Zoo Med Betta Micro Floating Pellets Carded 4.3gm

• 40% minimum crude protein – a real daily diet figure, and the number to compare against anything else on the shelf. Fish meal, squid meal, krill meal and shrimp meal are all in the declaration.
• Floats and stays floating – a betta feeds at the surface. Anything it does not take stays visible and reachable rather than disappearing into the gravel.
• Micro pellet size – a betta's mouth is small, and standard tropical pellets are frequently too large for one to swallow comfortably.
• Colour actives named, not hinted at – astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, the same carotenoids used across the aquaculture industry, plus beta carotene and dehydrated beets.
• Feeding wand included with this size – Zoo Med includes it with BP-1 only. Hold pellets between the prongs, put the wand in the water, and the fish learns to take food from you.
• No ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT – none appears in Zoo Med's declaration. The preservatives named are mixed tocopherols, citric acid, propionic acid and rosemary extract.

Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Squid Meal, Soybean Meal, Krill Meal, Fish Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Shrimp Meal, Dehydrated Beets, Lecithin, Garlic Powder, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganese Sulphate, Zinc Sulphate, Ferrous Sulphate, Copper Sulphate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodate, Astaxanthin, Canthaxanthin, Propionic Acid (preservative), Rosemary Extract.

Preservatives and colours

The preservatives named are mixed tocopherols and citric acid on the fish oil, propionic acid, and rosemary extract. No ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT appears in Zoo Med's declaration for this product.

No artificial colours are named. The colour-related entries are astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and dehydrated beets – carotenoid pigments rather than dyes.

What the colour actives actually do

Astaxanthin and canthaxanthin are carotenoids that fish deposit in their skin. They deepen and hold the red and orange pigment a fish already carries.

They will not give a betta a colour it is not genetically capable of. A blue betta fed a carotenoid diet stays blue. Expect a richer, better-held version of the fish you have, over weeks rather than days.

Allergen and source notes

Derived from the declared ingredient list, this food contains fish, crustacean (krill and shrimp), mollusc (squid), soy and wheat. Worth knowing if anyone handling the food has a shellfish allergy.

Zoo Med does not publish a country of manufacture for this item, so we have not stated one.

Component names are reproduced as Zoo Med declares them, including the American spelling of fibre. Zoo Med declares no calcium figure for this food, so no calcium to phosphorus ratio can be given.

Zoo Med's instruction is to feed daily, offering as much as the fish will eat within five minutes, and to remove uneaten pellets.

Treat five minutes as a ceiling rather than a target. Bettas will keep taking food well past the point of needing it, and in a few litres of water the consequence of overfeeding arrives quickly.

Start with a small number of pellets and watch. It is easier to add two more than to siphon a fouled bowl.

Lift out anything still floating after the five minutes. Uneaten pellets are the single biggest driver of poor water quality in a small betta tank.

Using the feeding wand

Zoo Med includes the wand with the BP-1 size only. Place pellets between the prongs, then lower the wand into the water and hold it still.

Most bettas approach within a few sessions. It is genuine enrichment for a fish that lives alone, and it doubles as the easiest way to notice off days early – a betta that will not come to the wand today is telling you something.

Using it in an automatic feeder

These are the pellets the Zoo Med Bettamatic is designed to dispense, and a sample comes with that feeder. Load only fully dry pellets – damp food cakes and jams the mechanism silently.

Zoo Med publishes three sizes of this food, and they are the same formula.

Buy this one for the wand, and because 4.3 g of micro pellets is a sensible quantity for a single betta to get through while the food is still fresh. Fish food does not improve in the cupboard, and a large tub bought for one small fish is usually a slow waste.

Suitable for

• Adult bettas as a daily staple
• Keepers who want to hand-feed and tame their fish
• Owners of the Zoo Med Bettamatic automatic feeder
• Other small surface-feeding freshwater fish with mouths to match
• Anyone wanting the full declaration before they buy rather than after

Not suitable for

• Bottom feeders and catfish. These float, and a corydoras will never see them.
• Betta fry, which need far smaller and more frequent feeds
• Marine fish
• Feeding a whole community tank – 4.3 g is a single-betta quantity
• Anyone expecting a colour change in a fish that is not genetically red or orange

Keep the card sealed and dry. Moisture in a pellet food is the start of both caking and mould, and a Queensland summer kitchen is a hostile place for an opened fish food.

Do not store it on the tank lid. That is the warmest, most humid spot in the room and it is where most fish food quietly spoils.

Never tip the tank water back over the container, and never dip a wet wand into the card. Use a dry wand, or tip pellets into your hand first.

Zoo Med publishes no shelf life or after-opening period for this food, so we have not quoted one. Buy a size you will finish.

• Zoo Med Bettamatic Automatic Feeder – built specifically around these pellets, for a fixed twice-daily feed.
• Zoo Med Betta Banquet 7 Day Blocks – the holiday cover. Not a substitute for this food: the blocks declare 3.5% protein against 40% here.
• Zoo Med BettaTherm Betta Heater – a cold betta goes off its food. Temperature is the first thing to check when feeding stops.
• Zoo Med Betta Floating Lounge – surface furniture for a fish that lives at the surface, where it also eats.
• Browse the full Zoo Med range for the rest of the betta line.

Zoo Med publishes no warranty term for a consumable food and we will not invent one. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply in full and are not limited by anything on this page.

Shelf-stable dry food. No cold chain requirement, no dangerous goods restriction, ships as standard freight.

How much should I feed a betta?

Zoo Med's direction is to feed daily and offer as much as the fish will eat within five minutes, removing anything uneaten. In practice that is a small number of micro pellets. Bettas will keep eating past the point of needing to, so start conservatively and add rather than guess high – in a few litres of water, uneaten food becomes a water quality problem within a day.

Do Zoo Med Betta Pellets really improve colour?

They contain astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, carotenoid pigments that fish deposit in their skin and which deepen existing reds and oranges over a period of weeks. They cannot give a fish a colour it is not genetically capable of producing, so a blue betta will not turn red. What you should expect is a richer, better-held version of the fish you already have.

What is the protein content of Zoo Med Micro Floating Betta Pellets?

The guaranteed analysis declares a minimum of 40.0% crude protein and a minimum of 8.0% crude fat, with crude fibre at a maximum of 3.0%, moisture at a maximum of 10.0%, ash at a maximum of 12.0% and phosphorus at a minimum of 1.0%. Fish meal, squid meal, krill meal and shrimp meal are the first protein sources in the declaration.

Does this food contain ethoxyquin?

No ethoxyquin appears in Zoo Med's published ingredient declaration for this product, and neither does BHA or BHT. The preservatives named are mixed tocopherols and citric acid on the fish oil, propionic acid, and rosemary extract. The full declaration is reproduced on this page so you can check it yourself.

What is the feeding wand for?

The wand lets you hand-feed a betta. Pellets are held between its prongs and the wand is lowered into the water, and most bettas learn to come and take food from it within a few sessions. Zoo Med includes it with the 4.3 g BP-1 size only. Beyond being enjoyable, it is a useful health check – a fish that stops coming to the wand is often the first sign something is off.

Can I use these pellets in an automatic feeder?

Yes. Zoo Med designs the Bettamatic automatic feeder around these exact pellets and supplies a sample with it. The one rule is that the pellets must be completely dry when loaded, because damp food cakes inside any pellet feeder and stops it releasing without giving you any warning.