Feeding the catfish and not the betta.

[Kestrix]

So due to random circumstances (I never knew a 4 year old could be that destructive that fast) I have a female betta currently residing in a catfish holding aquarium. It's roughly the equivilent to a 20long (It's a plastic snake holding bin. Long story how I got one.) and currently holds some panda cories and and a young lemon drop bristlenose for QT. My problem is my female betta loves *everything* that resembles food. This means she goes after anything I put in the tank for the catfish, even if I hide it in their caves. This leads me to a very overly stuffed little betta. I haven't found a food she doesn't like yet. Peas, Cucumber, Sera something-shrimp bits, bloodworms, tubiflex worms (all freeze dried), Sera Catfish Chips (the ones with addtional wood in it), Hikari Sinking Chips... you name it and she will eat it. I've seen her devour a whole pea one night and nearly a whole softened sinking chip another night.

What can I do to stop her from pigging out? She's like taking a 6 year old to an all you can eat cupcake shop. I used to think it was bloat til after putting her on a restricted diet and she went back to normal size. Turns out she's just a pig. Never had a betta do that before.

I'm pretty sure the pandas arn't amused by her food antics either.

[MatsP]

This is a difficult situation. One solution (aside from moving the Betta to another tank - which I take is not a possibility at this time) would be to put a "fry net" in the tank, to restrain the betta. Or go buy a 5-10 gallon container in the supermarket that is "food grade" (marked with a knife and fork symbol) - obviously, you will need a filter and other things, but presumably your "destructive 4-year old" wouldn't have destroyed that?

--
Mats

[Richard B]

I'd just temporarily net the betta, place the "captured" betta in net dandling in the water for an hour whilst feeding the cats, then release. Simplistic but effective

[Suckermouth]

Indeed, I'm with the guys above. One of those breeding traps is how I'd go.

[apistomaster]

What is so wrong about a well fed female Betta looking like one? All that is happening is the female Betta is in breeding condition and that is not unhealthy for it. Female Betta are not meant to be thin.
It seems like you are defining what is normal is also somehow undesirable.
It isn't the fish which has the problem.

[sunfish]

What is so wrong about a well fed female Betta looking like one? All that is happening is the female Betta is in breeding condition and that is not unhealthy for it. Female Betta are not meant to be thin.

If one Betta is eating all the food meant for an entire tank of cats then that is definitely NOT healthy for her. If she consistently gets way too much food it will kill her.

I would also temporarily put her into a net or a small plastic container while feeding the rest. One question though. How can a Betta eat cucumber? Nip at it, OK, but really getting sizeable chunks off?