Best Food for Cory Catfish (Corydoras)
Aaron Boyd
Cory catfish are one of the most popular bottom feeding aquarium fish for aquatic enthusiasts to purchase all over the world. Before you invest in these handsome creatures however, you should take the time to learn a bit about their diet, and consider how you plan to meet their nutritional needs.
Like all fish, cory catfish, also commonly known as Corydoras, need a healthy balance of vitamins, minerals and protein to stay in peak health.
All tank owners want the very best for their fish, and the key to giving your fish a long, stress free life is to provide them with a well-suited diet.
All the products featured on this page are considered essentially the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras), and will meet all their requirements. However, each brand has its own advantages and disadvantages, which are clearly outlined below.
Before choosing one or the other, you should consider your own personal circumstances, and think about what features you want to prioritize in your fish food.
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Table of Contents
Best Food for Cory Catfish (Corydoras) – Top 5 Review
Cory catfish can be wonderful, peaceable fish to keep, and no doubt they will give you hours of extended joy if you take proper care of them.
Choosing the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras), is just the first step of this journey, so buckle in!
1. Wardley Shrimp Pellets Formula
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This unique product is specially tailored to take care of all your Corydoras’ dietary needs and wants. It contains a good mixture of crude proteins and fat filled ingredients, which is exactly what you want for an omnivorous fish like the cory catfish.
The protein (36% crude) will provide your fish will the essential energy it needs to go about its business, while the fats will help keep it healthy and strong, especially tank waters that are slightly cooler than its native South American shallows.
One other nice touch of this offering, is that it is full of stabilized vitamin C. This is incredibly important to help boost your fish’s immune system, which allows it to ward off illness and disease.
Not only is this good for their long-term health, but it saves you a headache as the tank owner!
This is a sinking pellet product, which is ideal for bottom feeders like the Corydoras, which does not like to stray far from the bottom of the tank.
However, it does mean that you will have to be extra careful not to overfeed and leave any uneaten pellets on the tank floor as this can lead to the unwanted buildup of wastes, and eventual fouling of the tank. This, of course, is every tank owner’s nightmare.
- Nice balance of protein and minerals, allows for both growth and immune system protection
- Sinking pellet is ideal for bottom feeding fish
- Very affordable
- Only comes in one 9-ounce size
- Not the highest quality raw ingredients
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2. TetraMin Complete Diet Tropical Tablets for Bottom Feeders
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Tetra is one of the most recognizable names in the aquatic industry, and they provide a whole range of fish food products for everything from cichlids to slow moving sea turtles.
Buying from a trusted name like Tetra is a safe move, because you know their scientists have put some thought into ensuring that your fish gets the right amount of vitamins and minerals it needs.
This is a complement food which is suitable for all bottom feeders, including cory fish. However, it contains all the good stuff that their other products for surface feeders contain.
For example, they contain 43 % crude protein, from basic ingredients including shrimp meal, spirulina and brown rice protein. This helps supports vitality in your fish. It is also designed to be easily digested by smaller bottom feeding fish like catfish and loaches, so even the youngest fish should have no problem feasting on this.
One concern might be the amount of starchy ingredients used in this formulation. This can lead to increased levels of fish waste in your tank, which you may need to compensate for with higher levels of mechanical or biological filtration.
Nevertheless, this is one of the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras), currently on the market.
- Nice balance of protein and minerals, allows for both growth and overall well being
- Sinking pellet is ideal for bottom feeding fish
- Easily Digested
- High quantities of crude protein
- Only comes in one 1.69-ounce size
- Contains a lot of starchy ingredients, which could lead to more waste
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3. Omega One Sinking Shrimp Pellets
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Omega One is another well respected company in this business. They have a reputation for using only the best, freshest ingredients, and these shrimp-based pellets are no exception.
They boast that these pellets are made with shrimp purchased directly from Alaskan fishermen, they are then freeze dried to lock in the flavor, and then ground into this convenient pellet form.
As a result, you will find no factory-made artificial proteins here, only natural sources of goodness. The major ingredients are salmon, whole herring and whole shrimp.
As a direct result of this process, these pellets are filled with natural color enhancers and vitamins that are sure to increase the vitality and immune response of your catfish.
Also, these pellets are naturally insoluble, which means they can sit at the bottom of the tank without degrading, hence reducing the level of waste in your tank. Not only are these great for your fish’s health, but they will lead to more clarity in your tank water in the long run.
Also, this product is available in a wide selection of sizes, so you can stock up for busier times! What’s not to like!
