What are my cory cats doing?

Question

My cory cats are swimming all over the place. I have a school of 6 in my 46 gallon bowfront tank, and I just bought them two days ago. In my past experiences with cory cats, they have always just kinda hung out at the bottom and done their thing.

However, today, I woke up, and they were all swimming all over the place, mostly in pairs. They weren't darting up to the top like they do when the water quality is bad. They were just gracefully swimming all over the place.

I dropped some sinking shrimp pellets in there for them last night, so it can't be that they're hungry...

Has anyone had this happen? It doesn't seem normal, and I wondered if anyone knew what was going on.

Answer 1

it may not be that they are hungry but it could be that they are searching for food I don't think there is anything to be concerned about

Answer 2

When cory cats are kept in groups of 6 as they are supposed to be, they are usually not shy.  I have a group of 7 in my 45 gallon tank and they are all over the place.  Cory cats, when kept by themselves or with one other, are usually reclusive.  Your cories are giving you a cory show!

Also, the darting up to the top behavior you mentioned is not a sign of bad water quality.  Cory cats dart to the top to take a gulp of air.  They then dart back to the bottom and stay still for a few moments.  If you watch closely after your cory cat has darted up and then back down, you can see it "wink."  This winking is what happens when the cory cat passes the air to be "processed."  If cory cats are not given access to air, they will drown.  I always make sure that when I purchase my cories they have access to air in their transport bag.

Don't worry.  What you are observing is completely normal.  If you cories are being kept with other fish, it may be helpful to feed the cories after you turn the lights out to avoid competition.  Cories don't need light to feed.  They use their barbells to sniff out food, not their eyes.

As a side note, and you may know this, cories do not eat fish p**p like most pet stores say.  They need to be fed a balanced diet, which most of the time does not happen because 1. they are out competed for food in a community tank or 2. they are expected to eat p**p.

You must be doing something right because from the sounds of it, you've got a very happy bunch of cories!