Betta fish eating corydora's food

[swivvr]

Every time I try to feed my corys, my betta always comes down just to get their food. No matter what I do he always finds their food and eats it. I am worried he will be sick from eating too much and my corys not getting enough food.

Edited January 7, 2021 by swivvr

[FrozenFins]

Try feeding them at night, corydoras are noctouranl and the betta should be sleeping. You can also try to feed the corycats the same time your feeding your betta. So drop your betta food in and then your corycats food

[swivvr]

I tried feeding them at night and when I checked on them 10 minutes later, my betta (Oscar) was there eating their food. If I try feeding them at the same time, Oscar will finish his food and then search for their food at the bottom and eventually take it.

[Schwack]

The betta in my community tank did this for a while. My corys are slow eaters, and super shy, so even if I fed them across the tank the betta would wander over once he finished his food and scare them off. I've had the best luck following @James Black's advice and feeding my corys and plecos in the evening, once the lights have been off for a bit. Nobody seems to bother their food once the house is dark.

Maybe try breaking up the wafers and dropping them around the tank? That would at least give the corys a chance to get some that the betta hasn't gotten to yet.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Schwack

[swivvr]

Alright! Maybe I fed them when my betta was still awake. I always see my betta with the corys, and it's like he uses them to find any food.

[CorydorasEthan]

I have a similar situation in my 29 gallon tank, where my pearl gourami follows my cories to the food, and bites and chases them away from their sinking foods so that he can eat their food. I found that feeding the cories before the lights come on in the morning and after the lights go off in the night helps, as the gourami can't find his way in the dark, while the cories can. Here's another possible solution. If there is plant cover or something like that in your tank, try dropping the cory food behind these. This way, the cories can get under these plants to the food, but the betta can't swim down onto them.

Hope this helps.