# Sticky  Feeding Corydoras properly



## Cory Lover

Hello everyone, 

Corydoras are one of the most mis-fed species of fish there is in the freshwater aquarium hobby. Most people (as pet stores lead them to believe) think Cories will live off the leftover flakes and grunge on the bottom of the tank, which is very mistaken. Corydoras need a variety of food just like other fish, and in these next couple paragraphs you'll learn how to feed your Cory properly. 

To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away. Look for the HBH brand, they make good quality ones (stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they get very messy). A good ratio is two shrimp pellets a day per Cory, but if you have other fish, like cichlids, that may eat them before the Corydoras can get them, give your Cory at least four. 

Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers every second day. Try to get the Hikari Brand, they make excellent Cory food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet. 

Once you start feeding your Corydoras both of those, you're doing well, but you should still give your Cories more variety. 

Hikari Sinking Wafers (a Cory favorite) is even better for your Corydoras then shrimp pellets or algae wafers. So if you can pay a little more, I would highly recommend getting these too. 

Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food, and they need something thats more 'real', and also for you, not outragously expensive. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Tubifex Worms fit the bill perfectly. They are cheaper then live or frozen foods, but in my experience Corydoras like them more. They come in small cubes, and the problem is they float so Corydoras can't get them easily. But, there is a way to get them to sink. Wrap some aquarium metal weigths (plant anchors work well) gently around the cube, then throw it in the tank and watch a feeding frenzy begin at the bottom of your aquarium. 



If you feed your Corydoras properly, you'll have more lively and beautiful Cories then you've ever had before. 


Matt 

*If you want to use this on another site, please PM me*


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## Corydora_FREAK

I agree with you, about feeding the cories although i must say my feeding schedule is a bit defferent.


> HBH brand


Omega One has the best on the market. In my opinion and most Corydoras fans i know. i don't like HBH because earlier this year they had a recall on one of their foods. I don't like that. Aqueon also is a good brand, still i prefer Omega one hands down.
Hikari sinking wafers however are an excellent choice. Still i prefer Omega One Veggie rounds.


> A good ratio is two shrimp pellets a day per Cory


Sometimes the food is a wafer or disc. My rule is as much as the cories can eat in 2 hours because they are slow eaters. The tubifex is a good idea. Also frozen make an excellent easy sinking meal for them.

Overall good article Cory Lover!


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## Cory Lover

Corydora_FREAK said:


> I agree with you, about feeding the cories although i must say my feeding schedule is a bit defferent.
> 
> Omega One has the best on the market. In my opinion and most Corydoras fans i know. i don't like HBH because earlier this year they had a recall on one of their foods. I don't like that. Aqueon also is a good brand, still i prefer Omega one hands down.
> Hikari sinking wafers however are an excellent choice. Still i prefer Omega One Veggie rounds.
> 
> Sometimes the food is a wafer or disc. My rule is as much as the cories can eat in 2 hours because they are slow eaters. The tubifex is a good idea. Also frozen make an excellent easy sinking meal for them.
> 
> Overall good article Cory Lover!


Omega is a good brand also, if you can find it. I can't find it any where.

Frozen is good too, but its messier and you get much more bang for your buck with buying freeze-dried (Hikari) tubifex worms.

Thanks for your input!


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## livebearer_love

I've had corys for about 2 weeks now I've been feeding them only the hikari sinking wafers that you mentioned which are dime sized. I'm glad I bought the right stuff. Thanks for the information I will defintely get some tubifex now.
You said that these are better than the shrimp pellets. If I feed these should I also feed shrimp pellets too?
How many hikari wafers do I feed per corydora? You mentioned that quantity for shrimp pellets but not for the wafers.

Very good and very informative thanks!


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## Obsidian

I have found that my cory's come to the top for both worms and flakes. Of course they don't have to do anything special to get to their shrimp pellets or algae wafers  they know when I feed and they come out the same as everyone else, even if they were sleeping just prior to my lifting the hood. I feed them along with everyone else in the tank so they are on the same schedule in terms of variety. I feed pellets 2-3 times a week, algae wafers when not feeding pellets, and flakes almost daily. When I am not feeding flakes I am feeding worms. Everyone on the community seems to enjoy everything I give them. I have not ever considered sinking cory pellets, I will take a look the next time I go for food!


