some corydora's always going up for air?

T

tmy420

AC Members
Oct 16, 2005
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I have 8 corydora cat fish and 2 of different species are a lot slower then the others and always seems to be near the top and eather taking breaths of air, or maybe eating off the top of the water??? Was wondering if this was normal behavior or if theres something wrong?

also 2 of a different kind just recently got REALLY fat...
any ideas?

Dont ever add pet store water :(
 
a)peas solve bloating...i think..
B(bottome dewellers being on the top for air is asing of not enoguht o2..a.dding a powerhead will help for gas exchange and doing more WC's will allow for more addiotion of 02...
 
ive got 2 cories in my 7 hex (rather tall) and when i feed the others, they jump up and run upside down to get some food. They get shrip pellets, brine that sinks, and zuccini and peas too, i think they just like the flakes.
 
it's not at all uncommon for corydoras to dart up to the surface to take in air, since this species can breath atmospheric air in addition to gill respiration. getting 'fat' is an entirely different story ... may be eggs, may be disease. no way to "guess" with any degree of accuracy without knowing the history of your tank.
 
Dont corys mate when you turn off the heater and put cold water in? well I only got a 10 gallon heater on my 30 gallon so it takes a while to heat up...

And I relize that they dart to the top but these are sticking towards the top and sucking at the top of the water, go down about 4 inches, and do it again
 
Also...cory's go up for air,so would they need a lot of air in the tank still?
 
you need a high level of oxygen in any tank regardless of the species of fish you keep.
 
well thats definitely a sign of O2 deprivation. (sp?) and all fish are going to need adequate amounts of O2 to be healthy. lack of O2 will cause stress
 
well thats definitely a sign of O2 deprivation
Click to expand...

not really. O2/CO2 is exchanged at the air/water interface and almost ALL fishtanks have an acceptable level of dissolved oxygen (about 7-8 ppm at 78°) due simply to the surface agitation created by most filters.

fish hovering at the surface is more likely due to toxic levels of ammonia and/or nitrite.
 
When cories take a gulp of atmospheric air they actually swallow a large bubble of gas and then slowly dissolve it in their gut. It will make them look really fat.

I now have 8 cories in my tank. The albino is always going to the top for a gulp, the peppered is quite often hanging out up there as well, often skimming flakes from the surface upsdie down. The rest almost never go up. The adults are close to 4 years old now.

Sounds like things are fine in your tank.
 
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