Possible Over-Feeding?

I haven't posted in a while but have been 'lurking' a lot!

My boy is absolutely thriving on the Hikari Gold - I've been giving him a total of six pellets a day plus a squashed pea once a week.

Attributing human emotion to a fish (!) I thought he might be getting bored on his own and got him some companions - six of the tiniest little corys I've every seen - they are barely half an inch long and although the first day they were curious about each other they appear to have settled well and indeed Thai does seem to be very perky and enjoying the company.

The problem arises with feeding because as soon as I put the mini granules in for the corys, he scoots down and starts tucking in! I tried feeding him with one hand whilst dropping the granules in with the other at the same time - no, he eats his own food then off to the bottom of the tank for seconds.

So - what do others do? I wondered about just feeding the granules to them all but I tried that yesterday and he was still looking for his own food. Also, is the composition of the granules suitable food for a Betta?

I'm beginning to wish I'd never gone down this road and left well alone!

Hiya

Whats the brand of fod you feed the cories?
I would also advixe that you split the bettas feeding timesd into twice a day. So you feed the cories in the morning (he can it it too, depending on the brand)

then feed the Hikari betta food PM, around 4 pellets.

Do you fast him at all?

Hi - I'm using TetraPrima Mini Granules for the corys, which I feed in the morning. This is the finest food I could find as the corys are miniscule.

I feed Thai twice a day - 3 pellets each time. Then I only feed him once with 2 pellets on a Sunday when he gets his 'greens'. I've not had a minutes concern with his health at all so far, so I'd be really upset if I cause him any harm now when all I tried to do was give him some company!

I feed the corys at night after the lights are out, theyll find the food and the bettas go to sleep.

I havent kept cories yet so forgive me if Im wrong but I have heard of some people feeding cories the same algae wafters that pleco's enjoy, these would be too big for your betta to fit in his mouth and they sink so he wont be picking at them at the water surface I wouldnt have thought he would get into too much trouble having a pick at the cory food as long as your giving him his pea!

Hi

I would suggest feeding your betta 3 or 4 pellets twice a day [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
If you have the bettas pellets in one hand and the mini granules for the cories in your other hand, you may be able to keep the bettas attention while you put the granules in [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Also, cories being a type of catfish means they are fairly active at night, so feeding after lights out will be fine.

Vandraco aka Bronzecat wrote:Hi

I would suggest feeding your betta 3 or 4 pellets twice a day [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
If you have the bettas pellets in one hand and the mini granules for the cories in your other hand, you may be able to keep the bettas attention while you put the granules in [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Also, cories being a type of catfish means they are fairly active at night, so feeding after lights out will be fine.

Yes, I've been feeding him twice a day with 3 pellets, and I've tried the two-handed method; he bolts his then dives down and pinches the granules.

I think I'll try your idea of feeding the corys at night after lights out, and if that doesn't work I'll just cut out one feed and let him share the corys' food - though I would like to know whether what they are having is OK for Thai.

There shouldn't be a problem with your betta eating other fish foods [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Varied diets are always best [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Thanks very much for all the helpful suggestions, I'll see how we get on - any problems I'll be rehoming the corys, and Thai can go back to watching the cat watching him

what type of cories are they?

I was told they are pygmy, and won't grow to more than 3/4". At the moment, from the tip of the tail to the nose they are no more than 1/2" long and the depth of their body is about 1/8" - so they really are tiny (and even these measurements could be exaggerated through the glass) - apparently they come from Peru.

wow that is tiny! im going to have to keep my eye out for some for the community tank!

I just got some pygmys too and they are very cute and very small [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

i feed my cories wafer food like someone else suggested.

i use the smaller type of wafer rather than the huge messy alge wafer, i add one tablet per 2 cories.

theyre good for cories too as they have meat, algae and other stuff too (look at me all technical!)