Betta eating cory food?

This has been a problem for a while but I decided to ask for advice here. My betta won’t stop eating my cory catfishs food. He eats their algae wafers, shrimp pellets, and general bottom feeder tablets. I have tried feeding them while he’s eating (he abandons his food for theirs), feeding them after he’s eaten (again, eats their food), feeding them at night (he wakes up and goes to eat their food), and one time I even took him out of the tank while they ate and then he ate the leftovers when I put him back in. I know that the cories are getting enough food, since I have started putting in an extra pellet in and he takes that and swims away into the corner. I feed my cories Aqueon Shrimp Pellets, Aqueon All Bottom Feeder Omnivore Tablets, and Tetra PlecoWafers Algae Wafers. I feed my betta Northfin Betta Pellets (and sometimes Tetra Freeze-Dried Bloodworms). I feed him like 4-5 pellets (since they are really tiny) once a day. There’s no way he is still hungry, is there? I’m becoming increasingly worried about him overeating or being unhealthy. I know that the cories are fine, eating the right amount of food, but what about my betta? Is he overeating? Will he get sick from the cory food? Do I need to stop this? How do I stop this?

 

Hi BFO,
A common problem not just with betta but many other species
I feed the corydoras after the lights are out. While they will eat algae wafers like most fish it’s not really the right food. The corydoras are micro predators that eat meat. They shuffle around looking for worms , fish eggs and small creatures in leaf litter in the wild. A high protein pellet would be better when next you buy food ..

edit.
a betta is a meat eater also .In theory they eat the same kind of food.
Do try and not let the betta eat to much.

Continued, the betta is tiny? Then he is still growing? Feeding more is ok but don’t over do it.

How big is a pellet anyway ?

 

Continued, the betta is tiny? Then he is still growing? Feeding more is ok but don’t over do it.

How big is a pellet anyway ?

I only feed the cories a algae wafer once a week, i know theyre carnivores but I have little to no algae in my tank and i have heard it is part of a balanced diet. Also no, my betta is not tiny. He is fully grown. And which pellets do you mean? The cories or the bettas? And i have tried feeding them after the lights are out, the betta feels the water moving or something I guess and wakes up and swims over to eat it. I started feeding him less pellets because he is eating cory food

 

You wrote you feed 4- 5 pellets .( since they are really tiny ) .
Sorry I misread read that as if he is really tiny.

If that’s a betta pellet it may only be 1.5 mm / 1/16 inch. That’s not much per day? I recall feed our betta 6 -7 no worries. Now I grind all pellets in a pepper grinder so really have no idea on the numbers.

I would skip the algae wafers all together.
But as you say it’s only once a week.

 

You wrote you feed 4- 5 pellets .( since they are really tiny ) .
Sorry I misread read that as if he is really tiny.

If that’s a betta pellet it may only be 1.5 mm / 1/16 inch. That’s not much per day? I recall feed our betta 6 -7 no worries. Now I grind all pellets in a pepper grinder so really have no idea on the numbers.

I would skip the algae wafers all together.
But as you say it’s only once a week.

Oh ok, its fine I probably should have been clearer. Really? You can feed them that much? I always thought that more than 5 would overfeed them. I guess i will start feeding him more like 7 pellets and see if he still eats the cory food. Im sure he will still try, but honestly I’m out of ideas. I guess its like junk food to him, if i ate breakfast then was full but someone offered me ice cream I would take it. I dont know what to do, i guess ill just let him since theres nothing else i can do

 

This has been a problem for a while but I decided to ask for advice here. My betta won’t stop eating my cory catfishs food. He eats their algae wafers, shrimp pellets, and general bottom feeder tablets. I have tried feeding them while he’s eating (he abandons his food for theirs), feeding them after he’s eaten (again, eats their food), feeding them at night (he wakes up and goes to eat their food), and one time I even took him out of the tank while they ate and then he ate the leftovers when I put him back in. I know that the cories are getting enough food, since I have started putting in an extra pellet in and he takes that and swims away into the corner. I feed my cories Aqueon Shrimp Pellets, Aqueon All Bottom Feeder Omnivore Tablets, and Tetra PlecoWafers Algae Wafers. I feed my betta Northfin Betta Pellets (and sometimes Tetra Freeze-Dried Bloodworms). I feed him like 4-5 pellets (since they are really tiny) once a day. There’s no way he is still hungry, is there? I’m becoming increasingly worried about him overeating or being unhealthy. I know that the cories are fine, eating the right amount of food, but what about my betta? Is he overeating? Will he get sick from the cory food? Do I need to stop this? How do I stop this?

My Betta shared a tank with one miniature Cory. He did the same thing. He would eat the sinking shrimp pellets (for bottom feeders). As with your experience, no distractions effected my Betta. He would follow the Cory around, knowing the cat would find the shrimp pellets, and then hog it all. I believe the Cory stressed out, and eventually died. After that, my Betta never touched a shrimp pellet again. Weired?

