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30 gallon home to 4 gold twin bar platties, 3 zebra danios, 2 ottocinclus, 3 peppered corys (snails soon to be removed)
Amm: 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 7ish, ph 7.8, temp 73-75, substrate rounded fine gravel, lots of live plants

I currently have 3 peppered corys in my 30 gallon but one of them is not growing nearly as fast as the other two. He is still the same size as when I got him, and he seems like he has a slight deformaty in his body shape. He seems to be eating ok and swimming well and happily.

What I am wondering is because the platties are such piggies for the algea wafers (I do break them up and scatter around the tank so all have the chance to get at them) as well as the ottos and other cory's, do you think it would be a good idea to move him to my 10 gallon where he would only have to share the wafers with 2 ottos (2 cherry barbs, 1 male betta) or do you think he would be too lonely as the only one of his species. I was thinking of this to give him more opportunity to get exclusive chance at the food and he might start growing more. As he is happy I will not cull him even if it is a genetic problem.

What are your thoughts on this.

Whilst it's not going to solve the problem, can I point out that algae wafers are not what corys should eat - admittedly, the ingredients of algae wafers is pretty similar to other sinking pellets/wafers, but algae wafers is specifically made for algae-eating fish - cories eat more of small crustaceans (relatives to shrimp, lobster etc), insect larvae and other stuff that live at the bottom of a river.

I feed mine with Tetra Tabimin, Tetra Prima and frozen food (e.g. cyclops, brine-shrimp, etc).

If the fish has a healthy apetite, I don't see much point in moving it - it's likely to feel worse from the move and feeling lonely if you don't also move it's "friends".

You could try feeding some floating foad at the same time as the sinking food for the cories - that would perhaps keep the greedy platies/mollies busy for a bit.

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Mats

my cories were definite carnivores. They loved sinking canivore tabs and sinking shrimp pellets and all defrosted frozen food. They did nibble on hikari sinking tropical wafers a bit.


if the cory is small maybe he is just a boy. all my boys were small and stayed roughly the same size, the females grew a bit bigger and more rotund.

Smurfette, I feed my cories a pellet form of growth food that is high in fish meal for its protein. This is the main thing in their diet but they also get frozen blood worms and frozen daphnia as a treat the same as most of my other fish. I also keep a small daphnia culture that provides a little real live food as a treat for my omnivores including my cories.

Maybe just genetics?

Some of my corys have grown large for their breed, others, like my panda, are small for theirs. Same food and tank.

One time at a (really terrible chain pet store fish room) I saw the hugest peppered catfish ever. Both males and females.
So wanted to bring a few home, but have learned painful lesson about getting fish from those places.


My cats usually get the sinking wafers for cat/loaches. Other varied flake food for my other fish is it reaches the ground. Also nibbles on algae wafer if they find it before my large apple snail or pleco.

Honestly, they eat everything the find, right food for them or not. Can't really stop them...