Betta stealing food from cories?

M

moboe

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Feb 17, 2004
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I have a betta and 2 panda cories in a 6g Eclipse. Water is good, and they all get along well.

The betta has started noticing when the cories are munching on their sinking wafers, and comes over, scares them away, and takes the wafer away with him, either eating it in bits or swallowing it hole. This is after he has already been given his 3 Hikari Gold pellets minutes before.

I'm worried about the betta overeating, and the cories not getting enough! I put another wafer in for the cories, and tried to keep the betta distracted, but he soon figured out what I was doing, and took off for the cories.

Any tips on how to ensure the cories get enough food would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Margaret
 
Bettas can be little pests :D

I have a male betta in an 8g with four panda cories. He taunts them and pesters them while they are eating but they never let themselves be scared off by him. Of course each betta is a little different.

I wouldn't worry too much about the cories starving. they will scour the bottom for drops and they'll find plenty. One thing you could try would be to feed the cories after lights out. They're a bit more nocturnal than the betta so they should have more of a shot to eat.

Tom
 
Thanks for the help, Tom. I'll try feeding the cories after the lights go out. Glad to know they should still get their fill, despite the betta's wacky behavior! He's a little trickster!

Thanks again.

Margaret
 
Feeding the cories at night is a great suggestion. They search the bottom with their barbels, and can find food by "smell" and touch, whereas the betta would mostly find food by sight.

That being said, though, it's almost impossible to starve a fish. You're probably worrying about nothing, the betta most likely won't eat so much that NONE of the food reaches the cories.

Good luck to you.
 
My little piggy betta Alexander does the same thing. He just wants to know what Cory and Cody got that he didn't get. Once he sees it's the same wafer they get every single day, he swims away. :rolleyes:

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As said before, the betta is messy and there will be plenty of scraps. Maybe get some plants for the tank for the cories to hide in and try to drop the wafer underneath a leaf, out of Mr. Betta's view. This may help as well.

Good luck! :)
 
Thanks OJ, Peter99 and Jenny for your suggestions. I really appreciate the reassurance that the cories likely aren't starving!

Last night I dropped the wafer in the tank after all the lights in the room were off...I can only hope that the cories got some. Red, our betta, didn't notice immediately, as he usually does, at least.

BTW, Jenny, this betta is our Red who suffered from Fin Rot last month, and thanks to your great advice, seems to be thriving now! After finishing his medicinal treatment in his 1g hospital tank, and waiting for the water in the 6g to cycle, I returned him to the 6g, and he seems very happy! Both his dorsal fin and tail fin are growing back. The tail fin has a long way to go, as he lost the entire thing. But, about 3-4mm have grown back, and most importantly, he seems very happy, and clearly, ornery! Thanks so much for your find advice and support. We, Red included, really appreciate it!

Margaret
 
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