piggy betta

[dougfish]

Hi, I've got my betta with 2 cory cats, and they get along really well. The problem is, the betta steals the cories' food. I've tried feeding the betta (Doug) first, and dropping in the food for the cories while Doug is eating, but then he'll troll along the bottom and steal the other pellets. This is making him become quite fat, because he is eating much more than he is supposed to. Is there anything else I can do to get him to stop?
Thanks,
Jill

 

[gammerus]

Try spreading the food out. Feed him on the right side of the tank and put their food in the middle, left, and right side of the tank.


also what kind of food are they getting? mine allways got algae disks ans tubifex cubes, both are too large for a betta to steal

 

[Timesdragonfly]

GrI'm swims down to the bottom and eats off the alege waffers... they made him sick even though they are too big for him to swallow whole

 

[Phloxface]

Be careful. Phlox used to constantly steal the snail's algae wafers and because of that he was overfed and became constipated. Once they become constipated it will keep happening even with pea treats. Phlox died last Sunday because it. For this reason I would rather not ever keep my Bettas with other fish. It is simply too hard to control their greedy appetites. Overfeeding would have to be one of the top killers of Bettas.

 

[dougfish]

thanks so much for the input. the cories eat shrimp pellets, which are MUCH too big for Doug to eat, but he will grab the whole thing and swim around with it. maybe he wouldn't be as interested in algae wafers? I'll check out what my other cory food options might be at the store. Doug makes me soooo mad because what he is doing is bad for him! He drives me crazy....

 

[dougfish]

I also read that turning the lights out when I feed the cories might keep the betta from finding the food...does this sound reasonable or would Doug still find the food based on smell (or however that works underwater)?

 

[chickadee]

My little Nate is afraid of the Cories because they are bigger than he is so he does not eat their food or even go near it.  The Loaches are so fast that he cannot get near their food as they beat him to it.  In fact they have stolen his bloodworms if I do not watch closely.  My other fish do not bother the Otos food as the Otos only get fed after lights out and the bettas are fed right before then and are not interested in chasing food in the dark.  The cories will eat after lights out too, but I have never had to worry because of the little guy being absolutely sure he wants nothing to do with them.

This is one reason why I do always see that the betta is the last one in the tank.  They do behave better and the other fish have a chance to establish their territories.  Bettas behave better when they feel they are entering someone else's home.  You can try to remove the betta for a few days to a quarantine tank and rearrange everything in the current tank so that perhaps he has been moved to a new home when he goes back.

Doug is just being a betta and he is doing it so well LOL!  He is a naughty little boy and boy don't we all know the feeling!  They can be maddening but are they not just the cutest things!!

Rose

 

[0morrokh]

Well, Dorado is very well mannered and never touches any of the catfishes' food. (But then, that tank is a soup of algae and microorgansims and little critters --not quite attractive but lost of live food for Dorado, which I'm sure tastes better than pellets...).
Anyway, a word of warning. I have found that once a fish develops a taste for cory food, there is no stopping them. I had that problem with Guppies and Platys I previously had with Otos...I had to separate them eventually because the livebearers were nearly killing themselves overeating, while the poor Otos went hungry. So...moral of the story is, to be safe you may want to separate the fish. I don't know how big the tank is, but if it's big enough you could buy a tank divider to separate Doug and the Cories.

 

[dougfish]

I will definitely keep an eye on them...I bought a different type of cory food today, more vegetable-based than the one i'm currently using. maybe switching the food will make a difference. And I did try feeding the cories with the lights completely out, and doug seemed to be oblivious that they were eating...hopefully the combination of the two will help.
thanks for all the advice!
jill