Anyone else have diurnal corys?

[JenNewbie]

This is my weekend for random "chatty" posts.

I have 4 corys in my 25 gal tank and I just adore them. Even my roommate who has glanced at the tank maybe half a dozen times was taken with them. Everything I have read here says that they are nocturnal and to drop the sinking wafers in after you turn the tank lights out. After forgetting to feed them entirely for several days in a row, I just got into the habit of dropping all of the food in at once and letting the fish sort it out. Of course, the balloon mollies have to nibble at EVERYTHING... but the corys soon got into the action, even though they get fed a good 2-3 hours before the tank lights get turned off. They normally just hang out in the corners of the tank behind the big plastic plants. I have a terra cotta pot in 2 pieces that make "caves," but no one uses them... Even the pleco is mostly out in plain sight when all the lights are on. This morning I caught it upside down on the heater....

Now the corys are just as active as the other fish at feeding time, and they search the bottom of the tank as soon as the lid is opened. The same with my pleco, which I have also read is a nocturnal fish. It will actually chase away the mollies when they gather at the bottom, in order to see if they've found anything edible. If it does find something, it "nurses" on the wafer chip and flares it's fins at any mooching mollies. They're really wonderful to watch!

Just had to share...

 

[madasafish]

I haven't ever thought of cories as exclusively nocturnal. I think it's mostly plecs that are nocturnal. Most cories I see in other ppl's tanks and in LFSs are active diurnally...

 

[Lakota]

My cories are busy all the time. I don't think mine care whether it's day or night. If food is dropped in the tank, they are right there with everyone else chowing down. So I don't think, and have never thought that cories were strickly nocturnal or dinural. I think they are just around when they need to be and take little cory cat naps during night and day.

My pleco comes out more at night, but he also comes out during the day if food is around. But, I would say that a pleco is much more nocturnal then the cories

Lakota

 

[QTOFFER]

My corys are out and about at all hours of the day. It's only at night that I feed them, tho; otherwise, the bettas pester them while they are eating. Silly bettas, try as you may, you cannot eat a whole sinking wafer!

 

[poikilotherm]

Mine are out and about during the day. They are more active at night, and only play in the bubble wall when the lights are out. I feed them with the lights on too. I break up the sinking wafers and spread them out so everybody gets some.

 

[krap101]

my corys are mainly under the driftwood i put in there for them. every now and then a couple hours after feeding time theycome out and poke around for extra food.

Q: should i vacuum extra food out or should i let my corys eat it?

yeah and my bristlenose pleco is uaully under his rock buy i catch him occasionally out during t he day. but my clown pleco is almost always out . wonder if theres not enough room under the driftwood