How to Feed Carnivorous Plants with Fish Food
If you grow your carnivorous plants indoors, they will need to be fed to sustain healthy, rapid growth. Betta fish food pellets are a high protein, micronutrient fortified food that is great for carnivorous plants. Use this for Venus flytraps (Dionaea), sundews (Drosera), dewy pines (Drosophyllum), and more.
Mix a small amount of fish food powder (around 0.5-1g) with water.
Use pipette to feed plants, taking care to use the right density of food for different species.
For small sundews, apply the dry powder directly to the dewy leaves to avoid overfeeding.
General Info:
The slurry is great for larger plants, but I now apply the dry fish food powder directly to the dew of smaller sundews. I believe this helps prevent overfeeding.
Only feed leaves that have been fully developed for at least a few days. Flytraps should be fully open a few days, and sundews should be dewy.
Feed around 25% of leaves every 2-4 weeks. I like to feed the older leaves so the newer leaves stay fresh and beautiful.
Overfeeding can cause leaf burn, but the plant will be fine and should still absorb the nutrients.
It’s best to use distilled or reverse osmosis water because tap water contains salts and disinfectants that can eventually harm your carnivorous plants.
How much to use?
Using a fish food slurry requires some precision to apply the right amount of food per leaf. Start with these amounts to minimize the risk of leaf burn.
Venus Flytraps: Use thick lumps of wet powder that won’t drip out.
Sundews: Use light to medium density. This should be a cloudy (not chunky) suspension. For small sundews, I apply the powder directly to the dewy leaves which should cause the tentacles to bring the food into the center for digestion.
Dewy Pine (Drosophyllum): Use medium density. These can handle thicker food.
Notes:
I have been experimenting with applying the dry fish food powder directly to sundew leaves with good results. For larger plants, it can be quite tedious so a slurry is more efficient. But for smaller plants, use a slightly moist toothpick (or anything) to apply the dry powder to the dew.