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## Cory Lover

livebearer_love said:


> I've had corys for about 2 weeks now I've been feeding them only the hikari sinking wafers that you mentioned which are dime sized. I'm glad I bought the right stuff. Thanks for the information I will defintely get some tubifex now.
> You said that these are better than the shrimp pellets. If I feed these should I also feed shrimp pellets too?
> How many hikari wafers do I feed per corydora? You mentioned that quantity for shrimp pellets but not for the wafers.
> 
> Very good and very informative thanks!


I feed my Cories both shrimp pellets and the hikari sinking wafers, but its really up to you if you want to feed your Corydoras shrimp pellets too.

If you don't have any other fish that will steal the wafers, probably half of one to one a day per Cory (though it really depends on what else you feed them). I currently have 21 Corydoras, and they get four of the hikari sinking wafers each day, but they also get the tubifex worms, shrimp pellets, flakes, and algae wafers.

Matt


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## livebearer_love

So then would I feed 1 shrimp or tubifex pellet per cory in the morning and then 1 wafer per cory again in the evening or is it like 2 shrimp pellets per cory one day in the evening and then the next day is shrimp.
What I am asking is that if you are supposed to feed your corys twice a day or only once at night. When I feed my corys none of the other fish seem to bother them so I think it would be ok to feed in the day but would twce a day be too much?
Thanks


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## Cory Lover

livebearer_love said:


> So then would I feed 1 shrimp or tubifex pellet per cory in the morning and then 1 wafer per cory again in the evening or is it like 2 shrimp pellets per cory one day in the evening and then the next day is shrimp.
> What I am asking is that if you are supposed to feed your corys twice a day or only once at night. When I feed my corys none of the other fish seem to bother them so I think it would be ok to feed in the day but would twce a day be too much?
> Thanks


Tubifex worms don't come in pellets that I know of, they come in freeze dried chunks. So if you gave one freeze dried chunk of tubifex worms (once a day for all your Corydoras, not per Cory). Then you would probably want to feed one wafer and 1-2 shrimp pellets per day per Cory (doesn't really matter what times you feed what, just in the morning and night).

Twice a day is best, preferably morning and night.

Matt


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## jones57742

Obsidian said:


> I have found that my cory's come to the top for both worms and flakes. Of course they don't have to do anything special to get to their shrimp pellets or algae wafers  they know when I feed and they come out the same as everyone else, even if they were sleeping just prior to my lifting the hood. I feed them along with everyone else in the tank so they are on the same schedule in terms of variety. I feed pellets 2-3 times a week, algae wafers when not feeding pellets, and flakes almost daily. When I am not feeding flakes I am feeding worms. Everyone on the community seems to enjoy everything I give them. I have not ever considered sinking cory pellets, I will take a look the next time I go for food!



Obsidian:

We are paddling the same direction except for some of the specific types of foods.

TR


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## Corydora_FREAK

> So if you gave one freeze dried chunk of tubifex worms (once a day for all your Corydoras, not per Cory). Then you would probably want to feed one wafer and 1-2 shrimp pellets per day per Cory


:shock: :shock:
That seems to be a overfeed IMO!

I feed 4 hikari sinking algae wafers broken up into pieces at night and 5 Aqueon bottom feeder shrimp wafers all broken up into chunks in the morning. Thats for 15 Adult Peppered Corydoras And 5 Adult Corydoras Trilinatus, and i know they get enough, they are huge! Also the peppered Corydoras spawn at least once a week, so i know they arent starving by any means!


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## Cory Lover

Corydora_FREAK said:


> :shock: :shock:
> That seems to be a overfeed IMO!
> 
> I feed 4 hikari sinking algae wafers broken up into pieces at night and 5 Aqueon bottom feeder shrimp wafers all broken up into chunks in the morning. Thats for 15 Adult Peppered Corydoras And 5 Adult Corydoras Trilinatus, and i know they get enough, they are huge! Also the peppered Corydoras spawn at least once a week, so i know they arent starving by any means!


Everyone has different feeding routines, and for me, the one I use works. 

Also, when I say wafer I don't mean a large algae wafer, I'm referring to the little hikari sinking ones.


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## jones57742

Cory Lover said:


> Everyone has different feeding routines, and for me, the one I use works.


Yep.

Mine also works for me.

I may slightly overfeed but I have a "ton" of biological filtration media in my sump and a turnover rate of approximately 9/hour.

TR


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## funnythingis

I've read the articles and plan to get the other foods mentioned. But I've been feeding mine (I only have one cory) the wafers that sink to the bottom. I keep it in for 2 hours and then remove it because otherwise it clouds my water. I'm concerned that he isn't getting enough food because he rarely goes to the wafer and when he does my gourami is eating it and bosses him away. I've been feeding him half a wafer every night. Any suggestions?


