# Betta fish is eating way too much, need help!



## tahbi (Apr 5, 2010)

My betta fish is a pig. I used to feed him 6 betta pellets a day but now I only feed him 3 a little after noon. It's because he also eats my neon tetra flake food when I feed my neons and he even eats pieces of the sinking pellets I give to my cory cats. 

But to the point, he's huge! How do I get him to stop eating so much?


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

I think the only way that can be done is to move your betta to a tank by himself.


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

You can buy a breeder's trap or net of some sort and maybe lure him in there every time you feed the other fish their food. Then when they're done, let him out.


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

Betta Slave said:


> You can buy a breeder's trap or net of some sort and maybe lure him in there every time you feed the other fish their food. Then when they're done, let him out.


Wouldn't it be an awful lot of stress on him to be netted daily? 

BTW, Betta Slave, LOVE the pic in your avatar!!!


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## tahbi (Apr 5, 2010)

I don't have an extra tank, and if I did, I don't really have room anywhere for it. :|

But I think I'll try switching him out with my other betta who is living in a 3gal. My other betta is a lot more aggressive than Orphan (the piggy) is, but I'll just have to see how it goes and hope he doesn't attack the neons or the cories.

If the tank switch doesn't work out, should I stop feeding him betta food pellets and just let him eat the neon tetra flakes and the sinking algae pellets? Or is that not very nutritional for a betta?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

You could just lure him in. I've done it before and it worked. 
Thanks Lion Mom  That's my PK, Spiridion.

All bettas (the ones I've had, anyway) are piggies. XD
Good luck!


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

I would isolate the betta for feeding, you can just put him in a cup floating in the water, or some people make a box type thing out of needlepoint craft mesh, which is quite easy, and simply make a door that the fish can swim into during feedings. It's easy to train them to swim into the box, you don't have to take them out of the water that way.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

No, it's not stressful. Use Lee's three way breeder. You can find it online or at Petco. It's very, very clear, so they can't see it as well as a net box. It floats in the tank like a little boat because it has floats on the sides and vents to let water flow through it. 

When he comes to the top for feeding, just scoop him into it and feed him IN IT every time you do. Tango knows I'm doing it but he's so used to it that he doesn't fight much. Sometimes he swims over the side as I'm scooping and I have to try again. Since it's a big clear box (if you take out the center divider), it's not like being netted. Feed your other fish at the same time. I do this with mine every day and he's fine. I even have a picture. Please ignore his miserable face. He's really just fine. 

In fact it's so clear that he sometimes can't swim out of it because he sees through it and no matter which way I turn it he tries to swim through the bottom.


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## tahbi (Apr 5, 2010)

aw, that's awesome vaygirl. xD I'll have to see where I can get one. 

He's doing much better now though. I've started feeding my cory cat (other two died, so I only have one left now) shrimp pellets and my betta doesn't seem to like them. So he's doing better with his eating.


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## Dakota14breyer (Dec 24, 2015)

Lol, I have the same problem with my betta and the 4 pygmy cories in his tank. Except he loves shrimp pellets. Any suggestions? 

One glimmer of hope is that when I crush the wafers into dust, he doesn't eat them as much.


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

Hi there,
It could be an oral fixation due to boredom. Do you have a moss ball in there or any live plants, something healthy he can nibble on may be helpful.

Make sure the feeding doesn't result in extra ammonia. Be checking that regularly and use two drops of Prime by Seachem per gallon in your water for every day you either do not check your ammonia or it reads over zero. 

Good luck : )


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## JaydeDancer (Feb 27, 2016)

What if you tried positive reinforcement with him?

As in feed everyone at the same time, but first, lure the betta into an enclosure with a single piece of food, (such as a plastic basket with holes in it, as seen below):









You should be able to float something like this at the top of the tank.

After piggy gets his first pellet, feed the other fish their food. Once they start eating, give your betta another pellet. Leave him in the basket until everyone has eaten, and then remove any excess food. Let the betta go, and give him his final pellet as a reward for putting up with being confined in the basket.

That is probably what I would do if I had the same problem as you.

As it is, I have an issue with my betta being too skinny!


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

Guys, this thread is almost 6 years old..

Dakota, it tells you that threads are old before you post. Why didn't you make your own..? That would be a lot more help than reviving a thread that has been dead for 6 years.


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## JaydeDancer (Feb 27, 2016)

Tourmaline said:


> Guys, this thread is almost 6 years old..
> 
> Dakota, it tells you that threads are old before you post. Why didn't you make your own..? That would be a lot more help than reviving a thread that has been dead for 6 years.


Shhh! Don't ruin it for us!


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

I hadn't noticed the original OP post date in replying to Dakota yeah that can be confusing but I think there is a "warning this is an old post" msg that comes up when you reply to old issues which gives you an option and it may be more useful if it said "this post is closed".


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## Dakota14breyer (Dec 24, 2015)

Good point, I was posting this on my phone and i guess I missed it. Thanks for the suggestions though. Fred Astaire (the betta) should be getting back to his normal happy weight soon!


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