my cory hitting the top?

[GuppyDude]

my corys are both darting to the top of the water and then darting back to the ground again. is this normal. they arnt jumping but it like they are trying to breath from the surface or sumthin

 

[yhbae]

Not sure why they do it (I'm sure inchworm will answer this for you... ) but mine does that all the time as well. I _think_ they are going up there to get some air as well, but not sure why they need to do this...

 

[kevin007]

yes it is normal...they get air ..as yhbae..jut wanna...say..i agree too ..in a way

 

[enchanted]

It is to get air. They actually swallow it and it gets dissolved in their stomachs.

 

[yhbae]

I remember asking this question a while back - I think the conclusion was that just because your cories do this, doesn't mean there isn't enough O2 in the tank. I was concerned initially, thinking there's not enough O2 near the bottom of the tank...

 

[enchanted]

yhbae you are right in that it has nothing to do with the tank O2 levels. It is part of their metabolism and how they intake oxygen.

 

[jflowers]

Agree with above, I have three julii and they do it every now and then and I have had them a while. Dart to the top and dart back down again, sure I have seen another thread on this, a quick search should find it.

Jon

 

[GuppyDude]

yea i was a lil bit concerned because somone told me one time that bottom dwelling fish need alot of co2 to survive because they dont make it to the top. im glad their ok, their week has been hecktic so i was a tad worryed

 

[yhbae]

yea i was a lil bit concerned because somone told me one time that bottom dwelling fish need alot of co2 to survive because they dont make it to the top. im glad their ok, their week has been hecktic so i was a tad worryed

I'm sure you meant O2 (rather than CO2...) B)

 

[daddyo72]

Its normal. They gulp air when they go to the surface which makes them more bouant IE makes it easier to swim.

 

[daddyo72]

The reason for this is their lack of a air blatter.

 

[purple_drazi]

that is so cool!! I didn't know that, none of the information I had found mentioned it. I was getting concerned that Kitty and whatever the heck the other one's name is were going to the top of the tank because they're supposed to be bottom dwellers. I called the lfs and they said it was normal but not why.
You learn something new every day here!

Disclaimer: these cory cats were named by my daughter who thought it would be cute to have a cat fish named kitty. the other one's name is something equally cute but fortunately I've forgotten what it is. probably angel or something...