how much and how often do you feed your cories?

[squid]

Hi,

I'm just wondering how much should i feed my cories? I have about 25-30 pcs cories in my 75 gallon tank with some angels. Not sure how much to feed them, they seem to be able to eat alot, if i feed them tetra bits which i feel should be enough they finish it off in a few minutesm but afterwards they seem to be searching for more food, how do i know if i'm feeing them enough?

thanks.

[L number Banana]

Hi Squid,

25-30 corys! Wow, lucky you
I only have 8 but I feed them twice a day with the other fish. They like the shrimp pellets best, sometimes pick at cucumber and algae wafers. Mine also seem like they could eat non-stop if I let them. I see them pick at the plant algae too. I guess each one eats maybe 3-4 pellets? The two small males eat less.

Maybe the best judge is to see how their bellies look? I had a sick one that wouldn't eat and he had a sunken in belly after a while. The healthy ones have very round bellies like the back of a spoon.

Have you had them long?

[squid]

Hi Squid,

25-30 corys! Wow, lucky you
I only have 8 but I feed them twice a day with the other fish. They like the shrimp pellets best, sometimes pick at cucumber and algae wafers. Mine also seem like they could eat non-stop if I let them. I see them pick at the plant algae too. I guess each one eats maybe 3-4 pellets? The two small males eat less.

Maybe the best judge is to see how their bellies look? I had a sick one that wouldn't eat and he had a sunken in belly after a while. The healthy ones have very round bellies like the back of a spoon.

Have you had them long?

for my 8 arcuatus 8 rabautis, sterbais, trilinestus and davidshultzi, i've had them for a few months already, i just bought 8 pcs duplicareus last week
they can eat alot, their main diet is tetra bits, i also feed them shrimp pellets, and sometimes 1-2 pcs algae wafer. and i give them frozen bloodworms as treat. i'll try to get them some tubifex, but they are hard to find .

thanks

[squid]

Still not sure if i'm feeding enough
I feed my cories 2 times a day. but worried they might not be getting enough . They seem to finish the food fast.

[nvcichlids]

Mine eat my high quality flake in the morning, and then go to town on any live/frozen/pellet foods I feed to the plecos/auchs. at night. I never thought I fed enough, but everyone one of my darn fish are fat!

[PlecoCrazy]

Keep in mind just because a fish is searching for food doesn't mean your not feeding enough. They spend their entire days in the wild looking for food. You could feed them more than they need and they would probably eat some more. IMO if they look healthy and the stomach looks full then your probably feeding them just fine.

[squid]

thanks

[jeff@zina.com]

I do two to three feedings a day, usually morning, evening and sometimes noon (not always home for lunch). I generally do blood worms in the morning (or live worms if I have them or am breeding), pellets at lunch and in the evening. But I'll vary it so it's not the same routine, and I'll use algae wafers, flake food and frozen brine shrimp in the rotation. I feed just enough that they mostly finish it in a few minutes, though I sometimes toss in a few extra pellets at night and they break down and disappear overnight.

Jeff

[Richard B]

A coupla things.....

A hungry fish is a healthy fish.

It's always better to underfeed than overfeed

Little & often is a better approach.

Even after a feed corys will still be nosing around as that's what they do. It's always tempting to add that bit more but it's something i try to avoid. If you are concerned about them getting enough, feed the regular amount & then add a single algae disc or something like it that will soften quickly but maintain shape & can be nibbled at over time.

[torbanite]

I'm no expert, but I feed mine twice a day - mainly on micro-pellets but with worms now and again as a treat.
If the fish don't go charging around looking for it, or if there's any left over after about 10 minutes, I reckon I've overdone it.

I was told/read somewhere that well over 50% of what we eat goes "up the chimney" as heat because we are warm blooded.
Fish are cold blooded, so if you halve what you or I would eat in a day then scale that down to the size of a 2" Cory, it's not a huge amount!

As was said above, it's a lot harder to starve a fish to death than it is to kill it with kindness.

Hope that helps,
Martin

[bronzefry]

I have a 75 gallon tank with a similar ratio of Corydoras spp. I try to go at least one day per week without feeding the tank. I find this way the food I put in the tank gets eaten with appreciation. I vary the day. Previously, they were picking at the food and the snails were eating it faster. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of food it is, either: dry, freeze-dried, frozen or live. It's all eaten with the same speed now.
Amanda

[jeff@zina.com]

I try to go at least one day per week without feeding the tank.

That's a cool idea. I've missed a day here and there, out of town, can't get home, etc. The fish have never suffered and have always been more appreciative the next day. The snails do a good job of fixing my mistakes, and I think I'm doing a decent job now, but I may try this.

Thanks,

Jeff

[squid]

thanks guys

[evesonevo]

I keep several species of corys in community and single species tanks and go along with bronzefrys suggestion of giving them a day off the food.
I tend to make it the day i either clean the filter on the tank or give them a waterchange as i find the tank gets stirred up anyway so theres plenty of dirt,detritus etc. for them to go at.
Hope this helps.
Col.