a week, while others don’t. Fasting once a week helps clear their digestive system, which can prevent constipation.

Bettas with constipation must fast for one to three days until they begin pooping again. Don’t fast for more than three days in a row, as it’s terrible for their health.

Owners must feed daphnia or try an Epsom salt bath if fasting doesn’t work.

Are Bettas Picky Eaters?

Bettas can be picky eaters — it depends on the individual.

Some do not like pellets that they consider too small. Others refuse to touch freeze-dried food. Bettas given a diet of solely live food will likely refuse manufactured foods.

Check out the ratings of any online stores that sell fish foods. They are littered with reviews from owners whose betta refused to touch their new food. Some bettas will even “turn their noses up” at the highest-quality food on the market.

Bettas should not be picky eaters. In the wild, they snatch whatever they can find because they never know where their next meal may come from. In captivity, bettas have learned they can be a bit pickier.

How Often Should I Feed My Betta?

Adult bettas should get one to two small meals every day. Most bettas eat two to four pellets with each meal, or an equal amount of other foods.

Be careful not to overfeed them, or they may become constipated.

Baby bettas are growing and need to eat more: two to four times a day.

How Long Can Betta Fish Go Without Water?

Most betta fish can go up to two hours without water because of their labyrinth organ.

The labyrinth organ allows them to get some oxygen from the air. In the wild, they live in murky, low-oxygenated waters and must get oxygen from the air.

Bettas are jumpers: we’ve heard stories of labyrinth organs saving betta fish.

They jump from the tank when the owner isn’t home, surviving until the owner finds them and puts them back in the tank.

One owner even stated their betta was completely dried out when they found them. They didn’t want to give up on their fish, deciding to place it back in the water. After a minute or two, it perked back up.