Hardiest (NOT expendable) Fish for a Fish-in Cycling?...and foods...and art!

[Byron]

I think you will find that they are omnivores, but you will correct me no doubt.

I tried to find a definition for Corydoradinae with respect to diet, but couldn't, so we can look at the diet of Corydoradinae in their respective habitats as the answer. The following is largely from Ian Fuller, to give credit where it is due, and you will note he distinguishes cories from carnivores.

Corydoradinae catfishes are not biologically equipped to eat and digest vegetable matter; they do not have teeth with which to graze algae or cut through plant matter. They feed on insects and insect larvae primarily, and will eat small worms if they come across them, and small crustaceans.

Too many aquarium food manufacturers put too much emphasis on their foods containing high protein. These are fine for carnivores but not our Corys, who naturally will be sifting the substrate or through the natural bio film that forms on all underwater objects, like fallen branches, exposed roots and rocks, searching for insect larvae, crustaceans, and other microorganisms. Some of the bio film including algae's will be consumed, as will small amounts of the sand substrate itself.

 

[Byron]

I use the Bug Bites Microgranules since I have corydoras pygmaeus (side note: I can't believe I finally managed to spell that right on the first attempt!) this is still basically the same in terms of the nutrition they need, right?

Yes. Bug Bites really is one of the best, perhaps "the" best, prepared foods for cories, and upper fish too for that matter. I tend to feed this food at least two if not three times each week (depends upon the number of "fast" days, which can vary from two to three).

I do have some concerns that the cories will overfeed on the algae discs I sometimes drop in for the otos that live with them... Should I more heavily restrict algae wafers in that tank? The otos mainly live on the tank algae/biofilm etc, so I only tend to drop half of a small algae disc in once a week or so now, but the cories do mob at those...

Feed the algae disks once a week, no more. I do this with cories, and Iuse the Omega One Veggie Rounds which I believe is the best such food. The ingredients are whole, including fish and shrimp (which is why cories will really chow down on these) and the kelp/algae is not that great once a week. As I noted in another post above, cories do get some algae in their systems due to their feeding on biofims. But the point is not to overdo this "veggie" base food. The otos will be fine as they will get the necessary "green" stuff from one feeding a week, grazing algae from the biofilms the rest of the time (we can't see this, but it is there).

Very rarely feed mini bloodworms, maybe twice a month, never tubifex - do you mean it's best to avoid the 'meatier' foods like overdoing bloodworms etc, and stick to insects like the daphnia and cyclops? How about the live worms I culture? Gah, I'm so confused

Am I overdoing it with the frozen and live foods? I'm now a bit concerned that they'll either get too much vegetation because they do go wild for the algae discs, or be getting too much protein from the daily live or frozen foods!

Worms of whatever sort are fatty, and not a good basic food for cories (bloodworms are not that wholesome for any fish). Once a week is fine. The protein issue is more from the prepared foods. Natural foods even worms are not that high in protein like the prepared foods are. And the source of the protein is important too. Ian said, "Basically it is the type of protein in commercial foods that is the main problem, these tend to be from animal fats. Natural foods are not really the problem."

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I'm afraid that I don't know you well enough to tell if it's genuinely bothering you that we're chitchatting in this thread and not elsewhere, or if it's banter... so my social anxiety and natural awkwardness is kicking in My apologies for waffling! Will go do some tank maintenance and stop procrastinating anyhow

Seriously, no worries. People will know it when I'm peeved.

 

[emeraldking]

Just noticed where you're from!
Lots of cheese, if I remember correctly!

Correct!
But I'm lactose intolerant. So, no cheese for me...

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Correct!
But I'm lactose intolerant. So, no cheese for me...

I don't know where you're from, and really curious now! I haven't had much sleep this week, and brain is blanking on what "NL" stands for...

I love me some cheese. Some olives, a nice steak, beautiful fresh baked bread, dark green salad sprinkled with feta and panchetta, dressed with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, yum!

Or a British classic - a quick and dirty baked beans on toast with some cheddar and Worcestershire sauce sprinkled over it... man, now I have a hankering for beans on toast.

