Cory catfish are bottom dweller fish and spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom of the tank in search of food. Many aquarists add cory catfish in their tank to keep their tank clean.
However, when it comes to keeping the tank clean, algae is something that comes to everybody’s mind. Algae growth is common in aquariums. So, Do cory catfish eat algae? Let us find out.
Cory catfish do not eat algae as they don’t provide any nutritional value needed by them. However, cory catfish will munch on algae wafers, but they are not interested in that too for most of the time. So instead, feed your cory catfish various live food to ensure their good health.
This article will discuss whether cory catfish feed on algae and what are the ideal dietary requirements of cory catfish. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Will cory catfish eat algae?
Cory catfish will not feed on algae.
They are bottom dwellers fish and spend most of their time searching for food on the bottom.
Your cory catfish will feed on leftovers, dead and decaying plants, and small fish but will not feed on algae.
You can see your cory catfish sometimes munching on algae. This can be because your cory catfish was mistaken in thinking of algae as food.
Cory catfish will not feed on any types of algae present in the tank.
They will not feed on algae attached to the glass, plants, or gravel.
Cory catfish ideal dietary requirements.
Cory catfish are omnivore fish and require both plant and meat matter food in their daily diet to ensure their faster growth and healthy 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 fish | 1-2 times a day (2-3 times a week) |
| Cucumber | One small piece | 1-2 times a day (2-3 times a week) |
Your cory catfish will love to feed on all types of worms.
You can feed your cory catfish live bloodworms, tubifex worms, and blackworms.
You can also feed sinking flake food, daphnia, mosquito larvae, and shrimp pellets to your cory catfish, as they will love to feed on such food.
Consider feeding your cory catfish blanched zucchini, cucumber, and boiled peas to fulfill their plant-based nutritional requirement.
Don’t rely only on one type of food as it can make your cory catfish boor by that food and they will start refusing to eat.
Also, relying on only one type of food will not help your cory catfish in their faster growth and development.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Eat Betta Food?
Do cory catfish clean the tank?
Cory catfish are bottom dwellers and spend most of their time scavenging at the bottom of the tank in search of food.
Cory catfish will feed on leftovers, dead and decaying plants, and smaller fish.
But, if you are expecting your cory catfish to feed on algae and other waste like poop, it will not happen.
Cory catfish are known to feed on the bottom of the tank, but they don’t feed on fish poop and algae.
Cory catfish will help you clean the leftovers, dead and decaying plants, and small fishes.
Cory catfish will feed on leftovers and dead and decaying plants, and small fish and keep the tank clean from all of these.
Will cory catfish eat algae wafers?
Cory catfish will eat sinking algae wafers.
However, they are not much interested in feeding on algae.
They will eat on algae wafers, but we don’t recommend relying on algae wafers as they will not fulfill your cory catfish dietary requirements.
Consider feeding your cory catfish live or frozen bloodworms, blackworms, and tubifex worms.
Feed them daphnia, shrimp pellets, and sinking flake food rather than feeding algae wafers.
Cory catfish don’t feed on algae and will be less interested in feeding on algae wafers as they don’t provide any nutritional value your cory catfish require.
So, consider feeding your cory catfish various high-quality nutritional food to ensure their longer lifespan.
How often should we feed our cory catfish?
You should feed your cory catfish one to two times a day.
You can feed them, taking a gap of 12 hours between every feeding.
You can feed them in the daytime and nighttime as they remain active at night.
Usually, cory catfish will spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom, searching for food.
Cory catfish will search for food on the bottom for late hours at night as they are nocturnal and stay active at night.
You should always make sure not to overfeed your cory catfish as it can lead to constipation and bloating.
To ensure that you are not overfeeding your cory catfish, provide them food in such quantity that they can finish eating in one to two minutes.
If your cory catfish is taking more time to finish their food, you are overfeeding them. Consider reducing the quantity next time.
And if your cory catfish is completing their food in seconds, you are underfeeding them and start increasing the quantity every next time until they finish their food in one to two minutes.
Also read: Why Is My Cory Catfish Not Eating?
How long can cory catfish survive without food?
Your cory catfish can easily live without food for one week.
However, the period can get stretched to two weeks before they starve.
But it doesn’t mean you keep your cory catfish without feeding them for days.
You should feed your cory catfish one to two times a day on a regular basis to ensure their good health and longer lifespan.
When you are going out for some urgent work of 5-10 days, and there is nobody to feed your cory catfish, your catfish will live on their own.
So, only consider not feeding your cory catfish if you are going out for a vacation or some work for one week or ten days, as they can live without eating for ten to twelve days.
And if someone is in your house when you are out for some work, guide them on the quantity and times to feed your cory catfish.
Conclusion:
Cory catfish don’t feed on algae.
They are bottom dwellers fish and feed on leftovers, dead and decaying plants, and small fishes.
Algae don’t provide the nutritional value they require to ensure their growth and good health.
So, don’t rely on algae as the food of your cory catfish, as they will not feed on any types of algae.
Cory catfish sometimes feed on algae wafers but are not interested most of the time.
Consider feeding your cory catfish various types of plant and meat-based food to ensure their growth and development.