Feeding Corydoras pygmaeus

[leeruisheng]

Hi there,

I have a problem feeding my C. pygmaeus.

Here's the situation. I have a batch of C. pygmaeus and some Siamese algae eaters in a planted tank. Every time I tried feeding them, the Saes will be the first to snap up most of the food leaving nothing for the cories.

I tried feeding more but this will only encourage the Saes to eat more. I cant remove the Saes cause I'll need them to feed on algae. Can't replace Saes with yamatos too.

So can anyone suggest? Thanks alot.

[Puffer]

Hey, I've also encountered the same problem! I do not have SAE but some cardinals, M erythromicron, Ancistrus sp., and Trichopsis pumila. I've had sinking granules and NLS wafers thrown in but they didn't seem interested.

[leeruisheng]

I used to feed my cories with sugar grain size sinking granules and they ate them. But then when algae started appearing, I had to introduce Saes and that's when they're deprive of food.

[Puffer]

Although C. pygmaeus are mid swimmers, I suppose they have their feedings on the ground?

[leeruisheng]

Yeah mine were grazing for food on the ground.

[andrewtyr]

do they school? what's your feeding regime?

Your problem seems very tricky.

[Freshman]

Last time I fed mine with Tetrabits, Hikari lionhead, frozen bloodworm & frozen/live brine shrimp. Those pygmy cories feed at various level. But I usually find them swimming/eating/resting(on big nana leaves) at the mid to top region..probably because the bottom is dominated by the bigger cories.
So..go for those slow sinking pellets/flakes.

For the algae issue, you might want to look into adjusting the lighting/CO2/nutrients.

I have a few very hardworking horned nerite snails with those corydoras. You can also consider Otos for your algae cleaning crew. I find them more hardworking than SAEs. They are corydoras friendly also. Hehe
However, you will have to give those Otos some cucumber occasionally as diet supplement.

[Don90]

I've never seen my pygmy cories eat....

Don't know what they have been living off...

I've tried NLS, tetrabits and algae wafers but they don't seem very interested...

[leeruisheng]

do they school? what's your feeding regime?

Your problem seems very tricky.

They're very moody. Fed twice a day. But before they could get to the food, the saes would have eaten already. At the moment feeding live bbs so that they'll have better chances of food right under their nose.

For the algae issue, you might want to look into adjusting the lighting/CO2/nutrients.

I have a few very hardworking horned nerite snails with those corydoras. You can also consider Otos for your algae cleaning crew. I find them more hardworking than SAEs. They are corydoras friendly also. Hehe
However, you will have to give those Otos some cucumber occasionally as diet supplement.

Yeah maybe change my lighting. Converted my tank to low tech and hair algae started appearing. I think otos will snack on green stop algae whereas sae will snack on hair algae more effectively.

[Quixotic]

Granules and wafers may be too big or too hard for them to take initially. They will probably eat them when the food has broken down or soften a bit. Flakes are easier for them to ingest.

What I normally do is break them up as small as possible and drop them all over the tank. Some will get trapped in nooks and crannies, so other fishes have difficulty getting to them.

Otherwise, frozen bloodworm, live BBS and live tubifex would get instant reactions.

[aquanatix]

For me...i only use 2 different kinds of food for my pygmaeus.
1)FBW when conditioning them to breed
2)The tiniest pellets you can get at the LFS.Like Quixotic mentioned,they drop all over the substrate and get trapped within the granules. My pygmaeus will then feed on them without fear of other fauna.
If else,i get good results from the CORINA brand of shrimp food.If you check out C328 regularly,it's like the cheapest shrimp food available on the racks($2.50). It's a white bottle with a CRS picture in front. This i use for both adults and fry,for smaller fry i simply just grind them up and feed. Do give these 3 a try and update us again.

[Fei Miao]

I find SAE too aggressive and active especially in a tank with timid fishes, Otos IMO are a better choice in this situation.

[aquanatix]

Not to mention...SAE are extremely fast swimmers.Had such a hard time fishing them out when i wanted a change in fauna. Not sure if anyone had the same problem but when i kept my trio previously,they exhibit territorial behaviour?1st it was towards each other and then my pygmaeus and then to every other tank mate. Probably it's just me but the pygmaeus usually does well with slower and more peaceful fishes,similarly sized ones are definitely a plus. As a strict rule,i only keep my pygmaeus with cherry shrimps or anyone of the bororas family.

[leeruisheng]

I experienced differently. My saes and pygmaeus are living together peacefully. At times, they would swim behind the sae.

[aquanatix]

Lucky you,due to my previous bad experience with the SAE i've been put off with the idea of ever keeping them again. Anyway,how are your pygmaeus doing? Any changes with regards to them feeding normally? But if your immediate concern about the situation is that your SAE eating faster then your cory,do consider rehousing either of them into a different tank as that seems like a safer and faster bet as opposed to trying out different feeding types and methods over a period of time.I realized that younger pygmaeus have very low tolerance to infrequent feedings. My 1st batch of juveniles died that way and it sucked.

[leeruisheng]

At the moment feeding them live bbs and algae pellets. Not sure if they're eating but so far all is doing fine.

I'm trying to control the algae if possible and once under control will remove the Sae.

[erikospeed]

Can actually try using a boiled sliced cucumber . Am sure the SAE wouldnt be able to finish it in time for the cories to come over to have their fair share .

[leeruisheng]

Oh.. . the cories will feed on cucumber? But too much hassle for me to boil it.

[erikospeed]

Oh.. . the cories will feed on cucumber? But too much hassle for me to boil it.

Mine did ... 1st thing see cucumber all swim over to where it was placed.
U can try using very hot water to roughly make it softer .

Tried and proven to work .

[leeruisheng]

I see. Thanks. Will try it out one day.