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## <3~Pleco~<3

My BN and other fish hoard every pellet I drop in the tank. The corys don't even get to smell it!
But I have also found that they don't even touch it when they get the chance.
Any thoughts?


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## lohachata

yes..get some Plecocaine..they will love it...available in 4 sizes to suit your fishes needs


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## 207lauras

I was looking into 6 pygmy corys for a community tank but after reading up on them I am not sure that this is the best idea. Right now I am planning on stocking the 40 gallon with the following:
6 zebra danios
6 glofish
1 pleco
3 gardneri killifish
4 platys
1 betta
and 6 corys
will the pygmys be bullied by the other fish? I have a small gravel bed (not sand) and was reading that they need sand. Also are they ok with aquatic plants? Sorry to post this here but this seemed the best page with the most cory knowledge! Thanks~


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## smark

I feed my cory's a mixture of frozen bloodworm and Brine shrimp minced. Then I top it off with a dash of flake. Sinking wafers as a snack once or twice a week. 
They really like that frozen food.


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## trashion

207lauras-DO NOT put the gardneri in there with those fish. They're are nasty, aggressive things. I used to manage the fish section of a Petco, and we put them in a tank with some tetras, and the damn things tried to eat them, even the ones that were too big. I had to pull a half-eaten lemon tetra out of one's mouth. Next time you're at the pet store, look at the size of their mouths..they're quite large. Your danios, glofish, and DEFINITELY pygmy cories would all be at risk of being eaten.


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## 207lauras

Really? That is the first time someone has told me this... Everything I have read online and from this site said that the gardneri are really good for a community tank. I know some of the other killi species are really mean....hmmm...now I dont know what to do


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## 207lauras

P.S
Is there any small killi that will be ok in a community tank?


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## StripesAndFins

There are some: sparkling panchax, blue panchax and lyretail are some that would work i believe. 

Hope this helps


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## trashion

From what I've read, most killies are best suited to a species tank. Any that grow over 3", I would not suggest with smaller-bodied fish.


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## Toshogu

I feed my fish using the shotgun method. two pinch sinking pellets, 1 pinch flake, 2 hikari wafers, 1 spiro disc, 1 pinch hikari discus pellet. 1 pinch hikari betta pellet. 3 x a day (pinch is what you can grab between your thumb and ring finger. And then two pinch black worms before I sleep. Everyone gets fed, cories are happy. Sounds like alot, but a pinch if I had to guess would be around 10 hikari floating betta pellets.


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## Fishnut2

I can't believe this thread went almost 2 years, and nobody mentioned live black worms! For maintenance/grow out/or breeding...there isn't a better food for cories, then live black worms. Try them.


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## COM

I can't believe this thread is still a sticky! Probably time to unsticky this.


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## Fishnut2

One of the mods decided to stick it, because there are 3-4 threads a month started on this topic. I think it was a good decision.


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## Daphne

I have to say that my albino corys and mystery snails are what got me hooked for good on fish. I had originally bought a small 5g tank for one of my dogs - strange huh. The first time he saw fish tanks at petsmart one day he became a devoted follower of anything involving water and movement. Eventually I was able to ask him if he wanted to visit his fish and he would moan in rapture and run and start mouthing his leash on the hook. He became and utter addict and I had to start making a few trips a week to the petstore just to feed his addiction. So I caved and bought my dog a pet fish.

Him and my male betta loved one another for a long time. The female didn't care either way. It just meant she could eat more food I suppose.

Then I bought a couple albino corys and mystery snails. The first time I watched the snails and corys pile onto a sunken cube of frozen bloodworms and suck them up like little spaghetti I felt much like my dog must feel everytime he sees any fish.

My corys are now a fan favorite in our house when I feed them bloodworms.

I am glad I came upon this post though. I had never fed them shrimp cubes before and after I just read this I went and dropped a few in for them that I had bought for my loaches. They loved it! The bettas even swam to the bottom of the tank to try them out.


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## Guest

Lol Daphne........Welcome to our world! once your in, you can never leave. maybe take a break but they all eventually come back. sooner or later


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## DeborahP

*Plecocaine??? Feeding my L-199 questions*

Where does one get Plecocaine? I have a L-199 and need to figure out what to feed him. He lives in a tank full of hungry Mollies that eat all the algae wafers before he can get them, and won't eat the live food I put in which junks up my tank.


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## bmlbytes

A bit of an old thread to be posting this in. 

Send lohachata a PM about how much you want. He sells it by the pound.


