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Best food for Pygmy Corys

Hi,

Any recommendations as to a supplier of these Grindal worms / kits and are they easy enough to culture /keep ?
Several on the usual sites but hard to know which are better ?
 
I got them from a fellow hobbyist, never had yo buy any. A small amount of soil with somd worms from an established culture is enough to start a new one.

I would ask if someone close to me had some to share otherwise you can try ebay.
 
On frozen foods:
Chiming in late, here. I also don't use full-size frozen cubes at feeding. To avoid excessive freeze-thaw, I keep a small ceramic dish in my freezer (the kind used for serving soy sauce) and use it as a cutting board to cut the cubes into 1/8 aliquots, which I store in small ziplocs.

On mysterious Cory death:
Like the C. habrosus I've kept before, I also lost about half of my C. pygmaeus, one by one, with nothing apparently wrong in the tank. The remaining ones seem to be robust, however.

@dw1305 Is the structural leaf litter important for infusoria, tannins, or some other reason? My C. pygmaeus live in a smaller tank (15g) and I've found that it's difficult to maintain leaf litter without it getting pushed around and eventually blocking light to my Echinodorus tenellus. That said, I have a large wodge of java moss and lots of alder cones. Wondering how important it is to keep adding leaves.
 
Hi all,
I also lost about half of my C. pygmaeus, one by one, with nothing apparently wrong in the tank.
If you look at <"PlanetCatfish"> a lot of people have found the same, without any exact resolution of why.
I've found that it's difficult to maintain leaf litter without it getting pushed around and eventually blocking light to my Echinodorus tenellus
@dw1305 Is the structural leaf litter important for infusoria, tannins, or some other reason?
My guess is that the unexplained deaths are a diet issue. We don't know why the leaf litter helps, but it certainly seems to. I gave up on carpets in my tanks quite early mainly because of this issue. I'd rather have a dark and gloomy leaf strewn bottom, <"with Crypt. leaves sticking out above the debris">. It isn't aesthetically very pleasing but it works for the fish.

cheers Darrel
 
Thanks, I’m thinking diet as well. They live with Amanos that are quite aggressive at feeding time, so they may be getting outcompeted. Switching their dry foods to ones that break apart more easily.
 
Hi all,
They live with Amanos that are quite aggressive at feeding time, so they may be getting outcompeted. Switching their dry foods to ones that break apart more easily.
I've found they like really small food items. Could you keep <"Micro/Banana worms?"> They won't interest the shrimps, but Corydoras pygmaeus are really keen on them.

cheers Darrel
 
I’ve been hesitant to culture them, because I don’t know how many of my fish will take them. I also keep two different kinds of pencil fish (unifasciatus and marginatus) as well as usually having apisto juveniles around. Do you think the microworms would be of interest to them? Would grindal worms be a more versatile choice?
 
Hi all,
I don’t know how many of my fish will take them
As well as the Corydoras, the juvenile cichlids like them and you may find the pencil fish, even adults, will eat them too. I always keep my cultures going, even when I don't have any fish that eat them, because they cost pennies to feed and a re very low maintenance cultured on oats.
Would grindal worms be a more versatile choice?
Grindal worms are a <"bit more work">, but again I would, and do, always have a culture. I consider these cultures indispensable <"for conditioning fish">, and I will always feed some live food.

cheers Darrel
 
Personally I find grindals easier that microworms. I only use coco coir and if I do not overfeed I find they keep ok for months. I was given some microworms when I had to rear some peacock gobies ( which actually grew fine on powder food too) but I found them too be smelly to soon because of the wet environment and gave up on them.
 
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I was given some microworms when I had to rear some peacock gobies ( which actually grew fine on powder food too) but I found them too be smelly to soon because of the wet environment and gave up on them.
I use mashed boiled potatoes for my Walter worms. No smells. I mash in some carrots as well in the hope that it would colour up my Boraras maculatus.
 
I had them in dry instant mashed potatoes but they required more often rotation , maybe I was lazy.

I should mention that my chilly rasboras could accept grindals too.
 
I also keep two different kinds of pencil fish (unifasciatus and marginatus) as well as usually having apisto juveniles around. Do you think the microworms would be of interest to them?

My pencilfish don't really go for them (they will eat them but not aggressively and only if there isn't anything else) but ive found that adding a few plus other small foods like bbs really gets them to breed. I heard this trick from an old fish breeder who said if they know there is food for their fry, they are more inclined to breed.
 
OK I got the microworms. For those feeding corys, do you just release microworms into the water column and assume they’ll be found wherever they land, or do you pipette them to a defined area on the substrate?
 
Hi all,

As well as the Corydoras, the juvenile cichlids like them and you may find the pencil fish, even adults, will eat them too. I always keep my cultures going, even when I don't have any fish that eat them, because they cost pennies to feed and a re very low maintenance cultured on oats.

Grindal worms are a <"bit more work">, but again I would, and do, always have a culture. I consider these cultures indispensable <"for conditioning fish">, and I will always feed some live food.

cheers Darrel
My macmasteri apistos unexpectedly had babies (they came out for the first time yesterday!), will they eat the microworms immediately, or when they're a bit bigger (right now they are tiny)? I don't have a culture yet but could order one today! Luckily got lots of leaf litter on the bottom that they seem to be enjoying, but want to gather more food for them.
 
Hi all,
will they eat the microworms immediately
Yes, they should do once they are free swimming. Even Banana worms may be a bit big right at the start, but if you have some moss and leaf litter you should get some fry survival.

If you have Cardinal Tetras, or similar, in the tank, they will try and eat the fry and the female may attempt to kill them.

cheers Darrel
 
OK I got the microworms. For those feeding corys, do you just release microworms into the water column and assume they’ll be found wherever they land, or do you pipette them to a defined area on the substrate?

If it's just the cories you are feeding then you can pipette them down to a convenient area. With mine as the fish have an odd nibble, I release a few into the water column and then wait for the cories to come out and squirt some down to them. I have a sandy substrate so the worms sit on the top but if you have a coarse substrate you might be better adding only a few at a time or utilising some sort of feeding dish (can use a plastic dish or something like a catappa leaf or piece of slate).
 
Hi all,
If it's just the cories you are feeding then you can pipette them down to a convenient area. With mine as the fish have an odd nibble, I release a few into the water column and then wait for the cories to come out and squirt some down to them. I have a sandy substrate so the worms sit on the top but if you have a coarse substrate you might be better adding only a few at a time or utilising some sort of feeding dish (can use a plastic dish or something like a catappa leaf or piece of slate).
Same as @mort:
  • Turn the filter off,
  • put the oven timer on for ten minutes,
  • wipe my finger around the wall of the coleslaw pot containing the Micro worms,
  • wait poised for the Corydoras to appear,
  • wash the micro worms off,
  • watch the fish feeding for a bit,
  • forget about the oven timer
  • be asked by my wife why is the oven timer is bleeping?
  • turn the filter back on
  • sprinkle some more rolled oats in the Micro worm pots.
cheers Darrel
 
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Could you keep <"Micro/Banana worms?"> They won't interest the shrimps, but Corydoras pygmaeus are really keen on them.
Well, they definitely interest the shrimps. 😂 It’s fine, as I’m culturing far more microworms than end up getting used. But in this tank, the pygmaeus, the pencil fish and amanos all eat them. I’ve fed some to my juvenile apistos as well. I think they would be good for a growout tank.
 
Mine went nuts for live baby brine and good heavy feedings triggered them to spawn, they don't eat there own eggs or young so if in a species tank you can start a little self sustaining/expanding colony
 
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