Cory catfish are the most common bottom dweller fish aquarists love to add to their community tank. They are peaceful creatures and do great with other non-aggressive fish in a tank.
They spend most of their time scavenging for food on the bottom of the tank and feed on leftovers and other waste. With such eating behavior, people get confused if cory catfish are herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. So, Are cory catfish herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores? Let us find out.
Cory catfish are omnivore fish and feed on both meat and plant matter food to fulfill their ideal dietary requirement. Feed your cory catfish bloodworms, blackworms, mosquito larvae, blanched cucumber, and zucchini to meet their nutritional needs and ensure their faster growth and development.
This article will discuss whether cory catfish are herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. Also, we will discuss the ideal dietary requirement of a cory catfish. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Are cory catfish herbivores?
Herbivores fish feed on only plant matter food in their daily diet.
They will usually feed on plants, vegetables, and algae in their daily routine.
They lack a stomach and use a special intestine to digest plant-based food.
Herbivore fish have flat teeth, which they use to grind the food before swallowing it.
As they have a lack of stomach for storing food, they will require frequent feedings several times a day.
Cory catfish are not herbivore fish; they also require a meat-based nutritional value to ensure their growth and development.
They will require various types of food in their daily diet to fulfill their ideal dietary requirement.
Also read: Do Cory Catfish Eat Cucumbers?
Are cory catfish carnivores?
Carnivores fish will feed only on meat matter food in their daily routine.
However, you will see some carnivore fish eating plants and veggies sometimes, but they will not be able to derive the nutrition from them.
They will require various types of meat matter food to ensure faster growth and development.
Carnivore fish are usually dependent on live food in their daily routine.
They have a large-sized mouth and sharp teeth, which they use to grab the predators and tear their flesh off.
Also, you must know that carnivore fish have large enough stomachs which can store the entire fish inside them.
They will chase and hunt down the fish that fits their mouth, which is why we don’t recommend keeping a carnivore fish in a community tank.
Cory catfish are not carnivore fish as they require plant-based nutrition too in their daily diet.
Also read: Do Cory Catfish Eat Snails?
Are cory catfish omnivores?
Omnivore fish require meat and plant matter food in their daily diet to fulfill their ideal dietary requirement and ensure their faster growth and development.
Cory catfish are omnivore fish as they require meat and plant-based nutritional value in their daily diet for faster growth and a healthy lifespan.
You should feed them a variety of food, including live food like bloodworms and tubifex worms, and blanched vegetables like cucumber and zucchini.
The teeth structure and the digestive system of an omnivore fish possess the traits of both carnivore and herbivore fish.
However, an omnivore fish will not be able to digest some of the plants and grains but will feed on most of them to fulfill their plant-based nutritional requirement.
Feed your cory catfish with a variety of food that includes both meat and plant matter food to fulfill their dietary requirement.
Also read: Are Cory Catfish Bottom Feeders?
Cory catfish ideal dietary requirement?
Cory catfish are omnivore fish species that require both plant and meat-based food in their daily diet.
Feeding your cory catfish with both meat and plant-based food is essential to fulfill their ideal dietary requirement and ensure their faster growth and longer lifespan.
| Cory Catfish Food | Serving Quantity | No of Times |
|---|---|---|
| Bloodworms | One small pinch | 1-2 times a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 10-15 pieces | 2-3 times a week |
| Daphnia | One small pinch | 1-2 times a week |
| Peas | One pea per cory catfish | 1-2 times a day (1-2 times a week) |
| Cucumber | One small piece at a time | 1-2 times a day (1-2 times a week) |
Consider feeding your cory catfish live or frozen food like bloodworms, tubifex worms, blackworms, mosquito larvae, daphnia, and sinking flake food to fulfill their meat-based nutritional requirement.
Cory catfish love to feed on worms and insects. They feed on worms, insects, and larvae in their natural habitat.
Feed them with blanched vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, carrots, and lettuce to fulfill their plant-based nutritional requirement.
You can also feed them boiled peas as they love to feed on them.
Also read: Why Is My Cory Catfish Not Eating?
What do cory catfish eat in an aquarium?
Corydoras are bottom dweller fish and spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom of the tank in search of food.
They use their mouth to dig the substrate and suck up the food.
Cory catfish will feed on fish leftovers, dead and decaying plants, and small fish in an aquarium.
They are peaceful fish and will never hunt the alive fish.
They will feed on the flesh of a dead fish in an aquarium.
So, corydoras are good cleaners and will keep your aquarium clean of leftovers and other waste.
However, cory catfish do not feed on algae and fish poop, so rely on your cory catfish when it comes to algae and fish poop.
Also read: Do Cory Catfish Eat Algae?
How often should we feed our cory catfish?
You should feed your cory catfish one to two times a day.
Usually, cory catfish will scavenge the bottom of the tank in search of food most of the time.
But, you should not let your cory catfish rely on leftovers and should feed them appropriately one to two times a day.
Feed them in quantity they can finish eating in one to two minutes.
If your cory catfish takes more than two minutes to finish their food, you are overfeeding them. Reduce the quantity next time.
And if your cory catfish finishes its food in seconds, you are underfeeding them.
Increase the quantity in every feeding until they take one to two minutes to complete their food.
Conclusion:
Cory catfish are omnivore fish and feed on both plant and meat matter food.
Feed your corydoras various plant and meat matter food to fulfill their ideal dietary requirement and ensure their faster growth and development.
They love to feed on worms, insects, and larvae. Feed them live food like bloodworms, blackworms, tubifex worms, daphnia, mosquito larvae, and sinking flake food.
Also, provide them with blanched vegetables like zucchini and cucumber to fulfill their plant-based nutritional requirement.
Consider feeding your cory catfish one to two times a day in a quantity they can finish in one to two minutes.
Don’t only rely on meat food or veggies and feed them both types of food to ensure their good health.
Reference: ScienceDirect, Britannica, Wikipedia