Problems with new spotted cory

pleco_fan · Post by **pleco_fan** » 17 Jun 2005, 17:24

Yesterday night I bought two spotted corys. They are in a ten gallon tank with a 11cm L001 pleco. This morning I put some tubiflex worm cubes into the tank and the corys ignored it. Then I tried some algae tablet and again ignored it. They are very active and swimming up and down against the sides of the tank. The water quality is very good because I change 20% of the water every 4-5 days. Can you all tell me what kinds of things these corys eat and any additional information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 17 Jun 2005, 17:34

First of all, cory's have relativly small mouths, so you need something that is bite-sized.

Also, if they are new to the tank, they may not be acclimatised to their new environment yet.

My like Hikari Catfish wafers, live bloodworms, and I'm sure they chomp happily on some tubifex too if they were given the oppurtunity. They aren't quite as interested in algae wafers.

But I would wait a little bit before you say they aren't feeding, it's only been a few hours, and I'd say far more problems are created by people overfeeding than underfeeding fish in general.

--
Mats

Post by **Coryman** » 17 Jun 2005, 20:17

I would not feed any new Cory for at least three days after I bought it, you will soon know they are hungry when they start sifting through the substrate. With regard to diet Corys are NOT vegetarian so offering them algae foods is not going to be what they need. In nature they are basically filter feeders and search out small microscopic organisms in the substrate and biofilm as well as small crustaceans, worms and shrimps. Quality commercial tablet foods such as Tetra's 'Tabimin' or Aquarian's 'Catfish tablets' make a very good staple diet.

Ian

Deb · Post by **Deb** » 19 Jun 2005, 05:52

Also, just to add to that, if you soak a tubifex cube (or part of a cube, if you have few fish) in a 1/2 cup of aquarium water until all the "worms" are separated, it will be easier and better to feed to your cories. The worms will sink onto the sand, and the cories will have fun searching for them.

Just use one of those clear plastic SOLO picnic cups to soak the cube.
Soaking the cube will give you an idea of just how many worms there are in a cube, and you will see that there are 'way more than what you want to feed just two cories.

Deborah

pleco_fan · Post by **pleco_fan** » 20 Jun 2005, 00:15

Its been 4 days and I went out and bought Aquarian shrimp pellets and Tetramin catfish tablets. I put some shrimp pellets into the tank last night and they didnt go for it. Then I put some catfish tablets into the tank and they did not go for it either. They just kept swimming up and down the sides of the aquarium. The substrate is gravel and all water parameters are normal.

jen.nelson · Post by **jen.nelson** » 20 Jun 2005, 00:59

The activity up and down the glass may just be the fish "schooling" with their reflections. I've had cories (and barbs) do this, especially when introduced to a new tank, and they've usually settled down after a week or two. I'm not sure if they would be perhaps more inclined to do this, since there's only two of them in the tank. Do they have their own place to hide, like an area of short plants (plastic is fine) or a cave-like area? That might help with the settling down. If your tank is lighted, you might also try leaving the light off for a few days to let them get settled down. You might also try changing a portion of the water - I've read here that some cories put out fairly strong stress-related chemicals.

As for food, mine are crazy about a food called Aquadine, which is sold in "bulk" and allows you to mix your own blend. I use the Hi-Protein and Spirulina flakes. It must smell really good, because all my fish go nuts over it (as compared to other types of food). It's an eventually-sinking flake, so anything not eaten by the other fish drifts to the bottom. I've also had good luck with Omega One Veggie Rounds. Try feeding frozen bloodworms... I thaw them out in a bowl with some of the aquarium water and feed them with a turkey baster.

Be sure to remove any uneaten food, of course. What does your pl*co eat?

You might also let other folks here know what temperature your tank is at to make sure that's set right for these particular fish.

Hope that helps,
Jen

pleco_fan · Post by **pleco_fan** » 20 Jun 2005, 01:25

the temp of the tank is 80-82 degrees. The pleco gets fresh veges every day.

Deb · Post by **Deb** » 20 Jun 2005, 01:27

That seems a little hot for cories.

I notice the range for L001 is 23-27C, so I see why you have it set so high.

Let's see what the others think.

pleco_fan · Post by **pleco_fan** » 20 Jun 2005, 01:38

I do not have the heater on and the tank is not in the sun but I do live in Texas.

CorydorasLover · Post by **CorydorasLover** » 23 Jun 2005, 17:55

First of all, the moment the temperature in my tank rises above 80, I do a water change and add cold water to the tank to bring the temp down. I try to keep them around 76F.

I have 4 types of Cories in my tank and I actually have 6 spotted cories. So far they appear to eat anything. But they seem majorly fond of bloodworms and brine shrimp.

I hope that helps.