Feeding Corys

I have a fairly newly established 55g tank. Currently I have 6 Panda Corys, 5 cherry shrimp, 3 nerite snails, and a bunch of pond snails. I'll be introducing more fish to make this a community tank over time (I currently have 5 more Panda Cory's in quarantine). I've given the Corys a couple kinds of wafers and sinking pellets. They seem to be doing ok but when I drop in food its just the pond snails (and a shrimp or two) that swarm the food. As a result I have gotten a rapid increase in pond snails (I don't mind them in smaller numbers but they have exploded in population and cover the pellets when feeding).

Parameters (and this has been consistent for weeks):
Temp: 77
pH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10
I have good surface flow so I don't think oxygen is an issue.

I know the general rule is only feed what they eat in 3-4 min but they're not going for the food, at least not right away. They hang out in the shade, "surf" the glass, and pick at the bottom sometimes. I feel like they went for the wafers somewhat before the swarm of pond snails.

Any suggestions? I saw another post saying to try and feed when its darker so I'll try that. I'm also going to put in a wafer for the snails to swarm on and then scoop them out. I'm thinking of getting a couple Assassin Snails as well to help control the population.

Here is a video of one of the Corys out and about and then the swarming of snails: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZpB6VLwbePTNTx7G8

Some changes in the food will help both the health of the cories and the feeding issue. The #1 food for all cories is Fluval Bug Bites. The bottom feeder size should be OK, or you can use the mini bug bites. Cories naturally feed primarily on insects and insect larve, so this is a premium food. Shrimp pellets are also good, as crustaceans are the second most common natural food for these fish, but the brand makes a difference. Omega One Shrimp pellets is high quality.

Many so-called sinking foods for catfish are not nutritionally good for cories. The Bug Bites are individual and the cories will really go after them. The snails will not have a chance with this food. The shrimp pellets is a bit different, but the cories once they work out where the food is should be OK. One trick I found useful is to gently tap on the tank frame every time you feed the fish. The cories and other fish will very quickly learn to associate the tapping with food, and be more likely to get chomping down!

Thanks as always Byron! Even since my post I got some of my Corys after some wafers after removing probably 40 pond snails (got a big chunk from the swarm on the original wafer). I still think I'm going to get a couple assassin snails to help the population somewhat. I'm putting the removed pond snails in their own little container so if the assassin snails need some extra food I've got some for feeding

I'll check out your food recommendations. Right now I'm using Tetra Community wafers (I really only got the cheaper stuff to help cycle/verify the nitrogen cycle was complete) though the Corys, both the 55g and the new ones in quarantine, seem to prefer these. I also put in shrimp pellets (I have 10 more cherry shrimp in quarantine) from Hikari and Xtreme. These seem to be taken well as I don't see them sticking around long.

I'll also try tapping on the glass

On a side note I took your red root floater advice from a while ago. I started with two small cups worth and now it covers 75% of the surface. I don't get super long root growth and don't really get much red but they propagate like CRAZY. I just joined my local Aquarium Society so I plan on giving away some periodically.

I’ve kept cories for over 20 years and while mine will eat any foods the fish in the tank miss, I do make sure to give them their own food a few times a week. Usually this is TetraMin tropical tablets (used to say “Rich Mix” on the container in years past). They are easy to break into smaller pieces and the dust left over makes a good feed for various types of fry. They also enjoy a small piece of blanched zucchini once in a while, and your shrimp will also enjoy that.

In case you’re thinking of trying, I’ve also had a lot of success breeding my cories by doing a 25% water change using water slightly cooler than the tank water, right when the barometric pressure was changing (as a thunderstorm was rolling in).

Aqua67 said:

I’ve kept cories for over 20 years and while mine will eat any foods the fish in the tank miss, I do make sure to give them their own food a few times a week. Usually this is TetraMin tropical tablets (used to say “Rich Mix” on the container in years past). They are easy to break into smaller pieces and the dust left over makes a good feed for various types of fry. They also enjoy a small piece of blanched zucchini once in a while, and your shrimp will also enjoy that.

In case you’re thinking of trying, I’ve also had a lot of success breeding my cories by doing a 25% water change using water slightly cooler than the tank water, right when the barometric pressure was changing (as a thunderstorm was rolling in).

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Thanks! Yeah I've read that though Corys will do some cleanup they absolutely need to be fed with intent. So I have been making sure to do that.

Regarding the breeding that is super interesting!

Some of mine having a big feed with Frozen Bloodworm, These have been in this setup for roughly 18 months now, Breeding is also well established almost weekly now. I have kept Bronze/Albino Corys for 20+ Years & think they are so cool. The more you have of the same species, The more you will see them

jonny-5 said:

Some of mine having a big feed with Frozen Bloodworm, These have been in this setup for roughly 18 months now, Breeding is also well established almost weekly now. I have kept Bronze/Albino Corys for 20+ Years & think they are so cool. The more you have of the same species, The more you will see them
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Looks like mine are eating a bit better so far today but I am going to continue trying new foods. I'm hoping to have my quarantined bunch moved over in 5 weeks for a total of 11. Not sure how breeding will go but would like to have closer to 15 eventually. They are a blast to watch!