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Corys seem so inoffensive, but it has been a long time since I have had them (so many cichlids to try, only one lifetime to live...)... but I bought some Panda cories for my nieces... cories and a common pleco are the fish that remember best and most fondly from when i was 5-6 years old.

(1) Do Cory cats eat baby fry of other fish, such as basic Livebearer newborns? if so, are they efficent at this, or should they be held blameless for all the missing baby Platies?

(2) In large groups, do they form any sort of pecking order? Males? females? feeding order? sexual privledges? they are so damn nice! or are they?

thank you

Hi!

My guess would be that the Corys get to the fry when they drop when born...i cant imagine them hunting the babys at the surface. The bristlenose certainly wont eat free swimming fry.

My C.vittatus are quite agressive within the group with a clearly dominant male picking on the others. The napos do that too but to a lesser degree.

er..corys don't usually eat livebearers young...but they sometimes do eat their own eggs during spawning.

Corys don't establish a pecking order in their group. They just simply love their own company. However, some of those species with elongated, extended snouts, are usually more intolerant of one another. Therefore, it is better to house those species in a bigger tank with lots of hidding places.

Cory's are no different to any other fish in that if it will go in there mouth they will eat it. They tend to be just as active at night as they are in the day time, where as livebearers are not and small fry will lie semi dormant during the darkness hours and if a cory comes accross one it will be eaten, then they get the taste and off the go in search for more.

Most Cory's are not naturally agressive with the exception of the long nosed group which are, especially when in breeding mode the males become very teratorial and will resort to serious attacks on other males to maintain alpha status.

With regard to a general pecking order, I have seen this on several occasions especially with the C. melini and C. metae types. When new groups are first put together the alpha male and female soon become evedent, although there aggresion is tame compared to the long snouted species.

Ian

thanks!......

one thing that i have learned since i was a kid... a lot of the common fish that are sold as peaceful community fish, and was told that they prefer/don't mind being alone ... actually can have quite interesting animal social interactions when keep in a proper group in a proper tank... catfish and loaches are so often abused/misunderstood

more than likely it is the platy parents( if they're still in there with them) who are just as responsible for the disappearence of the fry as the cories are. livebearers,in my past experience with them and, from what i've learned about them again, have a very casual attitude to cannibalism. if it looks like a snack then it's a snack. The cories are probably to blame somewhat as well . as was said above, anything that will fit into their mouths... if they should chance on the hiding fry while they're out and about...baby platy/bonbon/potato chip same same. sorry
mary

You are right, here it's less guppies, fatter Corys. I should have guessed.
Jan