I purchased 3 'blue cory cats' today. Now I cant find any info on these cory cats but they are not even blue they are kinda grey and green - and they guy at the pet store says they will get to be about 2 inches. I have a 15 gallon tank - i change 10% or water and vacume gravel weekly. In the tank i have 5 neon tetras - 5 glowlight tetras and one betta. I thought the cory cats would be calm and just scrub around the bottom and hide out alot. These ones seem nuts though they are flying around the tanks sucking on the gravel and plants - they are even chasing my betta around. The betta used to be king of the tank but he just swims away when the cats come near. Has anyone heard of these 'blue cory cats' and is this normal behaviour for cory cats - and is my tank way too overcrowded?
Answers:
Your tank definitely doesn't sound over-crowded, but that depends on the surface area of the tank and the size of filter you have. It's a plus that you were able to get the betta in with the tetras and avoid any problems. The cory's, if they are "Blue Cory's" have an info page here: "http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?what=f... Most Cory's are of a general temperament, which means they're not too aggressive. There's always those instances that go against the grain though. They are definitely the recommended cat for tetra tanks though.
You probably have corydoras aeneus that was injected by the fish exported with blue dye to make it look more attractive. This dye will fade out and the fish wiil be green gold color. These fish are probably serching the tank for food.These are bottom feeders so make sure some food gets to them. You can generally tell where a fish feeds by its mouth position Your Betta surface feeder ,your tetras mid water feeders (look at their mouths) you are not over crowded
I've had corys of several different varieties, and they always freaked out a little each time they were moved, and stayed a little hyper for a few days before settling down. I doubt that the betta is getting harrassed by the corys on purpose, perhaps he is just giving them some space because they are making him nervous. Bettas like things calm, and he will probably come back out when the corys settle down.
Your tank is kinda overcrowded, but there is no need to buy another tank or get rid of fish. Change 30-50% of your water weekly, and check your filter to see if it needs changing more frequently than usual. Just be careful to more closely match your fresh water temperature to your tank temp by using a thermometer. No big deal.
This link lists all of the catfish that are related to cories: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/fam...
Based on your description, it looks like this one:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/spe...
But it could be anyone. Hover your mouse over the link to get a picture instead of clicking the link.
~ZTM
Does it look like these?
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...
Those are sold as emerald cories. If it is blue, then as mentioned they were most likely dyed. Were there "blue" ones in the tank, real blue colored? If so, then the ones you got might've lost their blue dye color.
Your tank sounds ok, neons don't put out much waste. I wouldn't add any more fish though. I'd also increase the water changes to about 20-25% a week. Check your water quality and make sure that's good. Cories will race around the tank, but for the most part they sit on the bottom, or scavenge a little bit on the bottom until you add food. At least that's been my experience with them over the past 8 years lol.
not sure.never was aloud to have animals.
Thanks for the 2 points though! (%26#92;(*-*)/) xoxo to the fishies.
