Cory cats nocturnal?

[fishfever]

I have read that catfish are nocturnal but have read conflicting statements about cory cats (some places say nocturnal, others not). We have 4 of them in our community tank (3 emerald green and a new albino) and I'm a little concerned they don't get enough to eat. We feed them shrimp pellets, veggie pellets, algae crackers, flake food and frozen food (although very little flake and frozen food makes it to the bottom). The problem is that our mollies and platys eat at all levels and compete for eveything. In fact I've observed the adult mollies using the cories as "hunting dogs" and when a cory finds a pellet or something (as indicated by digging in one spot) the molly will nudge the cory out of the way. It doesn't take much for another fish to distract or push a cory away; even baby mollies much smaller than a cory can do this. If I could have two large community tanks I'd probably keep the tetras and cories together in one and platys and mollies in another but since this isn't feasible right now I'm thinking about dropping the sinking food in right before the lights go out (if the cories are truly nocturnal). Will this work?

[Carl]

I have observed Corys being active after lights out, but whethter they are active all night, I really cannot say.

I think your idea is a good one!

Another suggestion (& this is only to go along with your idea), and that is during normal feeding times to soak the flake foods in water for a few minutes prior to feeding to give your Corys at least a "fighting" chance against the Mollies.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

I have had a similar problem with goldfish. Some fish would were better at locating and searching for food so some of them did not get enough. My solution to this is I feed them pretty small (not super small) pieces of food all at once. This keeps the fish that are better searchers occupied while the fish that don't locate food as easily get some. Instead of say, putting in 3 small pinches of food over a 3 minute period, I put it in all at once (not overfeeding of course). This doesn't give the fish that are better at locating food time to eat it all before the others get to it.

I also always feed fish on one side of the tank and wave to them so they come before I feed them so they all of them are aware that they are about to be fed.

Hope that helps.

[Carl]

Oct 7, 2009 15:15:16 GMT -5 goldenpuon said:

Some fish would were better at locating and searching for food so some of them did not get enough. My solution to this is I feed them pretty small (not super small) pieces of food all at once. This keeps the fish that are better searchers occupied while the fish that don't locate food as easily get some. Instead of say, putting in 3 small pinches of food over a 3 minute period, I put it in all at once (not overfeeding of course). This doesn't give the fish that are better at locating food time to eat it all before the others get to it.

Good Idea

Carl

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

I have 4 female and 1 male cory (how do i know...saw them spawning and laying eggs!! THAT was awesome...other fish ate the eggs though )...sry off subject.

I feed the cories on 1 side of my 75g and the Neons, Danios, Betta, and 1 female guppy(soon to be rehomed) on the other side. I feed sinking pellets for them...and of course they scavenge for the flake that does make it to the bottom. My cories are most active at night or right before I turn the lights on in the tank. Maybe feed the cories just before you turn the lights on...they will be able to find the food in the dark. My cories are fat and sassy so I know they are getting enough.

Good Luck.

[fishfever]

I have used the idea of breaking flakes into smaller pieces at once so there is more to go around and it does help equalize things a bit. Recently my wife showed me by letting frozen food thaw a lot more makes it to the bottom so we'll do that for the treats every few days. Another strategy I've used is to drop sinking pellets and wait for a minute or 2, then drop flake food in just as the platys/mollies start going to the bottom. When they see the flakes they come up giving the corys a few more minutes before the flakes are gone and the platys/mollies start scavenging the bottom. I also try to scatter the sinking food and break large wafers into smaller pellet sizes so a crowd won't gather in just one location (see my "algae cracker party" video). I read that if the cory belly is convex it is not getting enough while concave means it is... since mine are all concave they are probably doing fine and my worries are unfounded. But I have started experimenting by dropping the sinking food in right before the lights go out; I'll probably still feed some during the day when I see the corys scavenging.

[parker002]

I spent alot of time early on worrying about my cory cats.

Sometimes they vigorously hunt for food. Sometimes they just lay there listless - they actually look DEAD, unless you happen to notice their eyes move. On occasion, they swim frantically up and down the glass and just act generally crazy.

Day or night, lights on or off - it doesn't really seem to matter.

After much observation and even more Googling, I've come to the conclusion that cory cats are just plain COOL. They have SO much more personality than any of my other fish.

As for the original question, I do two things:

1) I usually buy more than one brand of flake food. I try to get one that is more protein-based and one that is higher in fiber/plant material. And then I mix them together. One, I think it helps make sure that all of my fish get a balanced diet since I have several different species of fish in the same tank. But also the different types of flake have different bouyancy, so some of them sink faster than others, which helps create buffer zones. The livebearers (platies, guppies) eat at the surface, the tetras eat about halfway down, and the cory cats eat what hits the bottom.

2) To make sure my cory cats get plenty to eat, I also about twice a week crush a couple of algae wafers with a rolling pin. This creates uneven fragments of all different sizes. Algae wafers crushed like this don't float (except for the absolute powder) but they also don't exactly SINK. So again, it allows each species of fish to feed at a certain depth, and plenty of it gets to the bottom for the cats.

