Cory catfish and gravel vacuum

[Eel lover50]

Hi, I have noticed that my Cory catfish scours the bottom of my tank for leftovers. I recently realized I need a gravel vacuum. Will the Cory have to rely on the shrimp pellets by themselves or will he still be able to bottom feed? Btw, how do you use a gravel vacuum?

 

[josh7]

He needs shrimp pellets now and those little guys always look for scraps they are little pigs. But they do really need a steady food source of shrimp pellets with occasional frozen bloodworms.

 

[Eel lover50]

I've been feeding him shrimp pellets since day 1.

 

[Scouser]

They don't NEED bloodworms, they enjoy them yes, but they aren't necessarily needed.

A steady food source of either what you're feeding now, or a fast sinking catfish speciality food will be more than enough.

If you do feed bloodworms you may have to use a turkey Baster to get them to the bottom of the tank before the other fish gobble them up.

 

[BBradbury]

Corydoras and Vacuuming Gravel

Hi, I have noticed that my Cory catfish scours the bottom of my tank for leftovers. I recently realized I need a gravel vacuum. Will the Cory have to rely on the shrimp pellets by themselves or will he still be able to bottom feed? Btw, how do you use a gravel vacuum?

Hello Eel...

Corys are bottom feeders and prefer a tank bottom with a reasonable amount of debris on top. They sift through the small pieces of gravel, plant material and small pieces of driftwood for food, so you don't need to vacuum the substrate. Another reason for not vacuuming is everything eventually dissolves in the tank water and that nourishes your plants. A third reason if you want one, is disturbing the gravel causes small particles to mix around in the tank and that clouds the water.

You can use the vacuum to simply remove a good amount of the tank water every week or so and of course replace it. This is all that's needed to maintain healthy conditions for your fish and plants.

Just an opinion, though.

B

 

[josh7]

I was just saying it can benefit their health to have bloodworms or some type of frozen food included in their diet. IMO a variety in a diet is a healthy diet.

 

[Eel lover50]

I'm considering the gravel vacuum because I have a big diatom buildup and I want it gone. It covers a big part of the front glass so it makes it hard to see the fish

 

[Mebbid]

I'm considering the gravel vacuum because I have a big diatom buildup and I want it gone. It covers a big part of the front glass so it makes it hard to see the fish

Diatoms won't go away because of a gravel vac. They are a normal part of a tank's cycle and you will just have to scrape the glass to get them off. They go away eventually. The gravel vac will however suck up all the detritus that sinks to the bottom making it healthier for the fish in general. Most issues with cory cats start with their barbels wearing away which, more often than not are because of dirty tank conditions.

 

[Mebbid]

To use a gravel vac, just get the siphon started and then lightly jam it down into your gravel to suck up all schmootz at the bottom and them lift it up allowing the gravel to fall out then move on to the next area. Can be problematic if you have shrimp that are breeding as well as live plants.

 

[Eel lover50]

I have no shrimp and appreciate everyone's sdvice