Cory cats eating habits

[Catfish Lover]

Just purchased 5 peppered corys a few days ago. It's a 55 gallon that's heavily planted and has large piece of driftwood. I didn't feed them the first day. Tried to feed them the next couple days in the morning and they acted like they didn't want to eat, kinda nibbled on the wafer and went into hiding in the driftwood, did not know they love driftwood like that. Decided to feed at night and they seemed to prefer to eat then. Did the same the next day and same results, just seem to think maybe this specie prefers night feeding, because I have 9 albinos in my other 55 and they eat at anytime of the day and seem much more playful than the peppered I just got. I know they may just be settling into new surroundings but my albinos settled immediately. So just wondering if the peppered variety are a little more shy and a little more nocturnal acting?

 

[rel3]

I saw them at petco exhibiting same behavior (hiding under driftwood) I have albinos and punctatus corys that are always active.

 

[Catfish Lover]

Probably wouldn't have gotten the little guys had I known they love hiding like that, very frustrating for me because the first thing I do with my tanks when lights come on is to make sure everyone is accounted for. It took me 2 hours to find all five. It's like you can't assume everyone is alive and well, last thing you want is a dead fish that you don't know is there.

 

[GodFan]

Probably wouldn't have gotten the little guys had I known they love hiding like that, very frustrating for me because the first thing I do with my tanks when lights come on is to make sure everyone is accounted for. It took me 2 hours to find all five. It's like you can't assume everyone is alive and well, last thing you want is a dead fish that you don't know is there.

Honestly I understand this frustration as it drives me mad if I cant find all my fish but you dont need to worry if you cant. 1 dead cory cat in a well established tank will not hurt a thing

 

[abrage22]

I noticed my peppered cories became a lot more active once I switched to sand. Also adding plants gave them more to do, they love going up and down plants looking for food.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I noticed my peppered cories became a lot more active once I switched to sand. Also adding plants gave them more to do, they love going up and down plants looking for food.

I have play sand and a BUNCH of plants. Hopefully they will be more active once they settle a bit more.

 

[Wiggles24]

I have peppered as well as albino and bronze I honestly probably see the peppered more then the others!

 

[Wiggles24]

When u said they were nibbling at the wafer...what kind of wafer? Maybe try a different fgod?

 

[Krissycakes]

I made the mistake in purchasing 1 peppered(spotted) corydoras, and 2 Albino corydoras. Thinking that they would school together. Unfortunately, my peppered cory is the smallest and seemed very shy.

I bought 3 more corydoras (juli), hoping that my PC would group with them since my albinos have no spots. Since putting them all together, the new juli corys have settled in, and my PC seems like he is more active now. (He was mostly active at night.) In time your fish should feel right at home, and start eating=)

And since I have six corys, I mash a couple wafers to chunks and feed them twice a day, depending. My tank is planted too, so their should be algae on the leaves for them.

 

[Catfish Lover]

When u said they were nibbling at the wafer...what kind of wafer? Maybe try a different fgod?

New life spectrum.. I have about 12 different foods to feed them, all high quality foods.

 

[Wiggles24]

I made the mistake in purchasing 1 peppered(spotted) corydoras, and 2 Albino corydoras. Thinking that they would school together. Unfortunately, my peppered cory is the smallest and seemed very shy.

I bought 3 more corydoras (juli), hoping that my PC would group with them since my albinos have no spots. Since putting them all together, the new juli corys have settled in, and my PC seems like he is more active now. (He was mostly active at night.) In time your fish should feel right at home, and start eating=)

And since I have six corys, I mash a couple wafers to chunks and feed them twice a day, depending. My tank is planted too, so their should be algae on the leaves for them.

Cories are not algae eaters.

 

[TOMatt]

I've got 8 peppered cories and 5 sterbai cories.
Some of them (within the same species) are more playful while others seem to hite. A couple of the PCs regularly swim up to the surface at feeding time with the other types of fish, but most of the cories stay near the bottom and get whatever sinks.

For the record, all my fish freak out and gorge themselves on algae wafers. That includes cory cats, mollies, platies, danios, tetras, and a pleco. I wouldn't ONLY feed them algae though...

 

[Wiggles24]

Yes, most fish will eat algae wafers. I commented because the last paragraph of the above post said that in addition to feeding algae wafers there should also be algae on the plants for them. I really home they aren't expecting their Cories to clean the algae from their tank! Lol that's all

 

[TOMatt]

Good point Wiggles. They need proper food as well as treats.

 

[Cactuspixie]

My cories LOVE meaty foods- the meatier the better: like live worms, frozen worms, dried worms, fish, prawns, and nls Thera a pellets.

 

[Krissycakes]

Cories are not algae eaters.

★Thanks for your observation. I read that about them before I got them. My lfs owner has them to clean his tanks.

That is why I feed mine wafers, but they love searching for something on my plants. Most likely algae. If you ask me, looks like they are snacking.

Plus, I do not rely on just wafers.

 

[Krissycakes]

Yes, most fish will eat algae wafers. I commented because the last paragraph of the above post said that in addition to feeding algae wafers there should also be algae on the plants for them. I really home they aren't expecting their Cories to clean the algae from their tank! Lol that's all

Thanks for that, I do my research like everyone one else here. I tell my first hand experiences! It takes someone like you to hurt my feelings. At least comment what else they could eat beside Just saying "cories aren't algae eaters". Please be informational next time, so I don't feel targeted by your comments. Please post advice, I got the facts.

 

[TOMatt]

My cories like bloodworm and generic flakes.