Cories Not Eating

[Bigzmey]

Frozen brine shrimps work better for cories than bloodworms, also they are easier to swallow for juveniles.

I melt the cube in tank water, wash brine shrimps couple of time and damp all in tank. All my fish attack the shrimps but they sink fast and plenty gets to cories.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Okay I'll do that. Will they still be able to eat them if they're in cube form? My platies massacre all the food they can find so it needs to sink really fast.

 

[Bettafanatic]

I tried to feed the cories today and it ended in complete failure. I attempted to give them brine shrimp and some shrimp pellets I bought them. The platies stole all the shrimp before it could reach the bottom and not even the platies would touch the shrimp pellets. Some of the beefheart I fed today did reach the bottom but the cories didn't notice it. In fact, they foraged right over it. Whether they take brine shrimp or not remains a mystery. I'll have to try again another day.

I think a major problem in this situation is all the platies. THey just gobble up everything. I'm going to remove all the fry during the next water change so I can get rid of most of the platy problem. Once I do I only have four to worry about. I can't imagine how I'm going to get them to eat once I introduce the rest of the stock. O_O

I've considered rehoming them and getting some different cories that will eat what I can give them, but I'm not going to think about that yet. Once I get rid of the fry, I'll see if they'll take frozen foods. If they still aren't eating anything after a while, I'll have to give them away.

 

[bkiggy]

Try seachem Entice or GalicGuard as a soak

 

[Bettafanatic]

I'll look into those, thanks.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Cories still not eating. I tried algae wafers again today and they didn't spot them. They're definitely interested in food. I removed the algae wafer a few minutes ago and they're still looking for it.

Perhaps they're just a very picky lot. Do you think they'll only take live foods?

And I was wondering if anyone knows how to make them less jumpy. They're scared stiff of the slightest movement outside the tank. How can I make them feel more comfortable?

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Actually the more hiding spots you provide them the more your likely to see them out and about. It will give them a sense of security to know if they have to run for cover they've got options instead of swimming the length of the tank to a lone clay pot.
(Speaking hypothetical of course

 

[Bettafanatic]

I can try to provide some more hiding places. What should I add? Some clay pots, or maybe some bushy plants like hornwort to provide cover? I can't add much more because the bottom of my tank is pretty full.

 

[CoryFan]

I can try to provide some more hiding places. What should I add? Some clay pots, or maybe some bushy plants like hornwort to provide cover? I can't add much more because the bottom of my tank is pretty full.

I am not sure how you have your tank decorated, stocked, etc. but for ideas, feel free to look at my 40 gallon pics in my profile. My tiny habrosus cories, and larger three-line and aeneus cories are always playing.

 

[Bettafanatic]

I'll take a look, thanks.

 

[CoryFan]

You're welcome! Other things I noticed over the last couple years: floating plants help a lot; slow current.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Coryfan, I took a look at your pics and compared to your tank mine has more plants but less driftwood. I can't add much driftwood because the bottom of my tank is pretty full. The only DW I can fit in there is one that would be slim, tall, and lean against a wall so it would be no help.

But my tank does have quite a few hiding places now that I'm looking at it. They have behind the small piece of DW, under the heaters, behind the rock, in the cave... Should I just add a clay pot?

Update on the food. I gave algae wafers one more try. I'm not 100% sure, but I think one of the cories figured out that it's food. I'm going to give it another go today. I dropped four in yesterday so the platies were completely distracted, so the cories were sniffing around one they had to themselves. I'm going to give them some more time to eat today. Hopefully I'll see some improvement.

I'm watching the cories now. 4/5 are nowhere to be seen, but one of them is foraging very diligently for some food. He seems very active today. I think he might be finding some leftovers from yesterday's feeding. Perhaps he's starting to feel more comfortable, and maybe the other's will soon too. He's also digging his nose very deep into the substrate. Is that okay?

 

[CoryFan]

Cool! You probably don't need to add any cover if you have a lot already. It sounds like they will always be fairly close to it.

Yes, they do dig normally.

I am so excited that they are getting acclimated to everything!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Hopefully they are! It's only one fish so far but maybe he'll go convince his friends that they're completely safe. THey're still scared of me but the platies used to be too and now they'll eat from my hand. The active cory is still foraging around. He's staying on the right side of the tank. They all seem to like it better, I guess it's because the have a few more hiding options there.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Success! (I think)

Tried algae wafers again today and the cories seemed much more interested. I think they're even eating. When a cory cat eats, would he/she peck at the wafer? It looked like they would go, eat a little, then forage around for something else. The platies are very intimidating to them. I really need to get those fry out. It should help.

The feeding frenzy at the tank bottom is almost done. I'm hoping the platies will lose interest soon so I can see if the cories are eating properly or not. I'm also going to try a different brand of shrimp pellet. The one I have just breaks down too quickly. I'm going to try a different brand, Hikari or Omega One, and I'll work harder to separate the platies and cories at the next feeding.

 

[Bigzmey]

My cats love Hikari brand

 

[librarygirl]

Try New Life Spectrum H20 stable wafers; they don't break down as fast as others. Also try putting in the wafer after you turn the lights off for the night and leave it in overnight; corys tend to scavenge more at night and the other fish probably won't notice the food giving the corys more time to eat. I'm glad they seem to be eating some now!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Try New Life Spectrum H20 stable wafers; they don't break down as fast as others. Also try putting in the wafer after you turn the lights off for the night and leave it in overnight; corys tend to scavenge more at night and the other fish probably won't notice the food giving the corys more time to eat. I'm glad they seem to be eating some now!

I'll definitely try that! It sounds like a great idea. Hope they'll go for it.

So update time. The cories are eating now. They love the algae wafers. As soon as they sense them in the water they come looking. They're being braver against the platies for the food. I saw one push aside a baby platy to get a bite. They seem to take a few bites of one wafer, move to another wafer, take a few bites there, and so on. They're also more active nowadays.

I'm hoping to get them so shrimp pellets. I'm gonna get proper ones this time. The wardley ones are just terrible. I'm going to look for some New Life Spectrum or Hikari brand.

They're not going for frozen food yet but as long as they're eating I don't really care.

Oh, and I ended up naming them. I couldn't resist! They're so cute. Before you make fun of my chosen names, let me just say that how I name fish is I look at them and name them the first thing that pops into my mind. So my cories' names are now Digger, Speckles, Tail, Dorsal, and Barbels. I can't tell them apart but I don't really care lol.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Well it seems you've come a long way with them. Its been almost a month since you got the corys.
I'm glad they're finally eating!

 

[emerald76]

My cories LOVE the Wardleys Shrimp Pellets I have. They break apart easily and the Cories can suck up the bits and pieces.