Cory catfish are famous bottom dwellers that aquarists prefer to add to their community tank. Their hardy and peaceful nature make them the best option for beginners too.
Cory catfish are easy to take care of as they can live in various water conditions and parameters. Corydoras can reach up to 4 inches in size, depending on the species. But, sometimes they stop growing, which becomes a matter of concern as it is not normal. So, Why is my cory catfish not growing? Let us find out.
Poor water conditions and irregular feeding are the primary reasons behind your cory catfish not growing. Other causes include bad genetics, inadequate parameters, and low-grade food. Ensure keeping them in large tanks and providing adequate housing conditions to prevent such issues.
This article will discuss all the reasons behind cory catfish not growing, and we will discuss how to prevent such issues. Also, we will know how long cory catfish take to reach their full size. So, let us get into it.
Contents
My cory catfish is not growing.
There can be numerous reasons behind your cory catfish not growing, of which inadequate housing and underfeeding are the primary reasons.
Other reasons like stress, aggressive mates, illness, and bad genetics can also be the reason for your corydoras not growing.
If genetics is the reason for your fish not growing, there is nothing you can do about such an issue.
Cory catfish under stress for a long time will affect their health and become weak, affecting their growth.
Their growth can even stop completely when under stress for a long time because of various factors.
Usually, cory catfish are hardy fish and can live in a wide range of water conditions and parameters.
However, keeping them in inadequate water parameters and poor water conditions will make them prone to various diseases and parasites, making them weak, and their growth will be affected badly.
Do cory catfish grow slowly?
Cory catfish will have fast growth in the first three months.
After three months, they will grow slowly and will take more 5-7 months to reach their full size.
Taking good care of them by providing them with ideal living conditions and parameters and feeding food to them regularly will help their faster growth.
There are many other things that will help in their faster growth and development.
Also, there are numerous factors that can affect your cory catfish growth, and they will stop growing.
Also read: Lifespan of cory catfish.
How long do cory catfish take to reach their full size?
Cory catfish will grow to their full size in 8-10 months.
They will have rapid growth in their first three months, and after that, they will have slow growth.
When kept in the right conditions and fed regularly with high-quality nutritional foods, they will reach their full size in 8-10 months.
Numerous factors can affect your cory catfish’s growth and development.
Let us discuss all possible factors that can affect your cory catfish growth.
What are the reasons behind my cory catfish not growing?
All these are the reasons behind your cory catfish not growing:
- Your cory catfish is living in poor water conditions.
- You are underfeeding your cory catfish.
- You are keeping them in a small size tank.
- Your cory catfish is under constant stress.
- Your cory catfish tank is overcrowded.
- Bad genetics is the reason why they are not growing.
Poor water conditions
Poor water conditions can be the primary reason behind your cory catfish not growing.
There will be a high risk of an ammonia spike in bad water quality.
Living in such water conditions, your cory catfish will affect their health and become weak.
Weak cory catfish will be prone to various diseases and parasites and can even pass away.
All these will affect their growth, and they will stop growing.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live In Brackish Water?
Underfeeding
Underfeeding your cory catfish will stop their growth and development.
Usually, in most cases, we end up overfeeding our fish because most of the fish are voracious eaters and will eat every time you serve food to them.
However, this is not the case in cory catfish. Cory catfish are bottom dwellers and feed on leftovers and other waste.
Many beginners and aquarists rely on these leftovers and waste as their cory catfish food.
But, cory catfish require regular feeding to ensure their faster growth and development.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Eat Betta Food?
Small size tank
Keeping your corydoras in a small tank will not provide them enough space to swim and live comfortably, stopping them from growing naturally.
They will come under stress by living in a small tank where they can not move comfortably.
Cory catfish require a large size tank to feel comfortable and swim freely.
Stress
Stress will affect your cory catfish growth.
When your cory catfish is under constant stress, they will lose their immune system and become weak.
Also, you must know that fish being under stress for a long time will become prone to various diseases and parasites.
All these will affect their growth and development.
Also read: Why Are My Cory Catfish Hiding?
Overcrowded tank
An overcrowded tank will come with all these issues:
- A crowded tank will get dirty faster than usual.
- Your fish will find it hard to live and swim comfortably in an overcrowded tank.
- There will be a high risk of an ammonia spike in an overcrowded tank.
- There will be a lack of oxygen in a crowded tank.
All these will put your cory catfish under stress, affecting their health by stopping their growth and development.
Bad genetics
Bad genetics can also be the reason behind your cory catfish not growing.
Genetics is the issue if your cory catfish is not growing to their full size even after fulfilling their all ideal needs and feeding them with high-quality food.
There is nothing you can do for your fish’s growth and development if genetics is the reason behind such problems.
Also, there is nothing to worry about as it is normal.
How to ensure my cory catfish’s faster growth and development?
