Atypical false julii behavior?

[kshrbkn]

Added seven false julii corys to my 29g planted community tank about two months ago. As a group they are very active during feeding time.. but quickly settle back down to just sitting on the substrate. Not breathing heavily. Not glass surfing. Just chilling.  Minimal exploring. Pretty much been this way since day one in this tank.

In the bare bottom quarantine tank they were super chaotic for the two weeks.

 

Is this typical behavior? 

 

80F, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 50+ nitrate, 7.4ph. gravel and sand.

 

Thanks in advance!

[anitstuk]

I believe they must be settling in. The water temp should also be just fine for them.

[kshrbkn]

thanks.. I'll be a bit more patient then

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/16/2022 at 3:11 PM, kshrbkn said:

Added seven false julii corys to my 29g planted community tank about two months ago. As a group they are very active during feeding time.. but quickly settle back down to just sitting on the substrate. Not breathing heavily. Not glass surfing. Just chilling.  Minimal exploring. Pretty much been this way since day one in this tank.

In the bare bottom quarantine tank they were super chaotic for the two weeks.

 

Is this typical behavior? 

Temp in your tank is pretty warm for them.

As a general rule I have seen two types of behaviors with corydoras.

In my black cory tank.... They have a smaller group size, the tank is very specifically setup so they have places to lay eggs, but not necessarily places to hide.  There is a big piece of wood that acts as cover for them.  That is where they tend to hang out and feel safe.  This is also the smaller of the two groups I have (5 total).

In my Panda cory tank....  They have similar setup, but far less plants.  It's going to be a mopani / anubias setup long term. Right now it's just lava rock with some pieces of mopani to make paths and archways.  They can sit underneath, and they do, and that is their cover.  During the day there are about 1/2 the group that is out hunting and the other half stays under cover.  They may rotate in and out, but they generally swim around and aren't afraid of anything when it comes to being active in the tank.  There is ~25 in this group. 

In either case, they are more active after lights out.  I have kept False Julii Corydoras before and they were generally active.  I would make sure your tank has an airstone (or two) if it does not already have one.   At that point I would try to lower the temp if you can.  Right now it's about 2-4 degrees too warm for them.

[kshrbkn]

so, lots of air flow, and current.   two over the back aquaclear\fluval 50s, and a oddyssey 250 power head.   turning the powerhead off drops the temp a degree or so.  the heater is set for a temp lower than the tank is.  i rarely see the orange light on.  how else to lower the temp?

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/18/2022 at 4:39 PM, kshrbkn said:

how else to lower the temp?

I've heard people on here recommend freezing water bottles and then floating those in the aquarium.  Refreeze them and then repeat that process as need be.  You can point a fan at the surface of the tank and then leave the lid open as well.  This will increase evaporation which allows for cooling.  The room that the tank is in, just making sure the room itself is cool enough that might be a good way to handle it as well, if possible.

It's good to hear airflow is done well.  Do you have an airstone, or just the HoBs?  Having high flow is different then oxygenation.  The surface agitation should be plenty, but just a note.

I would try to verify the temp on the tank with a secondary source.  Most thermometers have an adjustment and after a certain amount of time I have had one that was ~15 degrees off.  It happens, and just something to verify.  I don't know what all is in the tank, so you might have one species that needs the hotter temps and others that don't.  The difference between 76-78 vs. 80-82 is a pretty big one though for a species that wants to be in the lower ranges.

 

[kshrbkn]

i have an airstone..   plus running air through the power head, and letting the HOB flow drop an inch into the tank...

 

I'll try the freezing water bottle trick.  thanks

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/22/2022 at 4:42 PM, kshrbkn said:

I'll try the freezing water bottle trick.

I'm going to end up with bottles but I'm trying literally bags of a sheet of ice. If it shows good results I'll let you know!

My hope is that I can literally use it to pour water in and protect the fish a bit from the bucket. Hopefully.

[Odd Duck]

Trilineatus (false julii) should be completely fine at 80’F.  As long as you have good water circulation and your additional airstone, it’s not an issue.  As long as the fish don’t act stressed, they should be fine.  It sounds like they’re settling in after doing a lot of initial exploring.  When cories have enough cover, they hide less since they know they have enough cover to dive into if they need it.  It’s very common for cories to just chill, then be active and doing their little bumble around.  May or may not get zoomies.  Some groups seem less likely to get zoomies for whatever reason.  If they get stressed, get thin, get any lesions, etc, that’s a different situation, but with no issues, I would give them time.