Are my cory cats getting enough food?

[macphoto]

My 16gal. tank has 2 dwarf gouramis, 6 neons, 2 cory cats, and an algae eater. I'm worried that the cory cats might not be getting enough food. When I drop flakes in, the gouramis gobble it up, and the neons eat what happens to sink (and I also push some flakes down to make sure they get some). As a side note, often the neons' best source of food is when one of the gouramis sucks in a big flake, presumably realizes it's too much to swallow at one time, and spits it out in a bunch of little neon-sized pieces.

Anyway, some flakes do make it all the way down to the gravel... the neons don't seem interested in it once it's on the bottom, but the gouramis, after feasting at the top and middle of the tank, then go into vacuum cleaner mode, carefully patrolling the gravel for any food that may have been missed.

Because of these guys' voracious appetites, I'm worried that there's not enough left on the gravel for the cory cats. I know the cory cats are getting SOME food, because I see them sniffing around the gravel during feeding time, and finding an occasional flake that the hungry gouramis missed. I bought some sinking shrimp pellets, and also some sinking wafers, but the gouramis go after those too (though the cory cats do get some of it).

Is this cause for concern?

--Mike

 

[ntt]

when u feed them put some flakes by where the filter pushs the water out that way it getts to them quicker

 

[Galaxie]

Hikari makes sinking pellets for corys and other bottom feeders. There's even a little julii on the package art.

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Yeah, that has been a bit of a challenge for me...There are 2 ways to do it
1) already mentioned- drop food infront of the filter output...it will force it down quick
2) Feed the flake first, then while everyone is "preoccupied" drop some sinking stuff at the opposite end...

I have seen corys come up for food if they dont want to wait...

 

[macphoto]

Thanks for the tips... actually, as I mentioned before, I already have sinking pellets and wafers. The problem is that my gouramis are PIGS... not only do they gobble up as much of the flakes as they can, they also scour the bottom for the stuff I purposely send down there for the cory cats. I guess there's not a whole lot I can do about it!

--Mike

 

[TKOS]

Feeding just after lights out can help as well. The cories remain active for awhile in the dark and will find the sinking food no problem.

 

[minnesotagal866]

I feed frozen bloodworms a couple of times a week (when the newts eat) and I use a turkey baster to shoot frozen bloodworms to the bottom. Of course the other fish come too (sometimes leaving food at the top) but the cories get a decent amt of food. Remember that most people overfeed their fish and what seems like a little bit is in all likelihood enough for the cories.

Jackie