Betta obsessing over algae wafer???

[bluerose]

Well.

My female betta generally sticks to her Hikari betta food and will occasionally sample the tetras' flakes but generally spits them out.

She is currently playing keep-away with half of the algae wafer (she has it in her mouth and is swimming all over the tank) while the cories and tetras all try and eat the other one.

This is after eating two pieces of betta food.

Sheesh...

No, the cories are not happy about this, as both halfs of the (very small) wafer keep moving on them.

 

[Lager]

Funny, my severum loves to play with algae wafers.

 

[An t-iasg]

That sounds pretty cute! Can you get a picture?

Is the betta eating the algae wafer? It shouldn't hurt her - she's just probably really curious/nosy.

 

[harmy4993]

my gbr is the same way. he loves him some algee waffers. i put them in for the ottos but he doesnt like to share.

 

[bluerose]

Not sure if she was eating it or not but she sure was having some fun... much easier to swim away from the tetras now that most of my plants are gone (note to self, no double-dosing Excel when there's anacharis in the tank).

She's a funny fish, I like having her around.

 

[new2betas]

That is exactly why one of my female bettas is morbidly obese!! I am seriously thinking about removing her from my 29g community tank because she eats so much. I only give her a little food, but she swims around the cories and eats all the algae wafer that she can. Like I said, I am seriously thinking about moving her into a 5g alone and putting her on a crash diet so she doesn't eat herself to death!

 

[FishyLuva]

When I first got a Betta she would not eat her food and it would annoy me but about a week later she actually started to eat them.So I think that your betta just doesnt like the flake food.

 

[rob28]

bettas are super mischeivieous, she is probably jus messin with the other fishies

 

[bluerose]

This is getting RIDICULOUS.

I've tried many different combinations and just cannot get Betty (the betta) to stop stealing the wafers! She's also getting chubby... what worked best was a full wafer (which is harder for her to carry) and a smidgeon of another one to distract her while the cories ate. However she seems to be intent on an all-algae diet. I'm hoping the cories will be OK without as much food and she'll be OK with only eating algae wafers, or that she'll tire of them and go back to betta food

Splitting her into her own tank isn't really possible- I could for a short period of time if I had to (diet tank essentially) but long-term, not really.

She's mastered going up for air and not dropping the wafer... oh boy. It would be funny if I wasn't worried about her getting fat and the cories getting thin.

 

[An t-iasg]

LOL - you've really got a mischievous betta there! I wonder if it's less about the wafer itself (does she really want to eat?) and more about dominating/outwitting the cories.

 

[bluerose]

She is eating the wafer... whatever she can of it at least.