Normal Cory Behaviour?

[theotheragentm]

I had one of my Panda Cories floating, almost upside down, slightly vertical. He wasn't completely at the surface. and he was just going with the current. Then he was suddenly back to normal. I know Cories swim and play kind of funny, but I've never seen this before.

FYI, I tested water parameters, and 0 ammonia and nitrites with less than 10 on the nitrates.

[black hills tj]

Hmm...haven't seen that before. Speaking of funny cory behaviour, my 2 cories have been floating to the surface with the bubble from a bubble wall and then flying back to the bottom. They've been doing this all night long. My family and I are getting a good laugh out of it.

[LandGhoti]

I bet he was just playing.

[QTOFFER]

I've never seen my corys swim upside down, but they do shoot up to the surface almost vertically and then dart back to the gravel - totally normal behavior.

I've also had corys rest on their sides or head down in a clump of plants. This used to freak me out because I'd think they were dead. Again, typical behavior from a cory.

Anyway, you were wise to check your water parameters. I would keep an eye on this fish just in case, but I suspect it was just behaving normally.

[theotheragentm]

As I have not seen any more strange behaviour from the fish, I am currently assuming he was playing around.

[dvanv]

My cories have scared me into thinking they were dead a couple of times. I had one that did similar to what you are describing and is still healthy playing with its pals. Fun aren't they. I think they are a must for my tanks.

[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by QTOFFER

I've also had corys rest on their sides or head down in a clump of plants. This used to freak me out because I'd think they were dead. Again, typical behavior from a cory.

I have a Panda cory that has been doing this....freaks me out because I keep thinking its going to die, but later it looks normal and swims around. Never had one do this before now.

I've never had some swim upside down, but I know that would scare me.

If your water parameters are fine and it acts normal now, I'd say it was just playing.

[coldmachineUK]

Sounds like it was just playing. I've had the "heads resting down on the gravel" thing before and it did worry me before I realised they're just weird little things that do stuff like that!

Speaking of this...

I've never seen my corys swim upside down, but they do shoot up to the surface almost vertically and then dart back to the gravel - totally normal behavior.

...it's a good way to tell when you need to do a water change if, for some reason, you don't do a weekly one, or to alert you that something is wrong in the tank. Cories normally dart to the surface, but if they do it far more frequently than normal then you know something is wrong.