Sad Peppered Corry

[Anele]

Couple of weeks ago I’ve inherited three corries from a neighbour. Two of them are Swartz corries and one is peppered. Two swartzes are very active and playful but I can’t say the same about the peppered one. He is very shy and never comes out. Most of the time I don’t see him at all but occasionally you can see him sitting under the bog wood looking very sad. He had a friend apparently but the friend died. I know that they like to be in a group but I can’t get anymore fish as I’m already overstocked. I thought he’ll be ok with other two as they are all corries. My question is – are peppered corries normally so shy or is he that timid just because he hasn’t got friends? At the moment I can’t get more fish, I can’t rehome him and LFS doesn’t want to take him either. I just hope that he’ll be able to survive until I can get another tank.

 

[jollysue]

Hi Anele

I gather he has been moved, lost his only friend and is with strangers. Anyone would be depressed. Give him some time and good food. He needs to eat well and recover. Depression is stressful and stress lowers the immune system.

If there are no other symptoms and none show up, he will likely come around. But if you run into someone with a nice healthy tribe of peppers, he might like to join them, until you can get a bigger tank.

The answer to your question is though that peppers are not unusually shy when they are in a tribe.

 

[yvonne-robinson]

Hi Anele!
I have a peppered cory on its own in a mixed community tank because his pals died. He is very active, feeds well and is not at all shy. I know they are supposed to be kept in a group so I intend to get some more, but in the meantime he seems very much OK on his own. Just thought I'd let you know they can be alright on their own for a while - perhaps your little guy is a bit overwhelmed by all the changes, including tank environment and probably water chemistry. Assuming there are plenty of hiding places he may regain his confidence when he settles down.
Good luck!
Yvonne

 

[HMPK love]

He could be stressed from the move, but IMHO he needs some more peppered corries as friends. They do best in groups of 4-6 of their own spiecies. good luck! Pepperd corries are really fun to keep.

 

[OldMan47]

I see and generally follow the advice about 5 or 6 cories of a type minimum. I love he way they play in my tanks. At one time cories were treated as a pure cleanup crew and were not given the love they are now. At that time it was not unusual to keep one or two alone in a tank and most were healthy and lived long lives. Now that lots of us have seen how active they can be in groups they are no longer treated as just a cleanup crew member but in your situation you can know that a lone cory will be OK and will thrive once it become comfortable. It used to be the only way you would see them and they were healthy even then.