Newbie stupid Q: Will Corys / Hoplo's eat selves to death

[katgermain]

Hi All,

This question seems too stupid to post this in the Cory's et al forum. It seems like I should save bandwidth there for 'real' questions! I feel like it should be really simple/ basic but I can't figure out the answer.

I have one each of:
Corydoras aeneus
Hoplosternum littorale
Corydoras concolor
Corydoras schwartzi
Corydoras panda

I feed them:
Bloodworm, a cube a week
Hikari Sinking Wafers (3 or 4) daily
Sera San (a pinch) daily
and Omega One Natural Protein Formula Freshwater Flakes (a pinch) daily
I have also tried feeding them various vegetables (skin-less cooked peas, cuke, blanched spinach), which they are not interested in.

I know one of the dangers of over-feeding is that the food rots and causes water quality problems. However, I'd like to know if any of my Corys or Hoplo Cats have a tendency to over-eat to the point of a self-inflicted-untimely demise?

It seems like it should be pretty basic info but a search on the internet has left me with no definitive answers. It seems to be split. It also appears that many subscribe to the "fish have a 3 second memory" thing, or just that fish are just plain "stupid". Now, I'm not gonna get my fish to do my taxes this year, but is it possible they're so 'simple' that they wouldn't stop eating if their stomach hurts? ...or maybe they don't have nerves there? ...or maybe they misunderstand the 'stomach is about to rupture' pains with 'gee, I'm hungry' pains?

I am still trying to figure out the balance with how much to feed them, especially now that a (well meaning) friend gave me Tiger Barbs which are pretty voracious eaters.

Any help is appreciated.

Kat

[MatsP]

I don't think fish overeat because they are "stupid", but because there are unexpected side-effects of the food. One potential problem is the fact that dry food expands (swells) when it goes in the water. If the fish eats the food before it's swelled completely, then the food will swell in their stomach. That certainly won't be good for the fish's health.

Fish can go a long time without food. Overfeeding is a common cause for death in fish.

The fact that most fish go mad as soon as there's food available in the tank doesn't mean they are very hungry. Much like dogs, fish are oppurtunistic feeders, and will eat more than they need for the day when food is available. In nature, food is often scarce, so eating everything edible is entirely in tune with survival. In an artificial environment like an aquarium, the fish will have more food than in nature, so natural behaviour isn't "right".

--
Mats

[L number Banana]

Hello from up the 401,
No such thing as a stupid question when it's about your fish. Most people here have answered my, um,pathetic, questions here with grace and courtesy so don't hesitate to ask your questions

If we already knew all there is to know we would just bore ourselves to death...

And my hoplos eat like pigs and they're very healthy, my corys too. When I first started with catfish I think I caused a wee bit too much fish-poo and food decay by over-feeding so maybe keeping a good eye on the leftovers will help you figure out their eating habits.

[MatsP]

Moved to Callichthyidae section, as it is (mainly) about Cory and hoplos!

--
Mats

[PanzerFodder]

Giving "Hikari Sinking Wafers (3 or 4) daily" seems to be a lot for only 4 corys to me, I have 9 small corys in my tank and they only get one each day (I feed twice a day and break the wafer in half) They seem to be doing fine on just half a wafer for each feed, although I do have a couple wild looking Angels in the tank with them, who tend to "HIT" thier food really hard and smash it into small particals, lots of which land on the substrate were it gets picked up by the corys so I know they are getting plenty of other stuff to eat as well, I do not feel the need ATM to give them more sinking wafers than they can eat in about 15 minutes.

I have never killed a fish by starvation yet, but I did over feed when I first got a tank and my water went bad and some swordtails died because of that .

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...

[katgermain]

Giving "Hikari Sinking Wafers (3 or 4) daily" seems to be a lot for only 4 corys to me...

...well good thing I got three more today then! (1 more panda and 2 swartzi's)

I'm turning into a crazy Cat(fish) Lady!

Also got some Frog Bit and a Moss Ball (affectionately called "Tribble"). Need another tanks soon. Oh oh!

[PanzerFodder]

...well good thing I got three more today then! (1 more panda and 2 swartzi's)

Congratulations on your new Corys , would like a couple swartzi myself, but have not seen any for sale up here in North York, which may be a good thing anyway, or else I’m going to need another tank as well “LOL” .

If you are buying more plants soon, have a look at the “Anubias barteri” I have a couple, they seem to be very hardy and they don’t need very much light to do well.

Good luck with your new fish…PanzerFodder…

[katgermain]

If you are buying more plants soon, have a look at the “Anubias barteri”

Pretty sure that's the name of my first (and only planted) real plant. It's some kinda Anubias, anyway. Am hoping to build towards a completely planted tank, but starting slow. Because my tank was a 'rescue' tank, i'm mostly playing catch up and relying on the expertise of the dudes in the fish store... or trying to figure out where I eff'd up posthumously when something goes wrong

[PanzerFodder]

Cherry Shrimp Fail

Talking about effing thing's up, I went to the LFS on Saturday and asked the Guy serving for a couple of hatchet fish, while he was catching them he also managed to net a cherry shrimp at the same time, and said that I could have that one for free

I brought them home, floated the bag in my tank for about 30 mins and then let them go
Could not see the cherry shrimp anywhere so I turned the lights on, and there he was walking across my Anubias barteri plant I must have watched him for all of 30 seconds before one of my Angelfish swooped down and bit him in half

Maybe I have not been feeding them enough???

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...

[MatsP]

No, I think you just got some free, very tasty, angel-fish food. One of those things... Given a tasty snack, the Angel fish will EAT IT, doesn't matter whether they are generally fed enough or not.

--
Mats