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Cory Lover · 01-04-2009, 06:19 PM

Hello everyone,

Corydoras are one of the most mis-fed species of fish there are in the freshwater aquarium hobby. Most people (as many 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 cats properly.

To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away so other fish can't gobble them up easily. Look for good quality shrimp pellets though, by reading the ingredients. Remember, wheat flour or corn meal is basically like eating cotton candy for you, so look for brands in which the first few ingredients
are seafood or fish. (Note: stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they can get very messy.) Put a couple shrimp pellets in each day if you only have a few Corydoras, but if you have many, adjust the amount of pellets you give them to suit their needs.

Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers. Try to get the Hikari brand; they make excellent fish food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet. One algae/veggie wafer a day for a group of Corydoras is suitable.

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. They mix both vegetable and animal matter together.

Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food. They need something that's 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 weights (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. I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to add your experiences with feeding Corydoras.

Matt (Cory Lover)

01-04-2009, 06:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cory Lover Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: BC Canada Posts: 68	A guide to feeding Corydoras properly Hello everyone, Corydoras are one of the most mis-fed species of fish there are in the freshwater aquarium hobby. Most people (as many 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 cats properly. To start, a good staple diet for Corydoras are shrimp pellets. They are healthy, and sink right away so other fish can't gobble them up easily. Look for good quality shrimp pellets though, by reading the ingredients. Remember, wheat flour or corn meal is basically like eating cotton candy for you, so look for brands in which the first few ingredients are seafood or fish. (Note: stay away from Wardley shrimp pellets, they have been known to cloud water and they can get very messy.) Put a couple shrimp pellets in each day if you only have a few Corydoras, but if you have many, adjust the amount of pellets you give them to suit their needs. Then, start adding algae/veggie wafers. Try to get the Hikari brand; they make excellent fish food. It gives the Cories some vegetable matter, which is essential in their diet. One algae/veggie wafer a day for a group of Corydoras is suitable. 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. They mix both vegetable and animal matter together. Like all fish, Corydoras need some non pellet/wafer food. They need something that's 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 weights (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. I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to add your experiences with feeding Corydoras. Matt (Cory Lover) Last edited by Cory Lover; 01-04-2009 at 06:23 PM..