[parker002]

Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. (sorry in advance for the poor quality of the picture, it's the best I could do)



I looked in just a few minutes ago and one of my cats was face down in the rock. He looked absolutely DEAD.

And as soon as I opened the cabinet door below the tank to get the food out, he was swimming around intently, looking for falling flakes.

Cory cats are just peculiar little fish, and QUITE entertaining IMO.

[fishfever]

Corys expend alot of energy digging around - sometimes I wonder if they like digging more than eating! I've notice them find a pellet, nibble for a bit, then go off digging again; sometimes they will return to the food but often not. So it's not surprising they get tired and need frequent cat naps.

You are very lucky that your livebearers only eat at the surface... mine aren't so well trained, they eat at all levels and all times! I usually drop the sinking pellets in first and when I see the livebearers start to go after it I'll put some flake food at the top to turn them around. This usually buys about 2-3 minutes head start for the corys. However, once the flake food is gone, the livebearers (mollys, platys) go scavenging along with the corys and don't hesitate to nudge them out of the way.

I've also noticed corys are very sensitive to vibrations, more than other fish. Every time I open the cabinet door below the tank it seems they will begin scurrying around if they had been resting. The small albino we adopted recently seems to swim around more than the 3 emerald green corys we already had. They mostly stay on the bottom except for the occasional sudden surface dives for a breath of air. Sometimes we will see the albino hanging upside down from a plant or sponge filter trying for that bit of extra scrap food. We're really glad we adopted him!

[kagome]

I have cories in both of my tanks, julii in my 20g with the ram cichlids and peppered in my 38g with the rainbow fish. I have really grown to love them. I don't have to worry about the cories in the 20g getting enough to eat, everything is pretty quiet in that tank and the rams are just nibblers and just not that greedy when it comes to food. But in my 38g, those rainbows are really something else. They will eat anything, anytime, just so long as it is small enough to fit in their mouths. They are greedy like goldfish and would probably eat until they popped. They too will eat at the top, middle and bottom of the tank. Rainbows will pick food off of gravel, plants, filter sponges, decor, anything. To make sure that my cories get enough I feed flake frenzy food that I get from Carl. It sinks fairly quickly so I make sure that I feed enough at a time that a little gets down to the bottom past the always open mouths of the rainbows. Also, when it comes to frozen food, I thaw the cubes out completely in a little cup of tank water and then dump it all in at once and wash the cup out. That way, at least some of it gets to the bottom for the cories. I soak the catfish wafers and put them in when I do the frozen food. That way the wafers are soft enough for the catfish right away and the rainbows are distracted for a little while. When I feed freeze dried food I soak half the portion so it will sink and I put the other half in without soaking so it will stay at the top and distract the rainbows. I think it's funny that we all have these voracious fish and have to make sure that our poor defenseless cories can get something to eat! lol

[parker002]

Oct 19, 2009 19:09:03 GMT -5 fishfever said:

Corys expend alot of energy digging around - sometimes I wonder if they like digging more than eating! I've notice them find a pellet, nibble for a bit, then go off digging again; sometimes they will return to the food but often not. So it's not surprising they get tired and need frequent cat naps.

Yep. Mine spend almost as much time sleeping as they do milling around.

Oct 19, 2009 19:09:03 GMT -5 fishfever said:

I've also noticed corys are very sensitive to vibrations, more than other fish.

Yeah, the cory cats definitely noticed when I open the cabinet or hood, moreso than the other fish. They also play with their reflections alot more than the other fish.

I do have one platy that likes to tease the cat though.

[wingo]

I have 3 Matae (Bandit) Cory's and I have noticed that they seem to be sensitive to sudden movement. Mine are out when the lights are on, maybe sheltered. I have noticed them looking at me through the glass and as long as I sit still no problem, but when I move or stand they skedaddle to hiding. Funny guys.

[Deleted]

Greetings,

Cory cats don't see all that well.... That is why they need good strong barbals in order to find their food.
My cory cats are active all hours of the day. They do rest from time to time - and have cory cat conventions. The back right corner of my 75 gallon is Emerald City (where the Emerald Cats hang out). One-Eyed-Jack rules Emerald City. I bought him for 50 cents (since he had one eye.... I convinced the store they would have a hard time selling him). The other two Emeralds were lucky finds. They were in with ordinary Bronze cory cats. Emeralds are "cousins" to cory cats (Emerald Brochis).

I have surplus cory cats. I love them. After rainbowfish, they are my favorites. Cory cats are like the Fellowship Commission at church... They eat after everyone else is done and clean up after everybody - and they work overtime. So... I have very active Fellowship Commissions in my Churches -- er, I mean Aquariums.

My Metae are some of the "shyest" that I have. I have three, but they seem to be loners... Most of the cats will hang with their own kind, but these three don't.

Cheers,

Judy D.