Getting Fed Up With My Gold/green Stripe Corys

[mattlee]

i have 6 gold and 2 green stripe corys and since adding the greens i never see any of them anymore............. when i first bought some they were all over the place like corys are then they calmed down and just chilled out a bit so i added a few more to try and get them out again and nothing! so i got 2 greens for the same reason, more fish more sociable, but now i barely see anything of them and they may as well not be in the tank.
ive had a bit of an issue with a few of them flicking but no other symptoms are there and its not a regular occurance. i have put it down to my substrate irritating their gills. this is the bad thing as they may have to be moved into a spare tank of their own in the garage where i will hardly see them still.......
they used to be my favourite fish but im slowly going off them and fast!

has anyone else with these corys have an anti social behaviour with them?

water is fine -

nitrite = 0
ammonia = 0
pH = 7.4
nitrate = 20
temp = 24 degrees c

 

[ulster exile]

I have golds and tbh find them very timid most of the time. But given decent plant cover, time and good food, they become very active around 9pm onwards. They are sensitive to movement outside of the tank, so I have to pull up a pew and be patient, but they do come out and they are fantastic to watch.

They are bold compared to my sodalis though!

 

[mattlee]

thats exactly how mine are.... as soon as i go near the tank they shoot off and hide and as i type this they are out and about, they do seem to come out about 9pm! they do look good when all 8 are swimming together but im kinda thinking they are a lot of cash for an hour or so a night.......

 

[skippy_49nz]

My sterbais are like this and you're right, it is a drag!

 

[jelloz]

I thought that it was just MY gold stripes that were doing this.

After reading the posts above, I decided to take another approach. Instead of babying them, I am going to intentionally bump their tank, each time I walk by. Heck it can't hurt, and this is the only way I get to see them. I have been doing this for 2 days now and I was absolutely shocked at how large some of them have grown in the past 9 months since I bought them.

My hope is that this kind of conditioning may make them less skiddish.

 

[Coryologist]

My hope is that this kind of conditioning may make them less skiddish.

Yeah. If the stress doesn't kill them, first. How would you like it if every time someone walked by you they whacked you on the side of the head with a 2x4? Corys are not circus animals that are supposed to "perform" for you. If you're not happy with their natural behavior, pass them along to someone that will allow them to live in peace, the way nature intended and buy yourself a pet monkey. - Frank

P.S. Every week on my radio show I discuss the most ridiculous thread that I've seen on a fish forum in the past week. Ladies and gentlemen - we have a winner. lol.

 

[mattlee]

 

[jelloz]

My hope is that this kind of conditioning may make them less skiddish.

Yeah. If the stress doesn't kill them, first. How would you like it if every time someone walked by you they whacked you on the side of the head with a 2x4? Corys are not circus animals that are supposed to "perform" for you. If you're not happy with their natural behavior, pass them along to someone that will allow them to live in peace, the way nature intended and buy yourself a pet monkey. - Frank

P.S. Every week on my radio show I discuss the most ridiculous thread that I've seen on a fish forum in the past week. Ladies and gentlemen - we have a winner. lol.

Stress? Tip toeing by them causes them to go crazy. All cories react to vibration but these guys go crazy.

Why give them to someone who will enjoy them? There is nothing to enjoy. Heck, plant a tank with no fish. It is the same thing.

What do I have to lose, maybe I will make a break through in de-sensitizing fish.

I don't expect to have fish perform for me but I think it is important to let people know on this forum that you can spend a huge premium to get these fish and then you will never see them. I spent $200 on 10 of them. I NEVER would have spent that kind of money if I had known how they behave. They are a true waste of money, effort and time.

 

[rugar]

I have aquariums with about 25 species/varities of corys most of which are in heavy planted tanks. I rarely seem them during the day, only active at feeding time AM and just before dark. In fact, I only see my sterbais when they spawn.

Rugar

 

[Nick16]

I thought that it was just MY gold stripes that were doing this.

After reading the posts above, I decided to take another approach. Instead of babying them, I am going to intentionally bump their tank, each time I walk by. Heck it can't hurt, and this is the only way I get to see them. I have been doing this for 2 days now and I was absolutely shocked at how large some of them have grown in the past 9 months since I bought them.

My hope is that this kind of conditioning may make them less skiddish.

thatis the funnisest thing i have read all week. bring out the 2x4 !!!
oh and not to mention bumping the tank is putting massive pressure on the joints, and the cabinet, but i guess you dont care about that either?
wow ignorance is a bad bad thing.

 

[jelloz]

I thought that it was just MY gold stripes that were doing this.

After reading the posts above, I decided to take another approach. Instead of babying them, I am going to intentionally bump their tank, each time I walk by. Heck it can't hurt, and this is the only way I get to see them. I have been doing this for 2 days now and I was absolutely shocked at how large some of them have grown in the past 9 months since I bought them.

My hope is that this kind of conditioning may make them less skiddish.

thatis the funnisest thing i have read all week. bring out the 2x4 !!!
oh and not to mention bumping the tank is putting massive pressure on the joints, and the cabinet, but i guess you dont care about that either?
wow ignorance is a bad bad thing.

