Cory That Doesn't Eat Cory Food?

[MizuFish]

I just got a little Cory a couple of days ago and he is doing very well, he is young and alert and very playful. My tank is really an Angel Fish tank but I have created areas for every type of fish that I keep. The little Cory has set up camp in the back by the bubble curtain that he loves and he swims through it daily. He's great!

Though, I feed him an additional of half a Hikari Cory pellet a day on the side of whatever he harvests in the tank and the Angels' daily flake/brine shrimp/red blod worm feast. It does it's thing, sinks and stays down there. But my Cory doesn't care much about it at all! I am 100% certain that my Angels end up eating it as I've seen him approach the pellet, browse over it and just choose gravel instead?! So far he looks healthy but I still worry that as he grows larger (and the tank .. doesn't..) and he won't eat the food what do I do? Or perhaps he will eat it as he grows hungrier?

Thanks for any thoughts or tips!

 

[matt_storey]

he may eat a little more if you added another 5-6 cories. They prefer to be in groups

 

[lilfishie]

agreed he will be much better with a group of his own, preferably the same type, just feed him before lights out, put a few pellets here and there and he should find them

 

[Caprichoso]

I just got a little Cory a couple of days ago and he is doing very well, he is young and alert and very playful. My tank is really an Angel Fish tank but I have created areas for every type of fish that I keep. The little Cory has set up camp in the back by the bubble curtain that he loves and he swims through it daily. He's great!

Though, I feed him an additional of half a Hikari Cory pellet a day on the side of whatever he harvests in the tank and the Angels' daily flake/brine shrimp/red blod worm feast. It does it's thing, sinks and stays down there. But my Cory doesn't care much about it at all! I am 100% certain that my Angels end up eating it as I've seen him approach the pellet, browse over it and just choose gravel instead?! So far he looks healthy but I still worry that as he grows larger (and the tank .. doesn't..) and he won't eat the food what do I do? Or perhaps he will eat it as he grows hungrier?

Thanks for any thoughts or tips!

Agreed they should be in groups but that doesn't mean he will like the food any better. If you get more and he's still not eating, it's not that unusual. I had to try 3 different foods before my catfish really dug into it. But they may also not eat out of "loneliness" you could say.

 

[MizuFish]

Wow, thank you all for fast replies!

I really appreciate you guys saying that as I have been thinking constantly about him being "alone". He swims fine and interacts with the other fish in the tank but he should have a body. But prior to getting him I was told that he would do excellent just him and now I worry about my tank being able to handle 1 - 2 more. I do have Angels in my tank and they require a lot of space but I guess since Corys are down at the bottom maybe that wont be a problem?

I'll keep on giving him the pellets and then he can just choose to ignore them all he wants, mommy loves him and wants him to eat D; he eats flakes and red bood worms instead as it is now...

 

[This Old Spouse]

Along with preferring to be in larger groups, they also prefer a sand substrate. It looks like you have some fairly sharp gravel as a substrate now.

 

[MizuFish]

Along with preferring to be in larger groups, they also prefer a sand substrate. It looks like you have some fairly sharp gravel as a substrate now.

I don't know if they're very sharp but yes I have smaller gravel and he's having no problem with that I can see. But I wouldnt mind adding some finer stand to his area in the tank so he also can have what he likes the most.

 

[`Peter]

Try to get your cory a few buddies 2-3 more shouldn't really create much hassle in your tank if it can accommodate a couple of angels. Corydas mostly spend their time at the bottom of the tank anyway.

 

[Geoff-]

I have fine sand that NOTHING sinks through (so it's not that helpful to you sorry ) but I take a pinch of hikari micro pellets and release them under the waterline and they sink straight away. my bronze corys go on a mad hunt to find the tasty morsels on the substrate

switch to sand it's better!

 

[MizuFish]

I've been working hard on switching out the gravel, I've kept the gravel with the Angels and finally got some sand coming in for the Corys. Still he is showing no interest in the pellets, he eats everything else besides the special Cory food I have for him, the Angels used to be the only ones eating them. They're hopeless, they eat anything they can fit into their mouths, hah.

I've been told that they do best with their own kind so I want to get Cory friends for him of the same color, just to be sure they will be friends and get along, it wasn't easy but it's finally looking up so soon he will have more friends. Maybe they can show him that the pellets are food, not friends.

 

[Fish are AWE]

Hmm... I agree with the other people, but try feeding him at night cories tend to be more active at night time. THEY SHOOT LIKE ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!