How Long Can Betta Fish Go Without Food
The majority of betta fish can go between 10 and 14 days without eating. Since their stomachs are as small as their eyes, betta fish don’t require a lot of food to survive, despite the fact that they are typically finicky eaters.
Freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia—Burma, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam—are called Siamese fighting fish, or bettas.
The ability of a labyrinth fish to breathe oxygen straight from the atmosphere and through its gills is something special. Because of this, bettas and other labyrinth fish can endure briefly without water and, in an emergency, can breathe in the surrounding air as long as they maintain their moisture content.
Bettas are low-maintenance fish. Although they do require frequent water changes, they are generally rather clean fish, and feeding and water changes don't take too long. Having a betta fish will provide you a reason to add aquatic plants to your collection if you enjoy houseplants.
Because male bettas are territorial, bettas are also known as fighting fish. In the wild, territorial conflict typically occurs when betta ponds dry up. In smaller ponds, bettas grow isolated and start fighting with each other.
What occurs if you take a long vacation, business trip, or leave your betta fish behind for any other reason?
You might be wondering how long your betta fish can go without food or how to feed them while you’re away. Your pet passing away before you reach home is the last thing you want.
HERE ARE THE REASONS:
1. Tank Size:
Your betta’s living environment is just as critical to its survival as the food it eats, so the state of the tank is quite important. Any tank under three gallons requires more frequent cleaning than larger tanks because the conditions within grow more quickly and become hospitable for your betta. Therefore, even if your betta may go for extended periods of time without food, the tank’s water quality might be the final straw for it. Aside from that, unfavorable water conditions will cause stress to your betta and seriously harm their health.
2. The Tank's Filtration:
How long your fish will survive while you are away also depends on the type and quantity of filtration in your tank. The dirt, food leftovers, and other particles that render the tank uninhabitable will be eliminated with the use of a filter. An unfiltered tank requires extra maintenance from you and, depending on how long you intend to stay, will have a lot of debris in it that a filter could have helped remove.
3. Your Betta Fish's Health:
How well-nourished your betta is before you leave it alone will determine how long it can go without food. When you put fish in the same situations and environments, they won’t all respond the same way. How well your betta is before you deprive them of food will also affect how long they can survive. Their age, stress levels, metabolism, and general health are some of these variables. The stress of being without food is usually easier on younger betta fish than it is on older, more seasoned ones. However, older bettas can also rely on their fat reserves to support them during times of starvation. If your fish is typically healthy, there shouldn’t be any issues as long as it doesn’t go for lengthy periods without feeding.
Ways to Continue Feeding Your Fish:
Listed below are two options to ensure your fish are fed while you are away, should you be forced to leave them alone.
1. Fish Sitter:
In your absence, a fish sitter will take care of your fish and aquarium. This might be a neighbor, friend, relative, or someone you hire to do the work. This is the ideal choice if you must leave your fish alone for an extended period of time because they can monitor the water temperature in the tank and the filter pump in addition to your fish. If you don’t have a willing friend, you might also consider hiring a commercial fish sitter, like those that look after aquariums in public spaces like offices and hospitals, to keep an eye on your fish.
2. Fish feeder that operates automatically:
An automatic feeder is your best bet if you can’t find someone to feed your betta. Your programming instructs you to periodically attach food-dispensing gadgets to your tank so that your betta can eat. Many of these feeders are available in stores or online, and depending on your demands, each one has a different design. These feeders range in price from roughly $20 to more, depending on how reliable they are (we suggest a selection below). To establish the feeding frequency, simply place the food in a tiny container and rotate it. Before you leave, make sure the automatic feeder works with your tank setup, regardless of the kind you choose to buy. Examine its performance two or three days prior to having to leave your betta alone in order to identify any potential problems.
3. Separate Feeder:
A block feeder is the final alternative we’ll suggest if none of the aforementioned work for you. A big block of food that you add to your tank before leaving for a long is called a block feeder. As these blocks decompose in the tank, food for your betta fish will progressively be released. Because it takes time for the food to be released from the block in bite-sized pieces, your fish won't be able to eat more than they require. However, there are a few documented problems with feeder blocks. Among them is the fact that it gives you no control over how much food your fish consumes. It's risky to overfeed fish since some will eat for as long as they see food.
How to Fill Your Tank Before a Journey?
You can lessen the negative impacts of leaving your betta fish and tank alone for an extended amount of time if you plan well in advance of your trip. You must maintain your betta fish’s stress levels low and develop their ability to fast for three to four days in order to keep your tank in perfect condition before you leave. If you want to neglect your tank for ten to fourteen days, you can use these procedures to avoid ill health and diseases brought on by stress. If you follow the the instructions below, there’s a strong chance you’ll return to a healthy betta fish and tank.
Maintain Ideal Conditions:
Your betta’s health will be maintained while you are unable to provide care for it by making sure the water and tank conditions are good. If you don’t take care of your tank, it will get worse and eventually become unhealthy for your betta. These are safety measures that you can take both the day before and the day of travel.
Seven Days Prior to Departure:
- Examine and clean your filtration system’s media.
- Remove any leftover food and dirt from the gravel by cleaning it.
- Make sure the pH of the water is between 6.8 and 7.5 by using aquarium test kits.
- Â If you have any aquatic plants, trim them and get rid of any dead stuff.
On the day of departure, make sure the tank’s temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Perform a larger-than-usual water change. Perform an 80% change on tanks that hold three gallons or less, and a 50% change on bigger tanks. Examine the health of your betta fish. Before you leave the house, feed your betta fish. Don’t give them a larger portion than you would usually give.
CONCLUSION:
Yes, if the circumstances in the tank are right and the fish are healthy, they should be able to go five days without eating. Betta fish typically come to the surface of the water to breathe and like feeding at the surface. They will approach the tank more regularly and occasionally attempt to leap out if the water quality in the tank decreases while you are away. The best approach to keep your bettas safe and stop them from jumping out of the tank is to keep the lid on. If you are covering your tank with a lid, you should not fill it all the way to the top so that there will be room for air as they rise.
