Is Bette with tank mates over eating?

[KittenFishMom]

I have a male betta with 2 endler, 3 corys and a flag fish and a bunch of snails.

I only give the betta 2 or max 3 betta beads a day. I am trying to also feed the other fish, but I think the betta is getting more of that food than he should. I sprinkle in a tiny bit of Xtreme flakes and Xtreme Nano pellets. Today I put half an algae pellet where the corys feed, and soon the betta eating a good bit of it.

The betta is much rounder than when I bought him. He is always on the go. I often see him hunting around the stones over the pebbles and gravel where the scuds like to hide. I have seen him squeeze himself flat on his side to get under a rock and flush out a scud.  When I put a betta mirror in the tank, he gets very excited and display, flares his gills, does a sort of shimmy swim and "drops a load" or 2 so I know he is not constipated. I take the mirror out if he starts slamming it, so it never stays in the full 5 minutes.

I want all the fish in the tank to get a varied balance diet. What is a good approach to feeding this crew? 

[Native Keeper]

well first, Endlers and Cories should be in groups of 6-8, but second, healthy bettas tend to be a bit round. Ther's really no way to limit their eating, so the only way to make sure they're getting plenty of food is to just separate them into different tanks.

 

Tho this is from my experience, not actual proven fact.

[KittenFishMom]

@HydraSlayerI made the mistake of going to a bad pet shop to get the first batch of fish. I told them I wanted several corys and they insisted it was best to start with only one. I was new and thought they know more about they variety. They only had 3 endlers, I said I thought I should get 6 or more and they said they only ever get 5 at a time and 3 would be fine. I went back to get more after they said their shipment would be in. They had no endler and only 2 of the variety of cory I had. I had bought guppies as well, and all 5 died.

I am not going back to that store again.

Do you think I should take the betta out just for feedings? I wanted it in a 10 gallon community tank. with endlers and corys

 

[KittenFishMom]

@HydraSlayer I would like to set up a 10 gallon tank with Corys and  blue neon tetras How many of each do you think would work well in 10 gallons?

[PineSong]

On 1/1/2022 at 5:09 PM, KittenFishMom said:

 

Do you think I should take the betta out just for feedings? I wanted it in a 10 gallon community tank. with endlers and corys

 

I think it would be stressful for the betta to be taken in and out of the tank. Is your concern that he is eating too much, or that the other fish are not getting enough?

I think a lot of the concern about overfeeding bettas comes from situations where they are being kept in vases and cups--not getting any exercise and stewing in their own waste. Swimming around in a 10g, he will probably get enough exercise to keep his digestion running smoothly.

If the issue is that he's eating too much of the food and the others are not getting enough, maybe put food in two spots on opposite ends of the tank. He can't be in two places at one time and that will give the others time to eat.

[StockEwe49]

Mine likes to hog the food I think it just happens, if you are concerned over the other fish not eating you can try to spread out the food.

[KittenFishMom]

All the fish seem to be eating enough and looking good and being very active.

The betta is swimming all over the tank all the time. He is checking on every change I make. He frequently checks on his betta log, and looks at the snails on his hammock. He is hunting scuds. He was smaller than all the other bettas in the store, new and old. He may just be growing now. There is some algae in the tank, and the scuds and seaweed. I remember how the endlers seemed to go from thin and streamlined to full bellied overnight, they were eating so much of the naturally occurring stuff. The betta might be doing the same now that he feels so much better.

I didn't know much about bettas when I bought him. but he looked so sad. I thought he might not make it more than a day or 2, but I wanted him to be more comfortable than laying on the bottom of that cup for what time he had left.  It isn't smart to buy that saddest looking fish, but for $4.99, I could not leave him there to suffer. I didn't think he would live long, so I didn't think it mattered that I wasn't up on bettas. Well, he showed me.  He is showing that fish in the mirror too. I only put it in when I can watch him closely, and then I take it out if he hits the mirror or starts looking like he might.  It really gets his heart going. He keeps going up to the surface for air while he is strutting his stuff. He is so small, and yet so full of himself.

It is reassuring to know that as long as he is very active and I am not feeding him too much, I don't need to worry if his belly is rather rounded.  I read about all these things that can go wrong with bettas, but he seems to have everything going right for now. Since he no long looks like he is planning to die, I should probably name him.  He has crown fins, red pectoral fins, the rest are a light blue, and his body is a dark blue. 

[Native Keeper]

I personally would get a 20 gallon for cories and neons. and in that, prolly around 7 corys and anround 7 neons should do great in that.

Btw, dw, we all make mistakes in this hobby. So don't sweat about the whole listening to the pet store deal.

[KittenFishMom]

@HydraSlayerI have been thinking about getting a 20 long or maybe a 30. We had planned on no tanks inside this winter, then got the 55 for the native fish, then brought in the 10 gallon for the scuds, then the tote for the QT now I am planning on planting a 10 gallon from the garage. but maybe I should wait and see if we get a bigger thank first. 

Thanks for your help and input.

[Native Keeper]

Yeah, I'd say tackle one tank at a time. Makes it WAY less stressful when you're just setting up one tank rather than 4.