Corycats And Substrate

I have a 20 tall betta sorority with three albino corys and two spotted corys. Its a planted tank.

They have been swimming at the top of the tank a lot. (Mostly just the albinos) Not taking an abnormal amount of breaths of air, just swimming back and forth across the top of the tank a lot. I have gravel substrate, wondering if they don't like it very much? I also think I've read they do that when the water quality is poor. It's not a cycled tank, (beginners mistake) but I have a master test kit and have been managing the water with Prime and dosing with Stability to speed up process. Haven't read any Nitrites yet. I do water changes daily unless my ammonia + nitrites are low enough for the Prime to handle alone.

Should I change my substrate to sand, or maybe a partial part of the tank to sand? Just wondering how difficult that would be with fish and plants in the way. Or perhaps they are doing that because of the water? I just got Prime today and used it for the first time. When I got home ammonia was .25-.50 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites so I used a full tank volume of prime and did no water change. Checked a few hours later and ammonia looked to me to be a 0. Will check again in the morning.

 

I have a 20 tall betta sorority with three albino corys and two spotted corys. Its a planted tank.

They have been swimming at the top of the tank a lot. (Mostly just the albinos) Not taking an abnormal amount of breaths of air, just swimming back and forth across the top of the tank a lot. I have gravel substrate, wondering if they don't like it very much? I also think I've read they do that when the water quality is poor. It's not a cycled tank, (beginners mistake) but I have a master test kit and have been managing the water with Prime and dosing with Stability to speed up process. Haven't read any Nitrites yet. I do water changes daily unless my ammonia + nitrites are low enough for the Prime to handle alone.

Should I change my substrate to sand, or maybe a partial part of the tank to sand? Just wondering how difficult that would be with fish and plants in the way. Or perhaps they are doing that because of the water? I just got Prime today and used it for the first time. When I got home ammonia was .25-.50 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites so I used a full tank volume of prime and did no water change. Checked a few hours later and ammonia looked to me to be a 0. Will check again in the morning.

A less than ideal substrate doesn't usually result in corys swimming towards the top, it's more of an issue for their barbels. What type of gravel do you have? Small and rounded, large and sharp/asymmetrical or somewhere in between? Small rounded gravel is fine with corys, although they do prefer sand. They ideally need to be in groups of 6+ of the same species, so that an water quality might be an issue. Is your tank well aerated?

 

Sand or small rounded gravel is fine for cory's barbs.

Are they just swimming back and forth together or are they also dashing to the surface to a gulp of air? Corys will gulp air into their gut and absorb O2 there. If any of the fish are staying at the surface gulping for air it is an O2 issue or burning from ammonia. Bettas are labyrinth fish and have a simple lung so they will take gulps of air often but should not gasp at the surface.

If the corys are swimming quickly back and forth quickly along the glass together they may be getting ready to spawn. You can often trigger spawning in corys with a large water change. with all the water changes you are doing this may be the case. But corys are sensitive to water quality also.

 

My albino and green Cory do this all the time. They seem like they are happy and enjoy going across the top. I really thought they would stay at the bottom when I got them but they seem to be all over

 

They are bottom dwellers, so if they are staying at the top, my guess is that something at the bottom is really bothering them. I would indeed do a water change if the behavior continues. That’s always the first thing to do when you notice abnormal behavior. Did you notice a change in their behavior after you added Prime?

What is your pH? What about your temp?

Follow this formula for cycling.

Ammonia + Nitrites = less than 1ppm add full tank volume dose of Prime and Stability. Recheck parameters in 24 hours

Ammonia + Nitrites = 1ppm or greater do 50% water change. Add full tank volume dose of Prime and Stability. Recheck parameters in 24 hours

The goal with the water changes is to drop the ammonia and nitrites to 0.5ppm. So you may need to change more than 50% to achieve that.

Full tank dose of Prime is 0.1ml per gallon. Or 2 drops. 1ml for 10 gallons, 2ml for 20 gallons.

 

giving the answer yourself "it is not cycled" so the Corys are pretty new I suppose?