Provide all these things to your cory catfish to ensure their faster growth and development:
- Provide them with good water conditions.
- Ensure adequate and stable water parameters of your corydoras tank.
- Feed them regularly with high-quality nutritional food.
- Avoid adding aggressive fish to your cory catfish tank.
- Avoid overcrowding their tank.
- Provide them with a stress-free environment.
Good water conditions
Providing your cory catfish with good water conditions will ensure their growth.
Perform a weekly water change of 35% regularly to keep the water clean.
Treat the tap water using a water conditioner while doing a water change to dechlorinate the water.
| Particulars | Cory Catfish |
|---|---|
| Water condition | Clean water condition |
| Ammonia | 0ppm |
| Nitrite | 0ppm |
| Nitrate | Below 20ppm |
We recommend using the API water conditioner to treat the water as it will eliminate chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, and heavy metals from the water.
You can buy this product on amazon: API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.
Add a good filtration system with biofilter media and carbon to keep the water crystal clean and protect it from harmful toxins like ammonia and nitrite.
Keep a regular check on ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels and make sure to maintain the ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, whereas nitrate should be below 20ppm.
We recommend using the API freshwater master test kit to check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH level as it shows accurate results.
You can buy it from amazon: API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT.
Plenty of live aquatic plants will also help you keep the water clean and oxygenated.
Adequate and stable water parameters
Providing your cory catfish with adequate and stable water parameters will prevent illness and stress and ensure their faster growth and development.
Ensure to keep the water temperature between 70-82 °F.
Maintain the water pH level between 7 and 8.
The water TDS level should be between 400-600ppm.
The general water hardness should be between 5 and 19 dGH.
Also, consider adding a heater to your cory catfish tank to ensure a stable water temperature.
Unstable water temperature will make them come under stress and become prone to various diseases and parasites.
Also read: Ideal pH Level For Cory Catfish?
Feed regularly
Food plays a vital role in your cory catfish’s growth and development.
Corydoras are omnivore fish and require plant and meat matter food in their daily diet to ensure their ideal dietary needs.
Feed your cory catfish two times a day in a quantity that they can finish eating in one to two minutes.
If you are feeding them one time a day, then provide them in a quantity that they can finish in three to four minutes.
Feed them with live and frozen food like bloodworms, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, blackworms, and tubifex worms.
Feeding them with sinking pellets and flakes, bottom feeder tablets, and algae wafers will help in fulfilling their dietary needs.
Feed them blanched vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, and boiled peas to fulfill their plant bases nutritional requirements.
Also read: How Often To Feed Cory Catfish?
Avoid aggressive fish
Cory catfish are peaceful fish and love to live and interact with other peaceful fish in a community tank.
Aggressive fish will constantly chase and nip your cory catfish.
They will not fight back and keep running and hiding from the aggressive fish.
All these will make them come under stress and will affect their growth.
Consider adding peaceful fish to your cory catfish tank instead of aggressive fish.
These are some best tankmates for your cory catfish:
- Guppies
- Mollies
- Platies
- Gourami
- Shrimp
- Snails
- Zebra danios
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live With Neon Tetras?
Avoid overcrowding
Keeping your cory catfish in a large size tank and avoiding overcrowding will ensure their growth and faster development.
To make sure that you are not overcrowding your corydoras tank, follow the one-inch one-gallon rule.
The one-inch one-gallon rule means one inch of fish per one gallon of water.
Cory catfish can be as long as 4 inches in size with an average of 2-2.5 inches, depending on the species.
Also, they are schooling fish and require a large group of at least 5-6 of their species.
The plants, substrate, and other decors cover some of the tank’s space.
All this makes a 20-gallon tank the minimum size tank requirement of your cory catfish.
Also read: How Many Cory Catfish In A 10 Gallon Tank?
Stress-free environment
Providing a stress-free environment to your cory catfish will keep them healthy and ensure their faster growth and development.
Ensure all these things to provide your cory catfish with a stress-free environment:
- Adequate and stable water parameters.
- Good water conditions.
- Avoid adding aggressive fish.
- Keep them in a large group of their species.
- Avoid overcrowding their tank.
- Create plenty of hiding spots in their tank.
- Add an air pump to keep the tank well oxygenated.
- Maintain ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm.
Also read: How To Tell If A Cory Catfish Is Stressed?
Conclusion:
Poor water conditions and irregular feeding are the primary cause behind cory catfish not growing.
Other reasons can be genetics, stress, low-grade food, inadequate water parameters, and small size tank.
Cory catfish take 8-10 months to grow to their full size if kept in the right conditions.
Ensure good water conditions and adequate water parameters, feed them regularly with high-grade food, and keep them in a large tank to prevent such issues and to make sure their faster growth and development.
Reference: Wikipedia, ScienceDirect