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My question: Can corys survive without a lot of food? It's in relation to my suggestion needed, which is how many you would suggest I would have in a 29 gallon tank. I have 3 panda corys, and I love them to death. However, I'm afraid to get more because there might not be enough food for them all. I'd hate for them to starve D:!

Thaaanks!

i wouldn't get more if the cories you have now aren't getting enough food. i'd guess that more cories equals more food but you definitely don't want to overfeed.
do you have any aggressive fish in the tank? if its just a peaceful community setup I'd say that the extra cories shouldn't be a problem but it depends on the other inhabitants and how your current cories are doing.

smellsfishy wrote:i wouldn't get more if the cories you have now aren't getting enough food. i'd guess that more cories equals more food but you definitely don't want to overfeed.
do you have any aggressive fish in the tank? if its just a peaceful community setup I'd say that the extra cories shouldn't be a problem but it depends on the other inhabitants and how your current cories are doing.

Most of my fish are livebearers and I have a few tetras. Not much aggresion in my tank.

Thanks for the advice! <3

alright. then you should be fine. just experiment with feeding a little bit more at a time. as soon as you notice there are left overs then lessen the feeding a tad until you find the perfect amount.
no need to fret too much over it. you'll figure it out with time.

I've said several times to people that it's MUCH easier to overfeed fish to death than it is to starve them to death.

Obviously, you don't want to do either, but if the fish are getting some food every day, they will survive a very long time, even if they aren't getting enough to grow and spawn.

Getting the right balance on feeding fish when they are in a community tank is a case of experimenting, using varying types of food and making sure that those who are less aggressive getting to the food are also given something to eat - the latter can be hard tho'. Distracting techniques can be useful for this - feeding a good feed of flake food and some sinking pellets at a different place in the tank for example. The flake food will attract top feeders (most live-bearers are primarily top feeding) and the sinking pellets will get to the corys.

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Mats

Thank you both!! I will try to experiment with my feeding more. I thought that fish are easier to kill by too much food than too little (I read in a book that it's better not to feed your fish at all over a few days vacation then to get someone who doesn't know how to feed them properly take care of them), but never really took it into consideration.

Thanks again!!

I try to go about 1 day a week without feeding at all as a regular habit. On that day, I notice the rooting by the Corydoras is a little more intense. I call it "cleaning day" because they start in the substrate and work their way up to the top of the plants by the time the lights go out. In my limited experience, it does seem to be better not feeding them for a few days rather than leaving it to a non-aquarist. The exception is newly hatched larvae or juveniles. Youngsters need to be fed and have their water changed often.
Amanda

I bought two more corys, so I now have 5 pandas. They don't seem to be swimming together though D: Do you think they will eventually?

I take Corys not swimming together as a sign that they are happy with their current environment and feel safe. If they are scared, they'd be more likely to swim together.

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Mats

Shane has written many times that Corydoras sometimes lose their urge to school in the aquarium. He uses a slightly regretful tone to describe it, but it may not be a bad thing - just an unnatural one. "Schooling" is a word we use with abandon, but I wonder if it makes much sense to use it at all if you have fewer than, say, 50 fish of the same species? In one of my tanks I have only three corys and one Brochis. They all huddle together in their den when I walk by the tank. (They are wild caught, and don't trust me at all.) Other times, they are out going their separate ways looking for food. They do not swim back and forth in formation, but rather just hang out together. It's complex.

My "catfish only" tank is fed only once every three days. IMO, the fish look better and are livelier than ever.

Deborah

I have 12 Corydoras aeneus in a 55G and they are still quite small, just passing one inch. Combined, they eat four to six times the amount of food my pair of 8" angelfish do in a day. I can't believe the amount of food they can eat its absolutely rediculous.

deb wrote:Shane has written many times that Corydoras sometimes lose their urge to school in the aquarium.
Deborah

Mine move in Echelon left formations of four, every time.... Hehe... I think theyve seen too many episodes of 12 o'clock high. Better move the TV