Reddit mentions of Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Baby Pellets -- 0.088 oz

Your betta is very sick. I know you don't want to fast him anymore, but if you aren't careful about feeding him he will most likely die. It's crueler to continue to feed him than it is to fast him. Cut his food back to a minimum if you have to. I would recommend ordering or going to your local pet store to get these pellets or something similar. Feed one in the morning and one at night until he looks better, then jump up to two in the morning or two at night. Your betta has a tummy that is roughly the size of his eyeball, so no matter what you're feeding him that's all he can eat without getting sick.

I'd also consider getting some epsom salt. You add one teaspoon to a gallon of water and dip him in it for about five minutes, then put him back in the normal tank. Make sure the salt bath has been treated with whatever water conditioner you use in his main tank and is close to the same temperature as his main tank.

Some people also like to feed their fish a boiled pea, with the skin taken off. They do this because it's fiber and it helps the poor fish digest everything. While you can do this, I would personally recommend going with daphnia because it's way more natural for them and will work with their system better.

Another thing you can do is boost his heater up to 80-84 degrees fahrenheit if possible.

One of the best betta foods on the market is Hikari Gold. These pellets are baby-sized too!

Fasting could provide extra incentive to eat the pellets. Lots of Betta owners fast their fish one day per week to prevent constipation so that is perfectly okay.

You could try Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Baby Pellets which are a smaller pellet. My betta really likes these.

In the end you may have to go with whatever your fish will eat. They can be very picky eaters.

Thank you. His water is normally around 80-81F.

Food is a little confusing. I used to feed him a regiment of pellets, daphnia, and mysis shrimp, but on Hikari's website, their daphnia and mysis shrimp are listed as "treat" while pellets are "daily diet". So I've switched to pellets daily: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025Z6JS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 with some blood shrimp as treats. Any suggestions one way or the other regarding this?

This has happened to me a couple of different times and I've resolved it a couple different ways:

1. If the fish's mouth is plenty big enough to fit the pellet, then fast him for 2 days and then try feeding him. This worked for me.
   
   
2. Use the cap to crush the pellet into a smaller size. You can even rub it against the grooves inside of the cap, to get it to a specific size.
   
   These are working for me right now, but I switched 100% to only these.
   
   Edit: if you feed an empty tank, you can start a nematode culture that these guys love to chase & eat. I have a tank full of nematodes that I'll drop fish into when they're not eating. One of my fish has realized and tries to swim into the transit jar as soon as I stick it in. Then he hides from the same jar when he's been in the tank. It's funny because the nematode tank is way smaller than his.