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## CoryDee

I know this is a very old thread but I feel I have to correct something.
Corys are not algae or veg eaters, they get little to no nutrition from it as their digestive systems are not set up to process it.
These are quotes from Ian Fuller a renowned cory expert & are posted with his permission

"Corydoradine fishes are basically filter feeders and may graze over living algae growths searching for the microscopic life that breeds and grows in it, but they are not equipped with teeth for scraping and removing algae, their gut are also not equipped to digest it. So algae based foods will be absolutely useless, even if people think their Corys are eating it they are not. If there is nothing else they will mouth it and may get a little something from the binding aged, but that is all".
"Of course they will eat whatever you put in, they have no option, but it is not doing them any good, it's not natural to them, their digestive system is not designed to cope with vegetable matter."


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## big b

can corys eat wardley brand shrimp pellets its all i can find and all i have for them.


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## lohachata

funny ; i don't remember Ian or even Frank Falcone or Eric Bodrock making those statements..and most definitely all 10 or 12 of the cory species that i keep enjoy a pretty fair amount of greenery..
it seems as you are trying to say that cories are strictly carnivorous...i do not believe they are...not for a minute...

could you please state where you got your Fuller quote from...i do have one of his books and would like to look it up..


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## big b

hmm i remember reading that but now i cant find it.


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## CoryDee

lohachata said:


> funny ; i don't remember Ian or even Frank Falcone or Eric Bodrock making those statements..and most definitely all 10 or 12 of the cory species that i keep enjoy a pretty fair amount of greenery..
> it seems as you are trying to say that cories are strictly carnivorous...i do not believe they are...not for a minute...
> 
> could you please state where you got your Fuller quote from...i do have one of his books and would like to look it up..


I belong to several groups where Ian is a member, & have discussed cory feeding several times with him & asked if I could quote some of what he said & he gave me permission to do so.
I don't know if I'm allowed to name the groups here, but one is his own & another is a facebook group


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## lohachata

Ian is a really nice fella , and certainly very knowledgeble about cories but to a degree i would have to disagree with them not being able to handle vegetable matter...they may prefer meaty foods but they do also eat vegetable matter..i have been keeping cories(amongst other species) for at least a year or two and it has been my experience that they do not do so well with strictly protein based foods.
i also know a few folks in the catfish world and none of them feed that way..


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## big b

yall could do 50/50 or 25 meat/75 greens if that will work out.


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## emc7

I have heard good things about the xtreme catfish scrapers and they go nuts for live blackworms.


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## Fatfei

Cory Lover said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> Corydoras are one of the most mis-fed species of fish there is in the freshwater aquarium hobby. Most people (as pet stores lead them to believe) think Cories will live off the leftover flakes and grunge on the bottom of the tank, which is very mistaken. Corydoras need a variety of food just like other fish, and in these next couple paragraphs you'll learn how to feed your Cory properly.
> 
> To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away. Look for the HBH brand, they make good quality ones (stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they get very messy). A good ratio is two shrimp pellets a day per Cory, but if you have other fish, like cichlids, that may eat them before the Corydoras can get them, give your Cory at least four.
> 
> Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers every second day. Try to get the Hikari Brand, they make excellent Cory food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet.
> 
> Once you start feeding your Corydoras both of those, you're doing well, but you should still give your Cories more variety.
> 
> Hikari Sinking Wafers (a Cory favorite) is even better for your Corydoras then shrimp pellets or algae wafers. So if you can pay a little more, I would highly recommend getting these too.
> 
> Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food, and they need something thats more 'real', and also for you, not outragously expensive. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Tubifex Worms fit the bill perfectly. They are cheaper then live or frozen foods, but in my experience Corydoras like them more. They come in small cubes, and the problem is they float so Corydoras can't get them easily. But, there is a way to get them to sink. Wrap some aquarium metal weigths (plant anchors work well) gently around the cube, then throw it in the tank and watch a feeding frenzy begin at the bottom of your aquarium.
> 
> 
> 
> If you feed your Corydoras properly, you'll have more lively and beautiful Cories then you've ever had before.
> 
> 
> Matt
> 
> *If you want to use this on another site, please PM me*



Hi, I have tetra wafer mix (disks) similar to Hikari Sinking Wafers I think, how many would you advise dropping in for each cory? I've had the corys for a few years. I've always been stressing I'm feeding the too much or not enough. I put one in for each once a day but I know shrimp and a oto I have will also have a go. Is there a rule of thumb for feeding them? And are they not nocternal and should be fed in the night?


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