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Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal


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On 7/16/2021 at 12:48 PM, Just a Pygmy Corydora said:

Then what are they eating?

Stuff!  I had corys hatch out from eggs that transferred from the plant holding tank.  They went into a brand-new, dirted, sand capped, heavily planted tank.  I was blind-feeding it to cycle it and hadn’t even bothered to test the parameters.  Figured I’d give it a week then start with test strips and watch for the nitrite spike, then start drop testing, do a challenge, etc.

Then 8 days later I was sitting and staring at my new tank, you know, because.  And I see movement that was clearly not from plants fluttering in the current.  Closer look showed what was clearly a tiny cory fry!  No mistaking that “snuffling around on the substrate” movement!  More looking showed more fry!  This tank was designed for pea puffers, so I couldn’t leave cory babies in there.

Made a fish trap and started feeding only inside the trap.  I ended up catching a dozen corys before I was done.  These babies survived a fish-in cycle when I didn’t even know I was doing a fish-in!  No idea how bad the parameters may have gotten during this first week because there was no point wasting time testing frequently when I expected to be cycling for 3-4 weeks on this (my first dirted!) tank.

So, they survived in a brand new tank with food (that was way too big) added about every other day for their first week or so with no real help from me.  Deliberately letting food rot/spoil to stimulate the cycle.  Waaaaay back in the day, we used to fish-in cycle all the time.  I wouldn’t do it deliberately now, but it just goes to show you how tough and resourceful fish really are.

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On 7/17/2021 at 8:48 PM, Just a Pygmy Corydora said:

My pygmy cories are very inactive, but alive, I don't know if they are starving or not . . . I give them food but they just won't eat it. Is there something wrong? The cories have a clamped dorsal fin when they sleep.

My cories acted just the same as your's and I wondered if they were okay at first too! I've noticed pygmy cories are very shy for the first few months that you have them. Once they find their favorite spot, the whole group will just sit there most of the day. Although you can't tell that they eat, they do find scraps throughout the day and night which keep them happy. Eventually, they will grow more comfortable and start to venture out of their hiding spot after a few months, swimming midwater, playing together, or maybe just exploring on their own.

1646181295_PygmyCory1.JPG.815c74d3590a720f19ed4ccc088b5624.JPG

Also, cories will keep their pelvic fins (the paired fins underneath their bodies) together while they sleep. I think they use these fins to sort of prop themselves up on the substrate while the rest.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Edited by CorydorasEthan
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When I kept pygmy cories I was always terrified that they were starving. The patterns on their sides look like ribs, and it always looked to me like they were skin and bones. But they were fine. Still, I decided not to keep more because it was too stressful trying to figure out if they were getting enough food. 😆 I may try them again now that I have more experience though. I was a very worried new fish mom.

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On 7/18/2021 at 10:33 AM, CorydorasEthan said:

My cories acted just the same as your's and I wondered if they were okay at first too! I've noticed pygmy cories are very shy for the first few months that you have them. Once they find their favorite spot, the whole group will just sit there most of the day. Although you can't tell that they eat, they do find scraps throughout the day and night which keep them happy. Eventually, they will grow more comfortable and start to venture out of their hiding spot after a few months, swimming midwater, playing together, or maybe just exploring on their own.

1646181295_PygmyCory1.JPG.815c74d3590a720f19ed4ccc088b5624.JPG

Also, cories will keep their pelvic fins (the paired fins underneath their bodies) together while they sleep. I think they use these fins to sort of prop themselves up on the substrate while the rest.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Beautiful betta. I love reading your journal.  Corys like to have a cave or hiding spot to sleep and feel safe. For small corys try crushing flake food and releasing a small pinch beliw the surface of the water it will blow around the tank a bit sonthey cant miss it but majority will fall near your release point. As soon as they taste it you will see them scramble eating and know they are eating good.  They can get it immediately and the betta wont gobble it. They have to wait for wafers and pellets to get mushy as they do not fit in their mouth. Hope that helps we all like to actually see our babies eat it so fun. Please keep posting i really enjoy your journey.  

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Love the aquariums!  Cory’s are my Fav fish!  Maybe some day I’ll start a shrimp tank too! 
 

What do you feed the cory’s?  I found that when my shoal wouldn’t eat, just switching their food to a different brand of sinking wafer was enough to get them back on track!  They just wanted a different flavor I guess 🥰🍔

4C6A6533-DB31-4DB2-BC85-E00A2B62A71E.jpeg

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On 7/20/2021 at 10:32 PM, PandaCrush said:

Love the aquariums!  Cory’s are my Fav fish!  Maybe some day I’ll start a shrimp tank too! 
 

What do you feed the cory’s?  I found that when my shoal wouldn’t eat, just switching their food to a different brand of sinking wafer was enough to get them back on track!  They just wanted a different flavor I guess 🥰🍔

4C6A6533-DB31-4DB2-BC85-E00A2B62A71E.jpeg

I crush up flake sometimes and release a pinch below the water so it drops straight down. When they find it they gobble like crazy 🥰

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Apologies all, I have not been responding because Aurora was sick. The water is good, the temperature is fine, I don’t know what’s wrong. He rarely eats his food, and you all know that he goes crazy about pellets normally. He rests in the bottom of the tank, only moving to get air or go to a different spot to rest. His stomach is bloated. What should I do???

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I would go ahead and post in Diseases. There may be some other meds you can try. Meds are hard on fish, so it may be worth giving Aurora a break (once you’ve finished this round of treatment) before trying anything new. It’s always a hard call. ❤️ The people in Diseases will be able to give better advice. 

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