Timid Emerald Corydoras

[dirty_bishop]

Hi all,

My tank has undergone quite a transformation lately.
I have restubstrated and gone through a mini cycle which I don't belive was too fierce.

Since recycling I have added 6x Emerald Corydoras (which weren't cheap!).
Upon their arrival they were quite happy and playful - for about 2 days.
I noticed they were stuggling to compete for food with 2x male adult bristlenose. I have since removed the bristlenose as I found they were very messy and needed so much Zuchinni to stay fat.
I'd rather keep this a very clean display tank and keep happy, playful corys instead.

When the bristlenose were removed the Corys became playful again, though not as much as when they first entered the tank.
but again, maybe a day or so later they closed down again. They are happy to explore the tank for food when I place wafers, brine shrimp, or blood worms in different areas of the tank, tough apart from that they stay at the back of the tank quite a lot.

The tank is in a high traffic area sadly, though I've had corys before that were more adventurous than these.

I wonder if I should buy 3 more to boost their confidence, though worried I'd just be feeding 9 scared Corys instead of 6.
I wonder if these are a particularly timid variant.

Any suggestions welcome,


Thanks for any help


ph 6.4 (this dropped from 7.5 with the previous substrate)
ammonia now 0
nitrites 0
nitrates persisting about 10-20. (with time and more plant growth, and also glass shrimp I will add later when I can catch enough I think this will drop? )

stock
21 Harlequin rasboras
6 Emerald Corys
1 Congo tetra (yes I know he will eat the shrimp and he needs tank mates, but his friends died from a previous disease before substrate change and I won't be buying more - just smaller fish frm now on)
1 Dwarf Gourami
1 Siamese Algae eater.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Getting more will definitely boost their confidence.

I did find my corys had to compete with the Pleco for food at feeding time, so it’s a good think you removed them.

If they are new to the tank, as well as if the tank is in a high traffic area, it’s normal for them to be timid.

 

[dirty_bishop]

thanks,

i actually forgot to ask, if I got say 6 sterbais, would they mingle well ? or is it much better to stick to one variety ?

 

[OliveFish05]

I have heard that cories won't typically mingle or school with other varieties, though the presence of more cories may help them feel more secure. I had 3 pygmy cory hastatus, never saw them they were so skittish, I added 6 regular cories, and while they do not school together, the hastatus are much more bold and active