Cory Lover
Nov 11th 2007, 06:50 PM
Corydoras are one of the most mis-fed species of fish there is in the freshwater aquarium hobby. Most people (as pet stores lead them to believe) think Cories will live off the leftover flakes and grunge on the bottom of the tank, which is very mistaken. Corydoras need a variety of food just like other fish, and in these next couple paragraphs you'll learn how to feed your Cory properly.
To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away. Look for the HBH brand, they make good quality ones (stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they get very messy). A good ratio is two shrimp pellets a day per Cory, but if you have other fish, like cichlids, that may eat them before the Corydoras can get them, give your Cory at least four.
Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers every second day. Try to get the Hikari Brand, they make excellent Cory food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet.
Once you start feeding your Corydoras both of those, you're doing well, but you should still give your Cories more variety.
Hikari Sinking Wafers (a Cory favorite) is even better for your Corydoras then shrimp pellets or algae wafers. So if you can pay a little more, I would highly recommend getting these too.
Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food, and they need something thats more 'real', and also for you, not outragously expensive. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Tubifex Worms fit the bill perfectly. They are cheaper then live or frozen foods, but in my experience Corydoras like them more. They come in small cubes, and the problem is they float so Corydoras can't get them easily. But, there is a way to get them to sink. Wrap some aquarium metal weigths (plant anchors work well) gently around the cube, then throw it in the tank and watch a feeding frenzy begin at the bottom of your aquarium.
If you feed your Corydoras properly, you'll have more lively and beautiful Cories then you've ever had before.
Matt
To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away. Look for the HBH brand, they make good quality ones (stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they get very messy). A good ratio is two shrimp pellets a day per Cory, but if you have other fish, like cichlids, that may eat them before the Corydoras can get them, give your Cory at least four.
Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers every second day. Try to get the Hikari Brand, they make excellent Cory food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet.
Once you start feeding your Corydoras both of those, you're doing well, but you should still give your Cories more variety.
Hikari Sinking Wafers (a Cory favorite) is even better for your Corydoras then shrimp pellets or algae wafers. So if you can pay a little more, I would highly recommend getting these too.
Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food, and they need something thats more 'real', and also for you, not outragously expensive. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Tubifex Worms fit the bill perfectly. They are cheaper then live or frozen foods, but in my experience Corydoras like them more. They come in small cubes, and the problem is they float so Corydoras can't get them easily. But, there is a way to get them to sink. Wrap some aquarium metal weigths (plant anchors work well) gently around the cube, then throw it in the tank and watch a feeding frenzy begin at the bottom of your aquarium.
If you feed your Corydoras properly, you'll have more lively and beautiful Cories then you've ever had before.
Matt