Are you wondering how long can Betta fish go without food?
Being an aquarium hobbyist involves a lot of responsibilities and obligations. Most fish must be fed every day so if you are planning to go on a trip, it is only natural for you to worry about your precious Betta fish while you are gone.
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How long can betta fish survive with no food?
Fish owners are usually conservative with their Betta fish. The stomach of a Betta fish is not anywhere larger than the size of their eye. Since Betta fish don’t need lots of food, they have the ability to stay alive for a long time even if they are not fed.
You can have peace of mind knowing that Betta fish can easily survive a week without anything to eat if you always fed it with the right amounts of healthy food.
Betta fish can easily survive with no food for as long as 14 days. However, this is almost like pushing the limits. Although this is the longest timeframe, things can differ from fish to fish.
As a responsible Betta fish owner, your topmost concern should be the time when your beloved pet might start to starve. Although the average maximum time for survival is 14 days, a Betta fish may start starving after four to five days if you don’t give it food.
This will not only increase their stress level as this might also lead to organ failure or disease contraction. For this reason, it is recommended that you avoid leaving your Betta fish alone for over four to five days.
How often should you feed a Betta fish? Since you really love your Betta fish and you want it to stay healthy, you must feed your pet every three days, not considering the length of time that it can survive without food.
Thus, you can always manage to go on a weekend getaway even if there is no one available to feed and look after your Betta during your absence.
However, if you will be embarking on a longer vacation, it is best to ask a family member or even a neighbor to feed your fish for you. Whatever the case might be, make sure you feed your fish yourself the moment you get back from the trip.
After all, you are the only one who can take better care of your beloved fish.
How often do you feed a betta fish?
It is still healthy not to feed them for one to two days?
It is only natural that you would think that it will be a crazy idea not to feed your pet for one to two days. But, the truth is that it can even be healthy for your Betta fish. Most of the time, the fish will gulp down pretty much anything you give them, including food scraps.
If you continue to give them, they will also continue eating it. This means that there is a high chance for you to overfeed your Betta fish.
Overfeeding has been found to be detrimental to the health of Betta fish. This can lead to numerous health concerns such as unhealthy weight gain to swim bladder problems.
Having said this, it will be better to underfeed your Betta fish than to overfeed it. Thus, you have to be sure that you only give them little amount of nutrient-rich food.
By not feeding a Betta fish for one to two days, you will be able to give their digestive system enough time for breaking down the food particles it consumed for the past several days.
At the end of the day, it will have a positive effect on the overall wellbeing and health of your pet. If you want to be sure that your Betta fish will live for a long time, you can give it a minimum of one-day break in between meals.
What do betta fish eat
Specific living conditions affect the rate of survival of betta fish with no food
The question of how long can Betta fish go without food also depends a lot on the aquarium environment or living conditions.
Betta fish is a tropical fish, which means that it only survives in warm water. This is something you need to arrange and check before your trip.
Water change also plays a crucial role since Betta fish expel ammonia to the water every time it breathes. Ammonia can pose a serious danger for your fish once it combines with the rest of the toxins found in food waste.
If you will need to leave your Betta for over four days, it is best that you change 50% up to 100% water on the very day that you will leave and the moment you get back home.
You also need to consider the aquarium’s size. A tank that can hold as much as two water gallons will need a water change of up to 80%.
The bigger the fish tank, the safer it will be for you to leave your fish for a long time even without care. But, no matter what the size of your aquarium might be, the lid should have enough holes to ensure a regular oxygen supply.
Aside from this, the room should also be kept well-lit, preferably in an area near sunlight. But, you have to be sure that the tank is not exposed to direct sunlight.
It is a must to maintain stable tropical water temperature if you want your pet to stay healthy. The ideal range of temperature for Betta fish is 76 up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remember that extreme water temperatures may cause stress on your fish or worse, even death. In case the water tank tends to get cold fast, you can relocate it to a warmer spot.
If you are worried about starvation, the water temperature can be used to control the metabolism of your Betta fish.
The Bottom Line
While Betta fish can go for 14 days without food, you should never leave them unfed for over five days if you want them to stay healthy and safe.
Next betta fish topic that may interested you: Why is my betta fish not eating?