 

My Betta shared a tank with one miniature Cory. He did the same thing. He would eat the sinking shrimp pellets (for bottom feeders). As with your experience, no distractions effected my Betta. He would follow the Cory around, knowing the cat would find the shrimp pellets, and then hog it all. I believe the Cory stressed out, and eventually died. After that, my Betta never touched a shrimp pellet again. Weired?

That is weird that your betta never touched it again. Why was your cory alone? They should be kept in groups of 4+. My betta doesn’t follow the cories around, he just grabs a pellet when he sees it and goes and hides in the corner like a 16 year old wanna be goth that thinks he is an edgy vampire but actually is just annoying and cringy.

 

You may want to crush the corys food instead of feeding it whole. The corys will find the tiny pieces. By crushing their food your Betta won't be able to steal and gobble up all of their food and you won't have to over feed trying to make sure they get enough

 

That is weird that your betta never touched it again. Why was your cory alone? They should be kept in groups of 4+. My betta doesn’t follow the cories around, he just grabs a pellet when he sees it and goes and hides in the corner like a 16 year old wanna be goth that thinks he is an edgy vampire but actually is just annoying and cringy.

Well,ObsessEd, chalk my Cory situation up to ‘lessons learned.’ I had Cories before, but, I only learned about their schooling behavior, after this. Living a solitary life may be preferred for a Betta, but not so good for a Cory. I simply wanted a fish to keep Perry company. Personal preference, and tank size.

I like the “attitude” of your Betta.

 

Well,ObsessEd, chalk my Cory situation up to ‘lessons learned.’ I had Cories before, but, I only learned about their schooling behavior, after this. Living a solitary life may be preferred for a Betta, but not so good for a Cory. I simply wanted a fish to keep Perry company. Personal preference, and tank size.

I like the “attitude” of your Betta.

Okay, I understand. I just wanted to make sure that you know now I wasn’t trying to be accusatory or mean. and yes he has an attitude. Whether its good or bad is debatable

You may want to crush the corys food instead of feeding it whole. The corys will find the tiny pieces. By crushing their food your Betta won't be able to steal and gobble up all of their food and you won't have to over feed trying to make sure they get enough

That is a good idea. Im just concerned that the food would break down into smaller pieces when I put it into the tank and cloud the water, or that my betta would still find some pieces (he thinks hes a catfish- he schools with them and digs through the substrate). But I definitely will try that, thanks for the idea!!!!

 

Okay, I understand. I just wanted to make sure that you know now and yes he has an attitude. Whether its good or bad is debatable

That is why we are obsessed with our Bettas. It will be sad when mine expires. He is on his last fine. Age probably.

 

That is why we are obsessed with our Bettas. It will be sad when mine expires. He is on his last fine. Age probably.

Aw, i hope yours doesn’t die soon!

 

Aw, i hope yours doesn’t die soon!

Thank you. Your kindness is appreciated.

 

That is a good idea. Im just concerned that the food would break down into smaller pieces when I put it into the tank and cloud the water, or that my betta would still find some pieces (he thinks hes a catfish- he schools with them and digs through the substrate). But I definitely will try that, thanks for the idea!!!!

It really shouldn't cloud the water if it doesn't do so when being fed whole. At least if he has to hunt for the tiny pieces he may not eat as much as he does when he gets a whole piece. Corys have tiny mouths so breaking the food into tiny pieces works well for them. They are also grazers so having bunches of tiny pieces instead of just a few large pieces will allow them to do what they are good at and that is finding tidbits of food.

 

It really shouldn't cloud the water if it doesn't do so when being fed whole. At least if he has to hunt for the tiny pieces he may not eat as much as he does when he gets a whole piece. Corys have tiny mouths so breaking the food into tiny pieces works well for them. They are also grazers so having bunches of tiny pieces instead of just a few large pieces will allow them to do what they are good at and that is finding tidbits of food.

Okay, I will definitely do this to solve the problem! Thank you very much!

Thank you. Your kindness is appreciated.

 

Okay, I will definitely do this to solve the problem! Thank you very much!

You are so very welcome. Please let us know if it helps.

 

You are so very welcome. Please let us know if it helps.

it worked! It was hard to cut up the pellets but my betta only chased after them as the went down and then swam away! He didn’t eat any of it. Also my cories ate everything for once! I will definitely keep doing this, it’s a little extra work but worth it

 

He couldn't find it without the cory ....

My Betta shared a tank with one miniature Cory. He did the same thing. He would eat the sinking shrimp pellets (for bottom feeders). As with your experience, no distractions effected my Betta. He would follow the Cory around, knowing the cat would find the shrimp pellets, and then hog it all. I believe the Cory stressed out, and eventually died. After that, my Betta never touched a shrimp pellet again. Weired?

 

I don't know if it would work with a betta, but I created a "fence" across one corner of my 65 by planting bacopa and rotala very close together. I drop the wafers down in that corner for the corys, and the angelfish and rainbows can't get to it.