will they eat guppie and mollie fry?
are they suitable to go into a bare bottomed tank to clean up uneaten flake?
bronze Cory feeding habits?
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MatsP
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Fry should be safe & they'll clean up new flake
Hi,
I've had albino c. aeneus, panda corys, which I never bred and gave away when I moved, and now for several years I've been letting my bronze corys (c. aeneus) feed my Amazon tank their eggs. I just got into breeding them & am proud to say I've got about 150 of the little cuties in a 2 gallon tank next to me. I just love corys!
To your question, though, my experience has been that the corys can't see very well. They pretty much have to land right upon any food in order to know it is there. I used to have guppies in another tank with panda cories, and they never touched the fry. Guppy fry are amazingly fast in my experience, and the only fish I ever had fast enough to get them was an Oscar.
As far as eating the flake food on the bottom, they're excellent for that. Don't expect them to eat rotten food or feces, but they will definitely clean up any good flake that lands on the bottom.
If you want to feed them live food (not sure if you just wanted them as a clean-up crew) it should really be something that will stay on the bottom, like tubifex worms. They love frozen brine shrimp & frozen bloodworms, as well as algae wafers. Mine have been really easy-keepers with no illness or parasite problem, ever. That's true for all three corys I've had.
I put my bronze breeders into a bare bottom tank now when I see them getting ready to spawn & they seem quite happy. However, if you ever see them in fine sand, you may quit guppies altogether and fall in love with corys! They are a hoot to watch in sand, and seem the most comfortable there, as they kind of clear out a divet for their bodies in the sand, which gives them a nice rest. Especially when the females are ripe with eggs, they roll sideways when they stop on the bare bottom. You can then see that they're really built for mud or sand. But, they're really adaptable in my experience.
For what it's worth from a cory lover who just got into breeding...
kkat
I've had albino c. aeneus, panda corys, which I never bred and gave away when I moved, and now for several years I've been letting my bronze corys (c. aeneus) feed my Amazon tank their eggs. I just got into breeding them & am proud to say I've got about 150 of the little cuties in a 2 gallon tank next to me. I just love corys!
To your question, though, my experience has been that the corys can't see very well. They pretty much have to land right upon any food in order to know it is there. I used to have guppies in another tank with panda cories, and they never touched the fry. Guppy fry are amazingly fast in my experience, and the only fish I ever had fast enough to get them was an Oscar.
As far as eating the flake food on the bottom, they're excellent for that. Don't expect them to eat rotten food or feces, but they will definitely clean up any good flake that lands on the bottom.
If you want to feed them live food (not sure if you just wanted them as a clean-up crew) it should really be something that will stay on the bottom, like tubifex worms. They love frozen brine shrimp & frozen bloodworms, as well as algae wafers. Mine have been really easy-keepers with no illness or parasite problem, ever. That's true for all three corys I've had.
I put my bronze breeders into a bare bottom tank now when I see them getting ready to spawn & they seem quite happy. However, if you ever see them in fine sand, you may quit guppies altogether and fall in love with corys! They are a hoot to watch in sand, and seem the most comfortable there, as they kind of clear out a divet for their bodies in the sand, which gives them a nice rest. Especially when the females are ripe with eggs, they roll sideways when they stop on the bare bottom. You can then see that they're really built for mud or sand. But, they're really adaptable in my experience.
For what it's worth from a cory lover who just got into breeding...
kkat