"Bottom" feeder? think again!

[Twill]

While I'm sure this is no dramatic scientific discovery, I'm curious to see how many others have observed this behavior:

One of my emerald cories apparently got tired of waiting for flakes to fall to the substrate. It has figured out how to swim upside-down at the water surface to grab up the flakes. Also, about a week after I started feeding tubifex cubes (by sticking them to the tank wall), it figured out how to swim up and grab mouthfuls.

I've never noticed the other two cories doing anything like this. They're content to stay at the bottom, only sometimes darting up for gulps of air. Is it possible that this might be a learned behavior and that the others will soon follow its example?

I just found this to be an odd and quirky behavior. How many of you cory keepers have seen this? Did only one of your cories do it, or did your others soon figure out how?

 

[YoFishboy]

Hehe...some loaches and synodontis do that as well....

 

[webcricket]

My peppered cories figured out how to get upside down and eat flakes also. They stopped though when I switched to a spraybar system for the filter - I think the current is too powerful now for them to balance upside down.

 

[Kamryn]

My emerald green corys also do that. They will also school & play with the guppies in the tank. I've been told many times that corys just don't do things like that. I am glad to know someone else has fish that don't follow the normal rules. They are so much fun to watch.

 

[Corbin]

My old 7inch Sailfin pleco figured this out too, he would swim at the top of the water upsidedown and eat the flakes. it was pretty cool to watch

 

[Jaysn]

My upside-down catfish do that too! Oh, wait...

In all seriousness, I saw my common pleco do that a few times before he was traded in, as well as my albino cories.

 

[TKOS]

Only my peppered cory does that. The bronzes don't seem to care for the upside down life.