What to feed my Pygmy Corydoras

[Firedashflame]

Hey guys, I've had my 4 pygmy cory's in a 15 gal with 6 neon tetras for around a month now and they're starting to look a little thin. I understand why, as I have been feeding flakes and pellets 4 days a week and frozen daphnia 3 days a week. I heard that they need veggies to go along with their diet as well and I'm wondering what type of veggies I should feed and how to feed it. Thanks!

[EricksonAquatics]

If you haven’t already, you should totally try Repashy! Once they figure it out, they go nuts for it. I’d probably say the Community Plus blend or Soilent Green. Some other options would be some bottom/algae wafers you can drop in or some blanched (boiled) veggies such as zucchini. Hope that helps!

[Firedashflame]

Thank you so much for the recommendations. I will definitely try Repashy, it sounds very promising. 🙂 

[beastie]

While they may need non protein food, they need to have access to the food in the first place. Just because you feed with the glutton tetras are you sure the stuff is reaching the bottom and there is time for the corydoras to actually eat it ? 

Daphnia is too large for pygmies in my opinion, frozen cyclops would be better, is smaller and creates more of a scattered "mess" they can pick at. Or that krill thing, it is called something funny here but it is for freshwater fish. From the flakes, I use fluval bug bites, crushed, which falls to the bottom right away, is good. hatched BBS and microworms work too but you have to overfeed that in order to get it to the bottom dwellers. 

I still will feed repashy, a tiny bit when I am preparing for my other tanks, like every other week lets say. They need an omnivorous diet with like 25% of protein but the rest is for sure not algae - https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/the-legend-of-the-cory/

[Guppysnail]

Fry food works best for me with Pygmy.  I also freeze baby brine shrimp or purchase frozen baby brine shrimp because it sinks to the floor for the Pygmy. 
 

Grindle worms are an all time fan favorite.  The grindles stay alive in tanks for days and Wiggle into the substrate where they hide from the tetra yet are accessible to the Pygmy. My Pygmy competition is CPD who also hunt the substrate.  The hiding capabilities of the worms definitely slows the CPD yet works perfect for Pygmy. 
 

My Pygmy are in my pleco tank currently. They have access to veggies but I never see them eat them.  I believe the vegetable matter they need comes in the form of micro algae particles. 

[HelplessNewbie]

My pygmy cory have lived for 5 months so far in a community tank with endlers, ricefish and amano shrimp. I feed crushed Bug Bites or Xtreme Nano Pellets, alternating with frozen or live daphnia or minced brine shrimp, or with live grindal worms. Good luck!

Edited March 5 by HelplessNewbie

[Firedashflame]

Thank you for all the wonderful ideas! I do think I will be trying the Repashy and Fluval bug bites. Just a side note, what Repashy would be better? The Soilet Green or Community Plus?

Edited March 6 by Firedashflame

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I feed Repashy in powder form for my Pygmy group. Works great and they’re community breeding which is lots of fun. 

[johnnyxxl]

On 3/5/2024 at 11:45 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I feed Repashy in powder form for my Pygmy group. Works great and they’re community breeding which is lots of fun. 

So you don't have to make the jello stuff from the repashy?  It's not something I have ever used?

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I make batches of it in squares and I also feed it in the powder form. Then there’s small particles all over for them to eat.