Cory catfish are the peaceful bottom dweller fish aquarist prefer to add to their community tank as they do great with other peaceful fish in a community tank.
However, sometimes cory catfish show strange swimming behavior ,which worries us, like swimming all over the tank like crazy. So, Why is my cory catfish swimming crazy? Let us find out.
Stress because of environmental factors is the reason behind your cory catfish swimming crazy. Other causes include poor water conditions, overfeeding, and fluctuating water temperatures. Ensure good water condition, avoid overcrowding, and maintain stable water temperature to prevent such issues.
This article will discuss the reason behind cory catfish swimming crazy and how to prevent such issues. Also, we will discuss the normal swimming behavior of cory catfish. So, let us get into it.
Contents
My cory catfish are swimming crazy all over the tank.
There are various reasons behind your cory catfish swimming crazy, of which the primary reason is stress.
Poor water conditions, unstable water temperature, aggressive mate, and overcrowding are other causes of cory catfish swimming crazy.
However, swimming crazy all over the tank can also not be a matter of concern when:
- You have introduced the cory catfish in the tank
- You have performed a water change.
- You are passing by the tank or going near the tank.
- Your cory catfish is hungry.
In all these circumstances, your cory catfish can show such swimming behavior.
However, if they are swimming crazy all over the tank constantly, it is a matter of concern, and the environmental factors are the reason behind such issues.
Also read: Why Is My Cory Catfish Not Moving?
Is this type of swimming behavior normal in cory catfish?
Let us discuss different types of swimming behavior that cory catfish shows:
- Your cory catfish are swimming up and down.
- Your cory catfish is swimming at the top of the tank.
- Your cory catfish are swimming all over the tank.
Cory catfish swimming up and down.
When your cory catfish are swimming up and down, there can be various reasons behind it:
- They are following their reflection and trying the understand what is going on there.
- When your cory catfish is ready to breed, they will swim up and down as a sign of saying that they are ready for breeding.
- When oxygen is deficient in the tank, your cory catfish will swim upside as the tank water surface contains more oxygen.
Cory catfish swimming at the top of the tank
Lack of oxygen in the tank is the reason behind your cory catfish swimming at the top of the tank.
Tank water surface holds more oxygen, and whenever there is oxygen deficiency in the tank, cory catfish will swim at the top of the tank.
Check water conditions when you find your cory catfish swimming at the top of the tank most of the time.
Also read: Why Is My Cory Catfish Floating?
Cory catfish swimming all over the tank
Swimming all over the tank is something normal in cory catfish.
They show such behavior when they are newly introduced to the tank and explore the tank by swimming all over it.
This swimming behavior is termed glass surfing by the aquarists.
They will show such swimming behavior when you come near or pass by the tank.
Cory catfish will also show such swimming patterns when they are hungry and expecting food from the owner, performing a water change, or when there is a change in water parameters.
Such kind of swimming behavior of your cory catfish is normal when it is temporary and is for a short time.
If your cory catfish is showing such swimming behavior most of the time, it is a matter of concern, and something is going wrong in the tank.
Let us discuss all the possible reasons of concern that can make your cory catfish swim crazy.
What are the reasons behind my cory catfish swimming crazy?
These are the reasons behind your cory catfish showing strange swimming behavior and swimming crazy:
- Poor water conditions
- Unstable water temperature
- Stress
- Aggressive tankmates
- Overcrowding
- Overfeeding
Poor water conditions
Bad water conditions are the primary reason behind your cory catfish swimming crazy.
When your cory catfish is not happy in their living environment. they will show such kind of swimming behavior.
Cory catfish are very sensitive when it comes to water conditions.
Bad water conditions like high pH, spiked ammonia, and high nitrate and nitrite levels will make your cory catfish under stress and prone to various diseases and parasites.
Suffering from such problems, cory catfish will show strange swimming behavior.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live In Brackish Water?
Unstable water temperatures
Unstable water temperature is the most common reason why fishes come under stress living in captivity.
Cory catfish experiencing unstable water temperature will come under stress.
Constant stress will make them prone to various diseases and parasites.
Stress
Stress is the most common reason behind your cory catfish swimming erratically.
Cory catfish will show strange swimming behavior when they are under stress because of the following reasons:
- Inadequate water parameters
- Poor water conditions
- Aggressive tankmates
- Lack of hiding spots
- Irregular supply of food
- Illness
- Injury
- Unstable water temperatures
- Lack of oxygen
- Spike of ammonia
Also read: How To Tell If A Cory Catfish Is Stressed?
Aggressive tankmates
There can be two ways cory catfish will behave when you add an aggressive fish to their tank:
- Your cory catfish will stay at the bottom of the tank, hiding from the aggressive mate.
- Your cory catfish will show strange swimming behavior by swimming crazy.
Aggressive fish will constantly chase your cory catfish, because of which your cory catfish will either try to hide from them or will swim crazy because of stress.
Overcrowding
An overcrowded tank can also be the reason behind your cory catfish swimming crazy.
An overcrowded tank comes will all these problems:
- The crowded tank will get polluted faster than usual
- Your cory catfish will not be able to live and swim comfortably.
- There will be a lack of oxygen in a crowded tank.
- All of your cory catfish will not be able to feed regularly because of the high competition for food.
- There will be a risk of an ammonia spike in an overcrowded tank.
All these factors will stress your cory catfish, resulting in swimming crazy.
Overfeeding
Overfeeding your cory catfish can also be the reason behind swimming crazy.
Overfeeding can result in constipation and bloating, making your cory catfish come under stress.
What is the normal swimming behavior of cory catfish?
Glass surfing is the normal swimming behavior that cory catfish shows.
Cory catfish swims up and down for various reasons which are not a matter of concern.