I don't eat a load of cheese, but so many wonderful flavours, I'd be devastated if I became lactose intolerant! I'd be one who would cheat and indulge now and then, deciding to just deal with the consequences... lol

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I don't know where you're from, and really curious now! I haven't had much sleep this week, and brain is blanking on what "NL" stands for...

The Netherlands...sometimes known as Holland...home to Edam and Gouda, Leyden and Nagelkaas...and many more.

 

[Avel1896]

@AdoraBelle Dearheart to raise vinegar eels :

a jar filled with 'apple) cider vinegar, some apple peel, buy a live vinegar eels bag then pour them (not the brine) in the jar, top it with a net, wait a few days and serve 🍽 (rinsed).

Same way for Daphnias, replace cider by water + spirulina, pour daphnias in (not the brine), then add a pinch of spirulina twice a week and there you go

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yes. Bug Bites really is one of the best, perhaps "the" best, prepared foods for cories, and upper fish too for that matter. I tend to feed this food at least two if not three times each week (depends upon the number of "fast" days, which can vary from two to three).



Feed the algae disks once a week, no more. I do this with cories, and Iuse the Omega One Veggie Rounds which I believe is the best such food. The ingredients are whole, including fish and shrimp (which is why cories will really chow down on these) and the kelp/algae is not that great once a week. As I noted in another post above, cories do get some algae in their systems due to their feeding on biofims. But the point is not to overdo this "veggie" base food. The otos will be fine as they will get the necessary "green" stuff from one feeding a week, grazing algae from the biofilms the rest of the time (we can't see this, but it is there).

You are such a font of wisdom, and I so appreciate you taking the time to walk me through this! Thank you

I have a big project I'm planning, which involves tearing down, renovating and moving my inherited 57g to another room. Where it has to go though, means moving my other two tanks. I've already emptied and cleaned the fourth tank for sale. I've been reducing stock to make this project easier... going to make a thread about it since I'm gonna need to moan and whinge and ask for advice along the way, I'm sure! So will be juggling stock around... could also be opportunity to resolve conflicting diet needs and plan my stocking better. My other issue is the big tank has a decent sized school of Sterbai and Aeneus corydora - needing a meatier/less veggie based diet, but also has two juvenile/sub-adult L183 plecos -needing a mostly veggie diet and shouldn't eat too many meaty foods I was told - but will hoover up the krill or daphnia etc that I feed for the cories, and cories go wild for algae wafers... I might need to shut down one of the 15gs and get a 30-40 gallon for the cories instead, so the plecos can have the 57g. Gah! People do keep cories and plecos together though? Maybe those tend to be the more carnivorous plecs

I considered a lot of things when choosing the fish I wanted... behaviour, tank size requirements, water chemistry etc, but I never really considered that I can't feed them separately, and they might choose to eat too much of the wrong foods for them! I really need to make that thread later... if you don't mind, I'll quote some of your posts from here to the new thread so you can save me

Honestly, I don't think the otos need any feeding from me anymore. I only have four left, and there's plenty of algae and biofilm for them in there, lots of leaf litter, some driftwood, two year old tank with tons of plants, and otos always have nice round tummies. I think I do the algae wafers occasionally to feel needed! I always check on them, love the little guys, but it feels weird to not feed a fish you own! Weird that they really don't need me, lol. I can feel the biofilm on the leaves, stones and wood, and spot some seed shrimp and other tiny creatures in the water when I do a water change. I *know* that they don't need algae wafers really, so I'll consciously stick to the real veggies as an extra for them instead of the algae rounds. The cories don't bother with the real veg so much beyond investigating it

I do this with cories, and Iuse the Omega One Veggie Rounds which I believe is the best such food.