Besides of that they have to few company of their own species .

Here is one of my albinos at gravel. It is something alike. If so it isn't an issue looking at this lazy one.

 

They are not taking gulps of air, just seem to swim back and forth a lot in the middle and top of the tank. The gravel is somewhere in between round and asymetrical. I monitor my water quaility and add prime or do a water change with it is needed. They have done this since Ive had them, maybe a few weeks. They spend time searching for food in the gravel, I'm just of surprised how often they take their little pack to swim back and forth towards the middle and top. They still eat and get super excited when I feed them lol.

I would have gotten all the same kind of Cory but one store only had couple spots, so then I went to another and they only had a few albinos, so I just kinda ended up getting a mixed group. The spots don’t swim all over the place like the albinos do, they stay on the bottom.

I would like to add that if it is necessary, I will be starting up a new tank soon and when its done I could add the albinos to the new one and get a few more of each speicies so they both have bigger schools.

 

Long term that would be the best.

 

Has anyone added some sand into the gravel of their tank for their cories to forage? It's something i've considered as I don't see mine foraging as much as they used too since I move them and there is no sand in the new tank.

 

Has anyone added some sand into the gravel of their tank for their cories to forage? It's something i've considered as I don't see mine foraging as much as they used too since I move them and there is no sand in the new tank.

The sand will just work its way into the gravel

 

Has anyone added some sand into the gravel of their tank for their cories to forage? It's something i've considered as I don't see mine foraging as much as they used too since I move them and there is no sand in the new tank.

I added small rocks as barriers between creating two side channels of sand and a “river” of rocks in the middle of the tank for my corys and it worked well. That’s one way to keep the rocks and also use sand.

 

I added small rocks as barriers between creating two side channels of sand and a “river” of rocks in the middle of the tank for my corys and it worked well. That’s one way to keep the rocks and also use sand.

Can you do this when the tank already has water in it? I'm assuming it's just messy/wet.

 

Sand is best but they'll survive with gravel.

If they're going to the top for air, your water quality is bad.

If they're just swimming back and forth, they're exploring. My 8 Dainty Corys all did this for a week and some still do sometimes. They like to swim along the glass, they're probably playing with their reflection.

 

I have gravel substrate and wanted sand for my Cories. I found a container from Value Villages. Washed it in soap and bleach. Then rinsed it for 30 mins. I then boiled it for 45 mins. Placed the container in and then slowly added sand. And the Cories have been digging and playing it. Best move I made. They are some happy Cories.

 

I have gravel substrate and wanted sand for my Cories. I found a container from Value Villages. Washed it in soap and bleach. Then rinsed it for 30 mins. I then boiled it for 45 mins. Placed the container in and then slowly added sand. And the Cories have been digging and playing it. Best move I made. They are some happy Cories.

View attachment 407700

They love to have fun!

 

Oh yes they do. I will sneak in and look through the side. And will watch them. They will come zooming from the other side of the tank and crash land into the sand. They start digging and then flash or flick them selves in the sand and dig again. Then you will see them gasping for air like they just ran a mile. Lol. Love them so much. Great to watch.

 

Oh yes they do. I will sneak in and look through the side. And will watch them. They will come zooming from the other side of the tank and crash land into the sand. They start digging and then flash or flick them selves in the sand and dig again. Then you will see them gasping for air like they just ran a mile. Lol. Love them so much. Great to watch.

I like to compare having Corydoras to having small obese children in your tank.... they'll eat forever and scavenge for food their entire lives, but they're not motivated enough to come up to the surface to get to the source of the food xD

Even my Bolivian Rams start coming near the surface for food. But of course, the Corys will never.

 

I like to compare having Corydoras to having small obese children in your tank.... they'll eat forever and scavenge for food their entire lives, but they're not motivated enough to come up to the surface to get to the source of the food xD

Even my Bolivian Rams start coming near the surface for food. But of course, the Corys will never.

mwaa

Surfacing doesn't automatically mean your water us bad. It is quite normal for Corys.