I finally have my 10G betta sorority up and running. Tank is cycled, 5 girlies are getting along fine, everything is hunky dory.

Trouble I'm having is come feeding time. No matter how I sprinkle food all over the tank, the two alpha girls eat about 80% of it. They're not aggressive towards the other fish, just piggies and hoover it up as fast as I can feed it. So I'm looking at two VERY fat fish and three that I'm worried aren't getting enough food. I feed a variety of Hikari Betta Gold pellets and frozen bloodworms/frozen brine shrimp with weekly peas.

How do I work this out? I don't want to overfeed the two finned piglets as much as I don't want to underfeed the three at the bottom of the totem pole.

You can feed them one by one.
I used to have my fish jump for their pellets, and I would mark down who ate what, and make sure they all got what they needed.
You could also try herding the alphas to one side, and feeding them there, while you feed the others on the other side of the tank.

Try chuting the two dominant fems. Get a large tube/container that will fit into the tank and when it comes feeding time put the chute into the tank, and either catch the two dominate girls or isolating the three others. Then feed as you will, putting the appropreate amount of food in with the fish on each side. Try that and see if that helps!

You had them jump? In an orderly manner? If you don't mind me asking, how did you accomplish this? (Personally I think it's kinda neat)

Since I doubt my betta training talent (I think it may rank up there with my musical talent: abominable), I think I may need to look into corraling the two piggies. Any tips on the best way to do this? While the two alphas aren't aggressive at the moment, I'm sure that will hold if I shove them both into a container together at feeding time.

I'd have to agree with what Jamie says above. Other than seperating them permanently and jarring them, not a lot else makes any real sense.

Many betta, once they grow accustomed to you being the source of food, just naturally start jumping for food. Especially when you're feeding from above. I just hold my fingers over the top of the water and wait. Almost any of them will jump under these circumstances.
;)

It wasn't in an orderly manner at all, but I could tell who was the one that got the pellet.
And I could put my finger right up to the one I wanted to get fed, and most of the time, she was the one that got it.

:clap

of course, those fish have gone to swim with Typhoonus.. Sea Hag was the last one.
My currant tank, I just stuff them full, and when the big guys are distracted, feed the little ones.
So far, no one is going hungry, lol.
Even the neon tetra got his full share, lol.

:lolo: I do pretty much the same thing here. They tend to run together anyway. The sizes I mean.

Yeah, if I have a really little girl, I might feed her special, actually take her out the tank to feed her, in a feeding tank, lol.
I did this with the runt, and it certainly boosted her size, and then she found her way into the condo, which I had put up for the boys, when she discovered they were gone, she moved right in.

:lolo:

It true.
Now that she's been jarred.. cause I wanted that tank for the big girls, and she was just too small.. She's gotten even bigger.. She just might catch up to her sisters at the rate she is going.

I do that. If I see ones that are really smaller or slower growing, I jar them and spoil them. I find many times those runts turn out to be some of the best fish.

Spoiled is the word for it.
I don't think she is very happy with me.. she had a whole 10 gallon to herself for about a week, lol.
And that tank is right next to the sofa, so we had our little bonding thing going on.
Now she is jarred, she went from a mansion to an efficiency.

How can you expect a girl to get by?! :rolleyes:

Hey, at least I can find her in one go.. I'd have to LOOK for her in the 10, she'd get lost in it, lol.

Yeah, that would upset a woman for sure!

I might be nice and move her up to a 2 gallon.. put her back in her spot, lol.
It's funny, I just realized the Hollywoods in the 20 are only a LITTLE bit smaller than she is, lol.

Well, since I have a filtered tank. I just toss in their flake and the filter flings it everywhere so everyone gets their share. Then they go cory catfish like and clean the bottom.
Food and exercise in one, they have to chase their food down to get it.
BTW, bettas do become really good swimmers with practice.
I've got some girlies that I think swim better than my cichlids.
My sorrority is a sink or swim environment. Better than their fate would have been at Wally World though.

:OO

I LIKE that mind set.
My fav fish is Singular Anomoly..
When she was a young juvie, she was hiding the the riccia, and I scooped it out, and tossed it, and her, and another spawn sib in the snail tank.
The snail tank, or bin, rather was unheated, with temps hitting 62 regularly. 65 being the high.
I didn't find her until at least a week later, maybe more.. I honestly don't know how long they were in there.
That is one tough little cookie.
The other one died a couple days after I found it.
Even now, she is one of the smaller girls in the new heifer tank.. The three girls I got from Al reminds me of Sherry's girls, they areso bodacious, but she hold hr own, and even had backed one of the big girls down.
I don't think that keeping a bunch of girls fed is too difficult. I just keep an eye on them while I'm feeding them.. I do NOT want these guys getting it into their heads to jump, and even the smallest one gets her fair share.