I've been wanting to try these for a while after seeing them recommended by you and seangee, but they're so expensive here! On Amazon right now, Omega One Veggie Rounds 118g is £23 ($40 Canadian dollars)
227g is £48 with delivery ($83 CAN)

I would spring for it if it's the best, and sounds like it is! Based on your review of Hikari wafers in another post, I checked out the ingredients of the foods I have right now. Threw out a barely touched 300g tub of BettaChoice HI-PROTEIN when I read the junky ingredients (fishmeal is first listed, and ingredients include wheat, gluten wheat flour, and "Yeast derived products"), then ordered more Bug Bites since I'm running low on those now! So thank you for that post too

Wondering whether to bin these too, or if they're okay to use up - https://www.swelluk.com/fishscience-corydoras-tablet-food/

I'll be researching how to culture some different live foods in addition to the microworms once I've settled the tank juggling then! It would be great to give a mostly natural, home grown diet rather than prepared foods, but I definitely have a lot of learning to do to try to balance all of their nutritional needs. Thank you for the guidance, and to Ian too! I've been planning to join Corydoras World (and buy one of his prints too - wow, such a talented artist!) when I can, I know I'd learn so much there. Only reason I haven't yet is because I know it'll be a lot of info to take in, and it's a bit intimidating, lol!

 

[emeraldking]

I don't know where you're from, and really curious now! I haven't had much sleep this week, and brain is blanking on what "NL" stands for...

I love me some cheese. Some olives, a nice steak, beautiful fresh baked bread, dark green salad sprinkled with feta and panchetta, dressed with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, yum!

Or a British classic - a quick and dirty baked beans on toast with some cheddar and Worcestershire sauce sprinkled over it... man, now I have a hankering for beans on toast.

I don't eat a load of cheese, but so many wonderful flavours, I'd be devastated if I became lactose intolerant! I'd be one who would cheat and indulge now and then, deciding to just deal with the consequences... lol

The Netherlands...sometimes known as Holland...home to Edam and Gouda, Leyden and Nagelkaas...and many more.

Yep.... The Netherlands...
The germans call the dutch "Cheese heads"...

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Yep.... The Netherlands...
The germans call the dutch "Cheese heads"...

And the Dutch call the Germans..?
I recall sausages came into it somewhere.

 

[Byron]

You are such a font of wisdom, and I so appreciate you taking the time to walk me through this! Thank you

I have a big project I'm planning, which involves tearing down, renovating and moving my inherited 57g to another room. Where it has to go though, means moving my other two tanks. I've already emptied and cleaned the fourth tank for sale. I've been reducing stock to make this project easier... going to make a thread about it since I'm gonna need to moan and whinge and ask for advice along the way, I'm sure! So will be juggling stock around... could also be opportunity to resolve conflicting diet needs and plan my stocking better. My other issue is the big tank has a decent sized school of Sterbai and Aeneus corydora - needing a meatier/less veggie based diet, but also has two juvenile/sub-adult L183 plecos -needing a mostly veggie diet and shouldn't eat too many meaty foods I was told - but will hoover up the krill or daphnia etc that I feed for the cories, and cories go wild for algae wafers... I might need to shut down one of the 15gs and get a 30-40 gallon for the cories instead, so the plecos can have the 57g. Gah! People do keep cories and plecos together though? Maybe those tend to be the more carnivorous plecs

I considered a lot of things when choosing the fish I wanted... behaviour, tank size requirements, water chemistry etc, but I never really considered that I can't feed them separately, and they might choose to eat too much of the wrong foods for them! I really need to make that thread later... if you don't mind, I'll quote some of your posts from here to the new thread so you can save me

Honestly, I don't think the otos need any feeding from me anymore. I only have four left, and there's plenty of algae and biofilm for them in there, lots of leaf litter, some driftwood, two year old tank with tons of plants, and otos always have nice round tummies. I think I do the algae wafers occasionally to feel needed! I always check on them, love the little guys, but it feels weird to not feed a fish you own! Weird that they really don't need me, lol. I can feel the biofilm on the leaves, stones and wood, and spot some seed shrimp and other tiny creatures in the water when I do a water change. I *know* that they don't need algae wafers really, so I'll consciously stick to the real veggies as an extra for them instead of the algae rounds. The cories don't bother with the real veg so much beyond investigating it

