Feeding Corydoras pygmaeus

[KillaGuppy]

I'm not sure if my Pygmy Cories are getting enough food. I rarely see them–they're usually hiding among the driftwood and roots of java fern.

However, when they do pop up, they look pretty blanched. I try to drop 1/2 a Hikari Bottom Feeder Tablet every 3 days, but it seems to just sit on the river bed gravel and I end up suctioning it back up after a couple hours.

Last week, we got a couple Amano Shrimp to tackle our algae problem. Today, when I dropped 1/2 a tablet into the tank, after the table dissolved a bit the two shrimp each grabbed 1/2 of the 1/2 tablet (that's 1/4 tablet each for those who want to do the math) and ran off with it to the top of some java leaves and driftwood cave like a dog with a bone. They just sat in their hideaway with a big ol' tablet chunk in their mouths, gnawing away at it.

Any other ideas to feed the 2 Cories? Or should I not worry, because they've been in there for 2 months and they're not dead yet.

 

[lauraf]

Not sure if your cories are totally okay, please let someone else here chime in who has more experience with bottom feeders.
But because I have three wee cories myself in my community tank that have been hale and hearty since my startup ten months ago, I might ask - do you ever feed your tank frozen bloodworms? I do that maybe three or four times a week, and many sink to the bottom and are immediately gobbled by my cories. They have never eaten the sinking wafers I keep trying to give them - my pearl gouramis go mental over them instead!
Also, have you ever tried micropellets for your other fish? That's my maintenance diet for the tank. Quite a few sink before my surface fish get to them, and my cories get really squirrelly nosing around the gravel where those micropellets have fallen . . . .
Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[erc2995]

i have the same problem i put sinking pellets in but i have to mollies with that like to eat and when i feed the cories just sit there even if a flake lands right infront of them they never seem to even try and search for food i had 3 but 1 died a few days ago and i dont know about the other 2

 

[lauraf]

Again, have you ever tried frozen bloodworms? They will sink to the bottom but also float around the whole tank, giving everyone a chance to nibble on little yummy bits . . . .