API Betta Flakes 10gm

• Whole menhaden fish meal is the first ingredient – the protein leads with fish rather than grain, which is not true of every betta food, including API's own pellet.
• 35% minimum crude protein – bettas are carnivores and insectivores, so protein is the figure that matters most on the panel.
• Spirulina sits fifth on the deck – a natural pigment source, ahead of most of the vitamin and mineral additions.
• Flake format – breaks into pieces small enough for a betta's small, upturned mouth.
• 10 g pack – a betta eats a few flakes twice a day, so a small pack is used up rather than left to age.
• The full label is reproduced below – including the preservative system, so you can judge it yourself rather than take our word for it.

Transcribed verbatim from the API Betta Flakes pack label, checked 7 August 2026. API does not publish this declaration on its own website, so it is taken from two independent reproductions of the label, one Australian and one American, which agree word for word. Capitalisation is the label's.

Whole Menhaden Fish Meal, Wheat Starch, Condensed Fish Protein Digest, Wheat Flour, Spirulina, Pea Protein, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dehydrated Seaweed Meal (Laminariaceae, Fucaceae), Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Fish Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Monosodium Phosphate, Lecithin, Cane Molasses, L-Lysine, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Dl-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Garlic Powder, Bha/Citric Acid/Propyl Gallate (As Preservatives), L-Threonine, Inositol, Alpha-Tocopherol Acetate, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Riboflavin, Iron Sulphate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Sulphate, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

On the preservatives: BHA is declared, alongside citric acid and propyl gallate. Ethoxyquin, BHT and artificial colours do not appear anywhere in the declaration, but API makes no explicit free-from claim for them, so we do not make one either. If you avoid BHA in fish food, this is not the food for you.

API publishes no ash or phosphorus figure for this product, so none is shown.

Feed twice a day, giving only the amount of flakes your betta will eat within three minutes. API's own product page renders this window as "3 to 4 minutes" in one place and "three minutes" in another; three is the safer number to work to.

Crush or pinch the flakes small before they go in. Bettas have a small mouth and will often mouth and spit a whole flake, which then sinks and fouls.

Net out anything uneaten after the feed. A betta bowl has little water volume to absorb decaying food, and uneaten flake is the most common cause of an ammonia spike in one.

These are not one recipe in two shapes. The decks share a preservative system, fish oil, pea protein, brewers dried yeast, cane molasses and garlic powder, and diverge almost everywhere else.

If your betta refuses one format, the other is worth trying on its merits rather than as the same food in a different shape. See the API Betta Pellets 22 g for the squid and shrimp meal version.

Suitable for:

• Betta splendens in bowls, nano tanks and planted aquariums
• Keepers who want the ingredient deck published rather than "printed on pack"
• Anyone whose betta has stopped taking pellets

Not suitable for:

• Marine or brackish aquariums
• Bottom feeders and large-mouthed fish, which need a sinking food of a different particle size
• Keepers avoiding BHA, which is declared in this formulation
• Use as a sole diet without variety. API makes no complete-diet claim we can verify for this product

• API Betta Water Conditioner 50 mL – makes the tap water safe before the fish or the food goes anywhere near it.
• API Betta Pellets 22 g – the squid and shrimp meal recipe, to alternate with this one.
• API Freshwater Master Multi Test Kit 5 in 1 – overfeeding shows up as ammonia long before it shows up in the fish.
• API Aquarium Salt – the freshwater tonic salt many betta keepers use at water changes.
• API Stress Coat – for the larger volumes a 50 mL betta conditioner will not stretch to.

This is a consumable food, so no manufacturer warranty period applies. That does not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law: if the product is faulty, unsafe or not as described, you are entitled to a remedy.

Ships as standard freight. Store the pack sealed, cool and dry, and out of direct sun.

What is the first ingredient in API Betta Flakes?

Whole menhaden fish meal. The declaration then runs wheat starch, condensed fish protein digest, wheat flour and spirulina. This matters because API's betta pellet opens with whole wheat instead, so the flake is the more fish-led of the two recipes.

How much protein is in API Betta Flakes?

The guaranteed analysis is 35.0% crude protein minimum, 5.0% crude fat minimum, 4.0% crude fibre maximum and 7.0% moisture maximum. API does not publish ash or phosphorus figures for this product.

Does API Betta Flakes contain BHA or ethoxyquin?

BHA is declared, in a preservative system of BHA, citric acid and propyl gallate, and the fish oil is separately preserved with mixed tocopherols. Ethoxyquin, BHT and artificial colours do not appear in the declaration, though API publishes no explicit free-from statement about them.

How often should I feed a betta this flake?

Twice a day, giving only what the fish eats within three minutes, and netting out anything left. In a small bowl, uneaten flake is the single most common cause of an ammonia spike.

Is this the same food as API Betta Pellets?

No. The two are separate formulations. The flake leads on whole menhaden fish meal and includes spirulina and condensed fish protein digest; the pellet leads on whole wheat and includes squid meal, shrimp meal and banana flour. They share only a handful of ingredients and the same preservative system.

Where is API Betta Flakes made?

API publishes no country-of-manufacture statement for this product, and we could not source one, so we do not state one. API's parent, Mars Fishcare North America, is based in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, but a corporate address is not an origin declaration.