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Hello,

I'm brand new to cories and I have a question. I have 1 pygmy cory in a 5 gallon tank, along with a betta. (I had 2 cories, but one died, and I hope to replace him as soon as there are more in the store.) My question is, how much should I feed this little guy? He's still fairly small, and he can't possibly eat much. I have Nutrafin Max "complete food tablets" and spirulina algae tablets. There's no uneaten food in my tank (my betta would never consider leaving one of his pellets uneaten) for him to scavenge. I've only been giving him 1/2 a pill-sized complete tablet, or about 1/6 of a larger algae tablet. But how often should I be feeding him? Every day?

1/2 of a tablet is probably to much for one pygmy cory. Corys are not vegie eaters so I would not feed the algae tablets at all. Try some freeze dried worms the betta will enjoy them as well. I would also add two more corys to the tank so you can observe their natural schooling behavior.

Mark

D'oh! Now that you mention it, I cut my little tablets into quarters, not halves.

The problem I have with freeze-dried bloodworms is that they float, and there's no way that my betta would let them sink. As it is, it's hard getting him to leave the sinking food on the bottom of the tank alone. (Turns out it's him eating the algae pellets.)

So, should my little guy be getting a quarter of a pellet once a day? Will he eat that much? Once every two days? Once a week?

I do plan to get a second cory, as soon as they get more into the store. He's been alone for just over a week now, and so far he doesn't seem to mind. Hopefully not too much longer.

You can try some frozen Blood worms or Brine Shrimp that will sink to the bottom of the tank. Only use a very small amount, with only two fish you don't want to foul the tank. 1/4 pellet once a day should be fine especially after you pick up another cory.

Mark

Thanks for the info so far. One more quickie (I just want to be a good fish-mommy), is there anything I can do to encourage my cory to eat? He just hangs out, does his thing, and doesn't seem to notice the food on the bottom. Meanwhile my betta swoops in and eats it, and then it's too late for the cory.

firestar wrote:Thanks for the info so far. One more quickie (I just want to be a good fish-mommy), is there anything I can do to encourage my cory to eat? He just hangs out, does his thing, and doesn't seem to notice the food on the bottom. Meanwhile my betta swoops in and eats it, and then it's too late for the cory.

Having a few friends to eat together with will help. Other than that, if the fish isn't hungry, it won't eat. If there's someone "more agressive" in the eating front, then that fish will get the food. Betta's can be quite "agressive" when it comes to grabbing food. Of course, if you feed the betta something at the top (flakes) at the same time, it will perhaps be distracted long enough for the cory to get it's food.

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Mats

firestar

The best way to feed your C. pygmaeus would be the crush the quarter tablet and let the particles sink. Naturally Corys are what I would call particle feeders, even the larger species and as long as the substrate is fine, i.e. sand or very small gravel there should not be any problems. I you get the chance of a few more C. pygmaeus I would add at least another 5 or 6, they will shoal together and will almost certainly breed providing you have both sexes. The fighter may take the eggs or fry but if there is plenty of plants and cover many will survive.

Ian

Thanks for the info. I have sand in my tank, so the food just sits on top. I think if the tablets are crushed, the betta will leave them alone. He's talented, but there's no way he could pick up food that's so small, not with his upturned top-feeder mouth. (Won't stop him from trying, persistent little piggy that he is.) Sadly, there's no room in my tank for more cories. It's only 5 gallons, and I'm not able to get anything bigger.