I've been wanting to try these for a while after seeing them recommended by you and seangee, but they're so expensive here! On Amazon right now, Omega One Veggie Rounds 118g is £23 ($40 Canadian dollars)
227g is £48 with delivery ($83 CAN)

I would spring for it if it's the best, and sounds like it is! Based on your review of Hikari wafers in another post, I checked out the ingredients of the foods I have right now. Threw out a barely touched 300g tub of BettaChoice HI-PROTEIN when I read the junky ingredients (fishmeal is first listed, and ingredients include wheat, gluten wheat flour, and "Yeast derived products"), then ordered more Bug Bites since I'm running low on those now! So thank you for that post too

Wondering whether to bin these too, or if they're okay to use up - https://www.swelluk.com/fishscience-corydoras-tablet-food/

I'll be researching how to culture some different live foods in addition to the microworms once I've settled the tank juggling then! It would be great to give a mostly natural, home grown diet rather than prepared foods, but I definitely have a lot of learning to do to try to balance all of their nutritional needs. Thank you for the guidance, and to Ian too! I've been planning to join Corydoras World (and buy one of his prints too - wow, such a talented artist!) when I can, I know I'd learn so much there. Only reason I haven't yet is because I know it'll be a lot of info to take in, and it's a bit intimidating, lol!

There is a food available in the UK but not in NA so I haven't paid much attention to it, but it might be the FishScience corydoras tablet. I will contact Ian momentarily and ask him, because I recall he was consulted when they were putting the formula together for a new cory tablet food, and it might be this one, or another. I'll let you know when Ian responds.

Yes, Ian is a very talented artist as well as a premier cory authority. His paintings of cories are incredibly life-like...and they are now on a set of cory mugs! Easy to order in the UK.

 

[Avel1896]

Bug Bites really is one of the best, perhaps "the" best, prepared foods for cories, and upper fish too for that matter.

Tropical or Bottom feeder formula ?

 

[Avel1896]

There is a food available in the UK but not in NA so I haven't paid much attention to it, but it might be the FishScience corydoras tablet

Corydoras Tablets – FishScience

www.fishscience.co.uk

 

[Byron]

Tropical or Bottom feeder formula ?

I feed the micro bug bites (this is the tropical formula, in a blue/white can) which upper fish relish, and I stir it in (though it usually begins to sink when the upper fish get active over it) for the pygmy cories in that tank which houses the pygmies, marble hatchets, green neons and ember tetras. In the main cory tank I use the bottom feeder formula (green/white label) in the second smallest granule size.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

There is a food available in the UK but not in NA so I haven't paid much attention to it, but it might be the FishScience corydoras tablet. I will contact Ian momentarily and ask him, because I recall he was consulted when they were putting the formula together for a new cory tablet food, and it might be this one, or another. I'll let you know when Ian responds.

Yes, Ian is a very talented artist as well as a premier cory authority. His paintings of cories are incredibly life-like...and they are now on a set of cory mugs! Easy to order in the UK.

Oh wow, thank you kindly! I would definitely love to know which food he helped to formulate! Don't mean to trouble either of you, but that's so sweet of you! The fishkeeping world is kind of a small world, isn't it? Feels a bit like six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Found the forum when brand new to the hobby and only planning a little guppy/shrimp 15g tank, end up meeting lovely people who can casually message a world renounced expert to find out which foods he helped to formulate... lol! Almost starstruck here

His art is beautiful. I really wanted to buy a print the day I visited the site, but found it impossible to pick a favourite! I have visions of three large size prints hanging above my tanks I didn't know about the mugs, so will definitely have to get one of those in the meantime while I save up for a few prints!

Seeing those inspired me to dig out my own art supplies. I don't have nearly the natural talent he has, and haven't dedicated enough time to practice, as he clearly has - the attention to detail and skilled technique shows in his work, it's stunning. I've been doing some fish inspired needlework that I'm really enjoying (I'm currently stitching this orca. But the flowing fins, stunning colours and naturally scaped aquariums definitely provoke the urge to drag out the watercolours and pencils! Haven't produced anything I'd feel brave enough to show anyone, but it still feels good to be drawing and painting again.