What Is The Best Way To Feed Corydoras?

[ey2006]

Hi all, I've had bronze corydoras for a month now and sterbai's for a week, and am still trying to find a way to properly feed them!

I've tried feeding them everything, from frozen worms/brine shrimp to flakes to sinking pellets to algae wafers and all the other fish always gets to it before the corys do! The closest they've gotten is with algae wafers, which they munch on after the lights are out.

But with the other food, the danios, white clouds, gourami's and plattys ALWAYS gobble them up completely before they reach the substrate, thus the corys have no chance of eating them. Mind you, its not like I'm feeding tiny amounts, I'm actually feeding massive amounts, and even when some of the food reaches the gravel (because I've put so much), the corys don't react to it straight away and the other fish will eat the food from the gravel after they are done with the other food at the top.

I'm just wondering how you feed your corys (if they are in a community tank with other fish) and how can you tell if your cory is eating enough? I have a feeling I am deeply under-feeding my corys but because they all look active, healthy and playful, maybe my gut feeling is off.

The only other thing I can think of is to net off the other fish and keep them in a corner while I feed the corys! That is a bit too cruel though and it will take me forever to net the danios!

I'm also curious as to why all my corys would spend most of the day digging the gravel for food when there isnt any food there? Unless the tiny crushed flakes sinks to the bottom without the other fish noticing it, it would be hard for any food to stay in the gravel long enough for the corys to get to it.

Sorry for the long post, but I'd love to hear what you think and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Cheers

 

[Tempestuousfury]

A few ideas come to mind:

You mentioned turning off the lights for the algae wafers. Why not turn off the lights for the other foods? (Including tank and room)

Feed flakes to the top feeders, sinking foods to the others (simultaneously, though it doesn't seem like it would work very well...)

Get a turkey baster and suck up some bloodworms, dropping them straight onto the substrate.

Corydoras sift the substrate looking for worms and whatnot in it. It's how they feed in the wild, so even if there are no flakes or other types of food under the gravel, they'll still sniff around, looking for food.

 

[Dong]

You should put some wafer into the tank at night after all lights are off. That way only cories would be able to find the food.

 

[The-Wolf]

I feed mine JMC catfish pellets, they sink fast and are of a size that danios spend ages sucking on one, so it gives the corys chance to find them.

 

[flumpit2]

hi ey2006,i have 4 quite large common goldfish in with my corys and goldfish are really greedy.what i do is turn the lights,air stone and filter off,then i put the goldies flakes in one side of the tank.while there busy with there flakes i drop the catfishs king british sinking pellets into the other side of the tank so the goldies dont notice.then after 5 mins i turn the air stone back on which also helps some of the flake food sink.

youd be suprised by the amount of food that actualy sinks to the bottom of a tank and gets stuck in plants,ornamets and rocks etc.

im sure your corys are getting enough food or theyd be really skinny and listless plus they definatly wouldnt of bred for you!!!my corys dig in the sand looking for food near enough all day long even though there really well fed,its just a cory thing.

you could also try soaking the pellets for a few minutes first then using a turkey baster place them directly on the substrate so they break up quite quickly and the food is dispersed more,so the corys have more chance of finding bits that drift under plants etc.

shaz

 

[dwarfgourami]

I tried feeding after lights out, but my platies worked that one out in no time. So now I feed flakes at one end and drop in a catfish tablet as soon as I see the platies busy on that. When I feed jellied live foods hey all crowd in together at the bottom. Corys are slower than other fish, but mine seem to be able to gauge the platies' reactions now and come out when they get excited.

 

[walker001]

Hi, is your tank planted with live plants or plastic. I found my Gourami loves Moneywort...mostly they are green sticks now. I always feed with flake food and would probably be called on overfeeding. Some flakes get to the bottom, and I add 3 veggie tablets about every other day. They are about the size of a penny and pretty thick. They seem to last 2 days. My corys have a rock cave they hang out in alot, and I have noticed that they occasionaly move a tablet into their lair.

Just have to try different things. But as long as they are swimming around, looking a bit plump, and do that funny jetting to the surface on occasion, they should be fine.

 

[robyngunston]

I know exactly how you feel....I had the same problem with my tetra's....everything I put in was eaten before it even reached half-way down the tank, it was very frustrating, I even tried separating my fish at feeding times but this became very timeous, not to mention stressful for the fish as you are always catching them and then putting them back.....I found that the best thing that worked was to.....take a small handful of sinking pellets and drop them on the substrate, as close as possible by putting your whole arm in if necessary.....immediately afterwards feed the others some flakes...that way they are distracted when the Cory's find their pellets.....what worked even better was dropping in a full algae wafer...because it is bigger the tetra's couldn't steal them away and that way they can nibble on it as long as they want...it works best if you soak it in tank water first that way in doesn't float on the surface first alerting the greedy fish, and then drop it onto the substrate don't let it float down as the other fish will see it...another thing that I have tried recently that seems to be working quite well is your average garden peas....the tetra's don't seem interested in them...and they are vegetables so you can feed them as many as you like and they can never have too much. Just put a few peas in a bowl of boiling water (out the kettle) for 30 seconds....pop them out of their shells...wait for them to cool....and drop them in....it might take a day or two for them to recognise them as food but just wait and see Hope this helps.

 

[Barracuda518]

I had the same problem too. I just took the sinking wafers and soaked them in some tank water for a while so that the wafers could soften up a bit. This made it easier for the cories to eat. You could also take a pinch of food in your fingers and hold it in the water for a second or two and it will sink more quickly. I also switched to a bigger flaked food and that helped too.

Good Luck

 

[mantis147]

I just feed my corys bloodworm. I just let it sink from the surface & they just find them!