Cory likes filter

[cfitz619]

Hello. I purchased my first 2 cory cats today. They are awesome! The first one does his thing on the bottom of the tank. The 2nd one seems to like the filter intake. He swims up there by himself and hangs out on the intake. When I move the filter a little bit he goes back to the bottom of the tank.

A few minutes later he goes directly back to the intake.

He is not getting stuck, and can get off it by himself.

Is it normal for a cory cat to do this?


Thank You for any help.

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

The cory behaviour may be due to something, or just settling in. But there are some pending issues here.

First, cories are what we term a shoaling species, meaning they live in very large groups and there must be several of them in an aquarium. Five is absolute minimum, but a few more is even better. But this brings us to other issues.

What is the tank size? Volume and dimensions. How long has it been running with fish? What other fish do you have? Can you do tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and if yes, what are the numbers?

Cories do not like being moved, so this could be a reaction to that. But it could also be something much more serious.

 

[cfitz619]

Thank You for the response. After observing my corys (5) for 24 hours, he is acting like he should & staying with the others now at the bottom of the tank. I believe he was just getting used to his new home. The tank is an established 55 gallon. Water was tested today at petco and everything is where it should be.

I love my corys! What an awesome fish!

 

[Byron]

Thank You for the response. After observing my corys (5) for 24 hours, he is acting like he should & staying with the others now at the bottom of the tank. I believe he was just getting used to his new home. The tank is an established 55 gallon. Water was tested today at petco and everything is where it should be.

I love my corys! What an awesome fish!

Good. Just so you know, something about water tests. Always give us the numbers so we know exactly the situation, and especially if you ask a store to do the tests. What the store person thinks is "OK" may not be OK at all. Many store staff are not trained biologists, and subjective terms may mean very different things.

Also, it is well worth having your own test kits. The four basic tests are pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. API makes a kit with all four, called the Master Combo. The liquid test is more reliable than test strips, so investing in one of these would be a very good idea. Emergencies will occur and getting to the store may not be feasible. Plus, regular pH and nitrate tests in particular can show you if the aquarium is balanced or not.

 

[cfitz619]

Thanks for the info, Byron! I am going to get the Master Combo tomorrow. My cory seems to be doing very well now.
I am now monitoring my baby female betta who thinks my 3 good sized ghost shrimp that I got today look like snacks.

I am fairly new to keeping fish, so this forum is going to be a big help to me.

Again, thanks for the help. It is greatly appreciated. This forum is awesome!

 

[Sarah73]

Hey! Welcome to fish keeping! I have around 20-30 corydoras in my 60 gallon. 10 albinos, 7 blue spotted corydoras, and 10 emeralds! I am also a breeder. I have around 40 in my 2.5 gallon tank.(not even an inch long). It's been stated above to get more, but corydoras LOVE to swim through currents and all of that stuff. It's nothing weird. They are also getting used to there environment.

 

[cfitz619]

Hi Sarah,
Wow, You have a lot of cory cats.

Thanks for the info

 

[Sarah73]

Hi Sarah,
Wow, You have a lot of cory cats.

Thanks for the info

Yes I do! You are very welcome!

 

[cfitz619]

I wanted to update my cory cat situation.

All 3 of my cory cats are now acting normally and stay away from the filter. They are very fun to watch. My betta will follow them around to see what they are eating because she wants some too! They aren't having it though. They sit directly on the food so she can't get it.