New Cory/Oto fun & a fun way to serve zuchinni

[Mark Lathrop]

Two days ago I bought 3 new peppered corys to go along with my 2. The original two were just too shy in the new 20 long. I think the bigger tank made them feel more insecure in such a small number. They'd either only come out of hiding very late at night in the dark, or if they were out and I came around the corner, they'd go dodging out of sight real quick like. I picked up 3 new corys at petco, as none of the specialty stores had any corys, and I felt the need to build a proper school necessary, so I gave in and bought them there anyways. They are the cutest little things, and the corys are more active than ever! i also learned that they like algea chips.

I picked up 3 new otos as well seeing the success with the corys. I originally had 1 oto, and didn't really see the need for more, but decided to try anyways. BOY WAS I WRONG. As soon as my Oto, Scrat, saw the new otos, he went bizzark with excitment. He would follow one in particular everywhere around the tank. If it went to rest in the rocks, it would rest right beside it, then try to cuddle its little head into his neck. I could tell that my oto indeed needed companionship after. It was fun watching it swim with the others.

On feeding zuchinni: I've found that the Otos love long little slivers of it. I sliced a 2-3 inch very thin piece of zuchinni and pressed it against the glass where it practically sticks. I covered the very base in rocks, and my otos were on it in minutes. It's just like having a thin layer of algae on the glass to them. Just throwing the idea out there in case anybody was interested in it.:c5:

[cocoa_pleco]

corys love to shoal in groups. when i had a group of 6 corys, they all went up for air one after another in a perfect line, it was cool.

writing this just gave me a thought, the corys in one of my tanks are gone!

[SkarloeysMom]

I know what you mean about Corys! I love to watch mine working away. I have 3 pandas now. When I added the third recently they all seemed very happy to meet each other. In the 10g I don't think they feel the need to shoal all the time but they do hang out together from time to time. I have a little cave under a rock I created for them and they like to have meetings in there. LOL! I also have 2 Otos and wondered how they'd like having another friend but my tank is fully stocked now so I'll have to wait until I find the 20 gallon long I've been dreaming of.:41:

My Pandas and Otos both like the algae wafers too. One day one of the Otos sat on top of a piece of wafer and munched all day until he looked like he was gonna pop. Then he just hung out for a couple days doing nothing before getting back to work. I'll have to try your zucchini trick and see if the otos will go for it. Last time they were unimpressed by it.

Cocoa, I hope your corys are OK? Hopefully they're just hiding, having a secret meeting or something.

[troy]

one time one of my corys had to move to another tank and about a month later my brother found it dead under a rock.

[Mark Lathrop]

corys love to shoal in groups. when i had a group of 6 corys, they all went up for air one after another in a perfect line, it was cool.

writing this just gave me a thought, the corys in one of my tanks are gone!


Eek. I hope you find him!

[Mark Lathrop]

Well crap. I came home from some 4th of July fun and found the smallest one dead!! What the crap!? This is an established tank. I tested the water and came up with 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0-4 nitrates. I have a liquid test kit that won't show anything under 5 nitrates. I just did a 50% water change 3 days ago anyways. I wonder what was up with this death? I saw no traces of fungus or anything on his body, and I acclimated them for 40 min when I first got them. So strange...:(

[SkarloeysMom]

Sorry to hear you lost a cory, Mark. I just started keeping corys and I'm getting the feeling that corys, like otos are kind of sensitive fish. When I got my first 2 pandas they seemed quite happy for a couple of weeks and then all the sudden out of the blue I find one over on his side looking dead. Somehow he managed to survive but I still wonder if he's gonna be ok and its been a couple weeks since he recovered from whatever was bothering him. My thought is that my pandas were not getting enough to eat. I've started adding a couple of bits of algae wafer when I feed the others their flakes so the cats can get a bit of extra food just in case.

[troy]

Corydoras are one of the hardiest fish I've ever had. The one I have right now, I've had for almost 1 1/2 years.

[tropfish]

I've had one cory for over 3 years. When i got 3 to add to the tank with the existing one 2 of them died withing a week. It's weird

[troy]

That seems to happen often. Where did you get them.

[Mark Lathrop]

I blame Petco. When I originally got them, the bag they were in had a hole in it. The employee dumped them into a new bag, but the fish didn't make it out with the water. She violenty shook the bag until they were forced out. Talk about stressed! It's the only thing I can come up with since it was the shyest and smallest of the 3 I got. The cutest too. :(

[troy]

Stupid employees. One I went to my lfs and asked for a male and female platy. The stupid employee gave me 2 males and 1 lost its dorsal fin becuase he put them in the bag with his hands. The injured one soon disappeared. The next time
I went I asked for someone else and ended up with the same stupid teenager.

[MeganL3985]

That happened to me a few days ago at petsmart, when I bought my otto's. I saw one little neon in a tank full of snails and I being a sap had to take it home. The employee tried scooping it with a net, it got stuck up in the corner of the glass, he knocked it back into the tank with his finger. Then when transfering it to the bag from the plastic cup it got stuck to the side with out water and the guy proceeded to shake the cup up and down until it fell in the bag. I was suprised it lived....but so far so good, its looking healthy and happy with my other neons. I could not get over that....I wanted to jus slap him up side the head and ask him how he likes it.

[TowBoater]

I have lost more fish from petco than anywere else and I have bought less fish from there, lets say I have lost all but 2 out of about 10 fish from there. I love my cory cats and it is neat to watch them school around in a big group. I have 3 albinos, 5 peppered, and 3 normal looking ones, just plain. My albino's are more active.

[MeganL3985]

I sliced a piece of zucchini today and tried to stick it to the side of the tank.....it didn't stick. Just floated around the bottom. My oto's seem to like it thin (don't like it thick), but I can't get it to stick. Whats the deal? I think its thin enough, like see-through thin....

[RobbieG]

I have a little plastic clippy thing that clips like a clothespin and sticks to the side of the tank with a suction cup. They sell them at most petstores for around $1.00.

Its cheap and it works.

[TowBoater]

I got to invest in one as well, were do you place it? Near the bottom or top?

[RobbieG]

I have it a littel more that halfway up - mostly just so I can put veggies in it without needing to take my shirt off!

[TowBoater]

Yea, I always get my shirt wet when I have to go to the bottom.

[MeganL3985]

Must be a big tank...lol I barely get my elbow wet with mine. hahaha :D

[RobbieG]

It happens with my 10 gallon too - No matter what I need to do it always seems that I needed to roll my shirtsleeve up 1" higher than I originally thought!

[TowBoater]

Only in my 55 do it, some times in my 30 and 29 but not often.

[MeganL3985]

I would love to have a 55....but I have a 5.....lmao...maybe next month. haha

[Mark Lathrop]

I sliced a piece of zucchini today and tried to stick it to the side of the tank.....it didn't stick. Just floated around the bottom. My oto's seem to like it thin (don't like it thick), but I can't get it to stick. Whats the deal? I think its thin enough, like see-through thin....

It may help to wedge it between the glass, and the very bottom between your gravel. That worked for me the other day. I also microwaved the zucchini for about 30 seconds. Maybe that helped? It does make it softer to eat and more absorbent though for sure.