And your solution is what?

 

[mattlee]

ok lets not all get too upset..........

the reason i posted this post is because my corys used to be out all the time, then stayed hidden so i added more thinking it would make them feel more secure in numbers. they are wonderfull fish but i was trying to get some sense from people as to why i dont see them anymore! if this is normal then so be it, but i dont thinking banging the tank is a solution i would have thought that would make them hide even more and become scared of the owner........

they do demand a high premium as they are rarer than other corys and if you dont ever see them then it could be seen as a waste of money, but they are there and do a great job of hoovering up all the sunken food etc so they have a place in any tank. there are cheaper corys and there are more expensive fish that hide and people buy them. im just a bit dissapointed as i thought that adding more would bring them out again and i could really enjoy them for what they are. i am infact going to nottingham tomorrow to buy another 7 adult gold striped corys to try and breed them, maybe i just have less hiding places in their new breeding tank so i can see them more.

if anyone can give me any advice on tank conditions etc for breeding then im all ears

 

[jelloz]

ok lets not all get too upset..........

the reason i posted this post is because my corys used to be out all the time, then stayed hidden so i added more thinking it would make them feel more secure in numbers. they are wonderfull fish but i was trying to get some sense from people as to why i dont see them anymore! if this is normal then so be it, but i dont thinking banging the tank is a solution i would have thought that would make them hide even more and become scared of the owner........

they do demand a high premium as they are rarer than other corys and if you dont ever see them then it could be seen as a waste of money, but they are there and do a great job of hoovering up all the sunken food etc so they have a place in any tank. there are cheaper corys and there are more expensive fish that hide and people buy them. im just a bit dissapointed as i thought that adding more would bring them out again and i could really enjoy them for what they are. i am infact going to nottingham tomorrow to buy another 7 adult gold striped corys to try and breed them, maybe i just have less hiding places in their new breeding tank so i can see them more.

if anyone can give me any advice on tank conditions etc for breeding then im all ears

It is not like I haven't tried. I added gravel, bar bottom, Sand bottom, plants, no plants, plastic pants, light, no light, dither fish every combination and I never see them. If you have 6 now and are going to buy 7 more, that is 13. I have 10, I don't think 3 more would change things but hey, who knows.

Here comes the thousand dollar question, why breed invisible fish?

 

[Nick16]

becuase they are nt invisible in every tank, mine swima around ALL levels of the tank, and snuffle around in the sand searchinf for food. they even sleep on my moss and large anubias leaves.

now, yours are hiding either:

becuase they feel threatened by something (fish,invert or decor or you)
becuase your water isnt tip top
because there is something else wrong like they have nibbled tails etc.

alternatively, this is natural behaviour for corries, i dont see why you are complaining, did you not research before buying? by buying them you accept whatever the fish decides to do, if it hides then so be it, you should have checked first.
just becuase they are invisible doesnt mean they arent valued members of your tank, thng of the CUC they provide.
i could say well why breed owls, i never see them, the fact is they are nocturnal....

my betting is by constantly whacking the tank, you have made them even more skitish and scared so they feel if they come out they will be forced to run away again. Whacking the tank is probably THE worst thing you can do. I place my food for them in the middle of my foreground and quite far away from where they are currently settling, this means that they have to snuffle around to find it.

 

[mattlee]

ok lets not all get too upset..........

the reason i posted this post is because my corys used to be out all the time, then stayed hidden so i added more thinking it would make them feel more secure in numbers. they are wonderfull fish but i was trying to get some sense from people as to why i dont see them anymore! if this is normal then so be it, but i dont thinking banging the tank is a solution i would have thought that would make them hide even more and become scared of the owner........

they do demand a high premium as they are rarer than other corys and if you dont ever see them then it could be seen as a waste of money, but they are there and do a great job of hoovering up all the sunken food etc so they have a place in any tank. there are cheaper corys and there are more expensive fish that hide and people buy them. im just a bit dissapointed as i thought that adding more would bring them out again and i could really enjoy them for what they are. i am infact going to nottingham tomorrow to buy another 7 adult gold striped corys to try and breed them, maybe i just have less hiding places in their new breeding tank so i can see them more.

if anyone can give me any advice on tank conditions etc for breeding then im all ears

It is not like I haven't tried. I added gravel, bar bottom, Sand bottom, plants, no plants, plastic pants, light, no light, dither fish every combination and I never see them. If you have 6 now and are going to buy 7 more, that is 13. I have 10, I don't think 3 more would change things but hey, who knows.

Here comes the thousand dollar question, why breed invisible fish?

the 7 will be in thier own tank and the 6 i have in my community tank will stay there unless i decide to add them to the breeding tank. i want to breed them as they are really nice fish and very sought after and provide a good return price also because i struggled to find any of these fish and i know people who are also struggling to find any so maybe i would be doing the gold stripe a favour by making them a bit more available. i would also like to breed green stripes but so far i have only found 2 which i bought to go with my golds.