Bettas feeding frequency

Feeding frequency has been discussed numerous times in forums. We have been experimenting with a number of feeding rituals, ranging from regular 3x feedings per day to 2x feedings per week. So, what's the conclusion?

With regular frequent feedings, provided each feeding is completely making them full tummy, you would expect that you're doing much more regular water changes. This is unavoidable as they produce faster waste. However, it does seem that the fry grow faster too, before the growth stabilizes at around 3 to 4 months old, and then it goes steadily growing at a slower pace. Frequent feedings extremely required for younger fry, they need all the food to grow. The problem with young fry, such as those 1 month old, is in knowing when they are hungry. Lateness in feeding them will resulted on some fry to stunt and non-active. Feeding them too much will make them lazy, triggering BSD and other sorts of health issues.

Prolonged frequent feeding to older bettas will result on cutting their life expectancy. This is interesting, as it seems, the faster the cells grow, obviously the faster they will die too. In some instances, their life expectancy will only be up to 1 year, with an average of 8 months. Most die due to stomach-related diseases or internal parasites (note, more food, more gunk, more chance of infections).

Infrequent feeding, when applied to older fish such as those older than 3 months, seemed to be doing just fine. Bettas live double to tripple of their frequent feeding counterparts. In some instances, some bettas live over 2.5 years and yet having the youth body of 8 months old! Body growth slows down considerably, they will keep searching for foods and yet you must have a strong heart not to feed them! You will, however, get much greater death rate as you need to know when your bettas really hungry and need the feeding, otherwise they will just starve.

In one of the experiments, feeding them with a slice of bread (e.g. vegetarian) infrequently while cutting off all meat foods seemed to get them through. But this is not recommended. Although bettas are omnivore, they need their meat! This feeding regime has average survival rate of 50% to the age of 1.5 year. Wonder if anyone ever analyzed whether this type of feeding is no difference from feeding bettas with pellets? Sure, pellets have all the "vitamins" added to it, but at the end of the day it doesn't come from meat product, isn't it?

Our practice these days is to feed younger fry of less than 3 months old 3x and anything larger will get their feeding irregularly. They are only fed meat either in the form of live food or frozen. Sometimes they get 1x per day, sometimes 2x per day, sometimes 1x per 2 or 3 days. Irrespective of the feeding regime, they need regular exercises, so keep that in mind. You may "visit" your bettas, and they're looking forward to see you feeding them, but instead you may only uncard them so they can flare :)