Stupid Newbie here with questions about C.Aeneus behavior

[hellocatfish]

I have six young C. Aeneus albino er..."toddlers" living with 2 Danios (used to have 3 until the smallest swam up and got stuck in the filter intake). I've had this crew in my 29 US gallon tank for a couple of weeks now.

I've never had or seen this many cories in one tank before. Though my dad kept them when I was a kid, he kept 2-3 to a tank, mostly as cleanup crew. He never thought to keep them just as schooling fish and a fish of interest in their own right. So I don't really know what to look for in terms of "normal" behavior vs. signs they may be ill, or under stress, or hungry...or basically in any condition that would require my attention. I just know that in this quantity, they DO behave very differently from what I remember dad's fish acting like. These guys are bold, mischievous and really REALLY friendly. I mean, when I stick my fingers in to get water samples, they swarm me and investigate. So do the Danios.

Also, I saw a spot that MIGHT have been ick/ich on the tailfin of one of the Danios last night. The spot was gone by this afternoon, after I'd bumped up the temperature from 74F to 79F over a span of a several hours. Today I saw one of the cories appear to scratch himself on the gravel, but he did it only a couple of times and otherwise has been acting like I'm used to them acting. Are there any warning signs of ich in a cory to watch for before they get spots?

And then one last thing that is puzzling me and my husband to no end now....I put in the new Visitherm heater last night, and the cories have spent every possible moment (when they're not eating or playing with a Danio) just hanging off of it. My husband said they're worshipping the mighty obelisk. I can't tell what they are doing. There are tiny little bubbles all over the Visitherm, but it doesn't look like they're doing anything with or to the bubbles. They did not do this to the glass heater I had in there before. THe Visitherm has a black plastic casing. What is so enthralling about this heater?

Thanks for any insights. Sorry if I've left out info you need to know--just ask and I'll post it. I also have other questions about water chemistry management, should I ask them in this section of the forum or elsewhere? I'm worried I might be doing all the wrong things to my new tank--perhaps over relying on bottled pH adjusters and conditioners and such.

[kim m]

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about

Cory scratch themselves once in a while...I guess it's dirt caught between the bodyplates or something.

About the heater; don't worry. It's just a place they like.