Shy Pygmy Corydoras Catfish

[CorydorasEthan]

Hello everyone,

Ever since I rearranged the decor in my 29 gallon fish tank (it's been maybe two months or more), my school of 5 pygmy corys don't come out hardly ever. They always are hiding under their favorite log and rocks. They will venture out a little during feeding, but always stay under or near the shadow of the log. This is confusing to me, because before I rearranged the decor in the tank, they would always be out and about. Also, I only have other types of corys, a bristlenose pleco, a pearl gourami (just added in a week ago), and some Endler's livebearers in the tank. Any suggestions on how to get the pygmy corys to be less shy?

[Lemon]

how often do you waterchange i find that my cory is so much more active after a water change also I know I need to get more cories but i can't go to my lfs right now 

[CorydorasEthan]

I water change once a week. I agree all my corys are a lot more active during and after a water change because they like to play in the current and look for food in the debris that it unearthed.

Do you think taking out some young Endler's livebearers (they breed a lot) and adding in a type of tetra as a dither fish or more pygmy corys would work?

[AdamTill]

My habrosus cories (same size) are barely ever out. Even with dither fish (neons) they're just hiders most of the time.

[CorydorasEthan]

Speaking of habrosus cories, I found some at my LFS a week or two ago. I was thinking of picking some up (around 5 of them) and putting them in the same tank as the pygmies, and thought that maybe they would be a bit more active together. Any thoughts?

[AdamTill]

Certainly won’t hurt anything, but I doubt you’ll see them any more frequently honestly. Pygmaeus use much more of the mid water column than habrosus do

Edited December 29, 2020 by AdamTill

[CorydorasEthan]

My pygmy cories like to stay on the bottom, but maybe some more tiny cories will make them a little more active. Thanks!

[Liam]

I have a school of 6 Pygmy Cories and they do the same thing. They only hang out at the bottom tucked away behind some of my decor. It makes me super sad that they never come out.

[KaitieG]

My habrosus are very friendly--I only have 5 in a 20 gallon, but they're our favorites and are always hanging out and squiggling around.  I think there's a good youtube video (maybe KG Tropicals??) that compares pygmies, habrosus and one other type as far as interest/activity.  It might be something to look at, but I'm pretty sure they all hang out together in there, so I think that could work to increase your school size.

[Mansoboy]

Mine do the same. First 2 months were quite active and visible, came instantly foe food. After that, they rest during day on rocks and anubias/crytocoryne and go out at night. Thats way I try to feed just beforw closing lights. 

[CorydorasEthan]

So are pygmy cories nocturnal? Is that why they aren't active during the day? Or are they just too scared to come out?

[Mansoboy]

I don't know if they are nocturnal, but mines go out after lights go off (at the begining was not like that).

[lefty o]

my pygmies hide in the rock piles never to be seen. every once in a blue moon i see one come out, so know they still exist.

[Teddy]

I have a school of neon tetras (~ 10) and my pygmies swim with them.  It's odd, but when they're together they're about the same size and I can see some unexpected similarities in their body shapes.  I've got a couple of habrosus in there, too, and they'll hang around the pygmies but not the tetras.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I have found with corydoras, that the more that there is in a tank, the more you will see them out and about. I started out with a group of five pygmaeus and they hid all the time except when I fed them, but I recently added another 6 of them, and they are out a lot more. I do notice they run and hide when I first come up to the tank, but once I stand there for a minute or two they will be back out swimming around.

[JettsPapa]

2 hours ago, Andy's Fish Den said:

I have found with corydoras, that the more that there is in a tank, the more you will see them out and about. I started out with a group of five pygmaeus and they hid all the time except when I fed them, but I recently added another 6 of them, and they are out a lot more. I do notice they run and hide when I first come up to the tank, but once I stand there for a minute or two they will be back out swimming around.

Same here.  I have somewhere around 12 - 15 in my 20 long, and the more I add the more I see.  Since I added the last 5 it's not unusual to see 6 or 8 swimming around together.  Before that I'd rarely see more than 2 together unless it was feeding time.