- Uses only the finest raw ingredient, like whole salmon and shrimp
- Contains natural color enhancers
- Insoluble in water, which helps to reduce waste in your tank
- High quantities of crude protein
- Available in a wide range of sizes, from 2.5 ounces to 15 pounds
- Premium product comes with a premium price tag
- Contains some starchy ingredients, which could lead to more waste
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4. Api Fish Food Pellets (Bottom Feeder)
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You couldn’t make a list of the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras) without mentioning this product. This formulation is specially designed to try and mimic the kind of diet they would have in their natural environment, with some supplementary additions to help their immune systems and metabolism.
Some of the most notable ingredients in this product include mussels, seaweed and whole shrimp. Not only do these provide the cocktail of essential goodies that your catfish need to survive, but they also add an extra hit of taste. Your fish will thank you for investing in this product!
Another great benefit of this product is that the ingredients used cause the fish to expel less ammonia in their waste. Ammonia is a harmful substance which can quickly overcome tanks and needs lots of biological filtration to remove.
By creating less ammonia, API pellets lead to healthier, cleaner and clearer waters in your artificial aquatic environment, which is good for both fish and owner!
- Uses only the tastiest raw ingredients, like whole shrimp and mussels
- Fish produce less ammonia, which helps to reduce waste in your tank
- Sinking pellets are ideal for bottom feeders
- May need to be supplemented by more energy dense foods when you want to breed fish
- Not available in a huge range of sizes
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5. Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers for Catfish, Loaches & Bottom Feeders
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This is another very clever offering from a manufacturer which has form in this regard. These pellets are designed for bottom feeders like Corydoras, which all have downward facing mouths.
The pellets are designed to be readily digestible, as they soften gradually in water. This allows them to be eaten by even young or very frail fish, which is a big advantage.
The quality of ingredients in this product is also to be admired. Some of the primary ingredients include shrimp, krill and re cultured spirulina, which not only protects your beloved fish’s health, but also helps to enhance their natural coloring.
What fish owner doesn’t want that?
Extensive research went into the production of these wafers, so you can rest assured that they will provide a balanced, complete diet for your bottom feeding fish, all in one convenient pellet form.
- Uses tasty raw ingredients, like wheat germ and spirulina
- Contains natural color enhancers to help your fish look their best
- Sinking pellets are ideal for bottom feeders
- May need to be supplemented by more energy dense foods when you want to breed fish
- Contains less crude protein (36%) than some other products
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Cory Catfish Diet
To choose the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras), it is important to understand a bit about their feeding habits in the wild.
First of all, cory catfish are native to lots of countries in South America. They tend to be found in warmer than average freshwater pools, and shallow streams or brooks.
They prefer soft water in the wild, with a low pH of under 7, although they are definitely hardy enough to survive a range of water pH levels and hardness levels up to 200 ppm of carbonate.
This versatility and adaptability is part of the reason they have become so popular in the aquarium community.
It is important to realize that cory catfish are bottom feeders. This means they are scavengers who like to stalk the bottom of river beds, keeping away from the larger, predator fish that roam in the bulk of the water above. They will display this same behavior in your tank.
Bottom feeders are instantly recognizable because they have downward facing mouths which helps them to scoop food of the river or tank floor.
Benefits of Sinking Fish Food for Corydoras
This is the reason why it is imperative that you feed these fish sinking pellets. They will not be comfortable rising to the surface to feed, although it has sometimes been observed.
It is important that the pellet are also insoluble and stay intact for a long time, as bottom feeders like catfish tend to be slow eaters compared to the voracious surface dwellers.
Cory catfish are omnivores, which means they will eat a mixture of both plants and animal. In fact, like a lot of fish, the Corydoras is an opportunistic feeder which will eat a lot of what it comes across.
For example, it will happily feast on small shrimp, small crustaceans or any insects that fall to the bottom. This accounts for a lot of the protein in its diet. Any artificial diet needs to provide adequate levels of protein, as this is the fuel which keeps their metabolism running.
Of course, cory catfish tend to be small, only growing to 2 or 3 inches depending on the exact species.
As a result, pellets must be quite small so that they can be digested easily. They are a peaceful fish, and they should definitely be kept away from any larger, aggressive species, which may prey on them.
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Conclusion
Choosing the best food for cory catfish (Corydoras) can be a daunting task for any beginner. There is lots of different factors to consider and sometimes the sheer amount of terminology seems designed to bamboozle you.
Thankfully, all the complete foods listed in this article simplify things a lot. By just feeding one of these products 2 or 3 times a day, you can rest assured that your cory catfish will be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need to stay happy, healthy and strong.
Of course, you shouldn’t afraid to supplement their diet with the occasional treat now and again. They are sure to appreciate the variety.
Generally bottom feeders like cory catfish are not too demanding in terms of diet. They are natural scavengers, so in a community tank they will often scour the tank for uneaten leftovers from bigger fish.
Nevertheless, it is important to ensure they get their daily requirement of vitamins and nutrients, so that they can continue to fill your tank with color for a long time to come.