Your cory catfish will swim up and down when:
- You will introduce them to a new tank.
- You will perform a water change.
- You go near your tank or pass by your tank.
- They are hungry and expect food from their owner.
- There is a change in water parameters.
It is usual for your cory catfish to swim up and down for these reasons.
However, if your cory catfish is constantly showing such swimming behavior, it is a matter of concern and requires immediate action.
Check water parameters and conditions, separate the aggressive fish from the tank if present, and check for ammonia and pH levels.
If any of these is not the issue behind your cory catfish showing strange swimming behavior, add some of their companions as living alone or in a small group can make them stressed out, and they will show such swimming behavior.
How to prevent my cory catfish from such issues?
Ensure these things to prevent your cory catfish from swimming crazy:
- Provide good water conditions to your cory catfish.
- Ensure the ideal water parameters of your cory catfish.
- Avoid overcrowding your cory catfish tank.
- Make sure not to add aggressive fish to your cory catfish tank.
- Avoid overfeeding your cory catfish.
- Provide a stress-free environment to your cory catfish.
Good water conditions
Good water conditions will prevent your cory catfish from swimming crazy.
Perform a weekly water change of 35% regularly to keep the water clean.
Add a good filtration system with biofilter media to protect the water from harmful toxins like ammonia and nitrite.
| Particulars | Cory Catfish Requirement |
|---|---|
| Water Quality | Clean water condition |
| Water Hardness | 5 and 19 dGH |
| Ammonia | 0ppm |
| Nitrite | 0ppm |
| Nitrate | Below 20ppm |
Keep a regular check on ammonia and nitrite levels and ensure to maintain the ammonia and nitrite level at 0ppm, whereas nitrate is below 20ppm.
We recommend using the API ammonia test kit to check ammonia levels as it shows accurate results regularly.
You can purchase it from Amazon API TEST KIT.
Also, treat the fresh water with a water conditioner to dechlorinate it before adding it to your cory catfish tank while performing a water change.
We recommend using the API water conditioner to treat the water as it eliminates chlorine, ammonia, nitrites, and heavy metals.
You can buy this product on amazon: API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.
Cory catfish are bottom dwellers and will spend most of the time searching for food on the bottoms.
Ensure keeping a soft and gentle base by adding sand or other similar substrate and pebbles.
Ideal water parameters
Providing your cory catfish with their ideal water parameters will help prevent such issues.
| Particulars | Cory Catfish Requirement |
|---|---|
| Water temperature | 72-82 °F |
| Water pH level | 7-8 |
Provide your cory catfish water temperature between 72-82 °F.
Ensure to maintain the water pH level between 7 and 8.
Also, with adequate water parameters, a stable water temperature is essential to prevent your cory catfish from coming under stress and various diseases and parasites.
Consider adding a heater to your cory catfish tank to stabilize the water temperature.
Also read: Ideal Water Temperature For Cory Catfish?
Avoid overcrowding
An overcrowded tank can make your cory catfish swim crazy.
To ensure you are not overcrowding your cory catfish tank, follow the one-inch one-gallon rule, which means one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Cory catfish can be as long as 4 inches in size. So, on average, you should keep one cory catfish per 3 gallons of water.
Also, consider keeping more than five cory catfish to complete their school.
Keeping a single cory catfish will make them come under stress as they need a companion with whom they can play and live comfortably.
Also read: How Many Cory Catfish In A 10-Gallon Tank?
Avoid adding aggressive tankmates.
Cory catfish are peaceful fish and do great with other peaceful fish in a community tank.
They will not fight back when other fish try to chase and hunt them down.
So, adding aggressive fish to your cory catfish tank will make your cory catfish come under constant stress, becoming prone to various diseases and parasites.
Consider keeping your cory catfish with other peaceful fish like:
- Mollies
- Platies
- Neon tetra
- Guppies
- Gourami
- Zebra danios
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live With Neon Tetras?
Avoid overfeeding
Overfeeding your cory catfish can make them suffer from critical conditions like constipation and bloating.
Overfeeding your cory catfish can make them swim crazy because of stress.
To ensure that you are not overfeeding your cory catfish, provide them food in a quantity that they can finish eating in 1-2 minutes.
If your cory catfish takes more time to finish their food, you are overfeeding them.
If your cory catfish finishes their food in seconds, you are underfeeding them.
Also read: How Often To Feed Cory Catfish?
Provide a stress-free environment
Stress is the primary reason for cory catfish swimming crazy.
Providing a stress-free environment to your cory catfish will help prevent them from such issues.
Ensure these things to provide a stress-free environment to your cory catfish:
- Perform a weekly water change of 35%.
- Ensure stable water temperature by adding a heater.
- Avoid adding aggressive fish to your cory catfish tank.
- Keep your cory catfish in a group of at least five.
- Provide water temperature between 72-82 °F.
- Ensure to maintain the water pH level between 7 and 8.
- Create plenty of hiding spots for your cory catfish.
- Make sure to maintain the ammonia and nitrite level at 0ppm.
- Avoid overcrowding your cory catfish tank by following the one-inch one-gallon rule.
- Avoid overfeeding your cory catfish by feeding them in a quantity they can finish eating in 1-2 minutes.
- Feed your cory catfish regularly one to two times a day.
Conclusion:
Cory catfish swimming all around the tank is normal as they show such behavior when being newly introduced to the tank, performing a water change, being hungry, and coming close to the tank.
However, if your cory catfish is showing such behavior constantly, it is a matter of concern.
There can be various reasons behind your cory catfish swimming crazy, of which the primary reason is stress.
Ensure good water conditions and ideal water parameters and avoid overfeeding and overcrowding your cory catfish tank to prevent such issues.
Reference: Wikipedia