The Best Food for Corydoras in 2022

The Corydoras, also known as cory catfish, is a freshwater bottom feeder fish. Most people keep cory catfish to help keep their tanks clean, but that is a disservice to this beautiful fish. If you keep one or two of them in your aquarium, feed them the best food for Corydoras to make them happy and healthy members of your tank family.

The cory catfish are some of the smallest catfish in the world, often not growing longer than 3 inches in length. Their compact size makes them the ideal choice for smaller aquariums, which is why more people love keeping them. As mentioned earlier, most aquarium keepers keep cory catfish to keep algae at bay.

However, cory catfish are quite beautiful fish, and that makes them a good addition to any tank. This article will teach you what to look for when you are shopping for the best cory catfish food so that your fish will always be healthy and happy while getting the chance to live for as long as possible.

Best Food for Corydoras Reviews

1. Hikari Fish Corydoras Catfish Food

I did not know this when I was starting and I thought my cory catfish was fine with just eating the algae. However, a friend advised me to try the Hikari sinking wafers. I was surprised at the amount of improvement my catfish got. The wafers sink to the bottom of the tank, making it easier for my cory catfish to eat despite being bottom feeders.

My two cory catfish are great at their job, which is keeping the tank free from algae, but they are almost too good. This means that they do not have anything to eat most of the time.

This is why my friend suggested I try this Corydoras catfish food. Not only does this sink to the bottom, but it also contains natural algae and other plant matter that cory catfish need for optimum health.

This fish food also contains spirulina, a superfood known to contain lots of vitamins and minerals. It also has color-enhancing effects on fish. After just two weeks, my cory catfishes’ colors have gotten more vibrant and the patterns on their scales more distinct.

Aside from vegetable matter, this fish food also contains a lot of protein, mainly coming from krill and silkworm. Besides helping fish grow and build more muscle tissue, protein also plays a role in boosting the immune system. Although cory catfish can only grow to about 2 ½ inches in length, this food helped it get there in almost record time.

This food is also easy to digest and it is all thanks to the specific formulation of ingredients. This fish food is not just easy to break down but also contains nutrients and vitamins that promote gut health. In other words, most of the food get digested and absorbed into the fish’s body, so there is not that much waste produced.

However, even though I like this product, I do have some issues in terms of feeding Corydoras in a community tank. This does not sink fast enough. The other fish in the community tank also love this food and they would swarm these wafers before they can reach the bottom. This means only a little bit is left for the cory catfish.

2. API Tropical PELLETS Sinking Fish Food

One of the best qualities of this fish food is how fast these pellets sink in the water. These will float for a second or two but will then start quickly sinking to the bottom. This is great for my Corydoras as they are not as quick as the other fish in their tank. When the pellets reach the bottom, they can dine in peace.

These pellets are formulated in such a way that they are easy to digest, so even a sick or young Corydoras can eat them. Because they are easy to digest, the fish can absorb the nutrients contained in them. I have been feeding these pellets to a sick fish and it seems like it will be ready to rejoin the other fish in just a couple of days.

The fact that this product is so easy to digest means that the fish won’t produce quite as much waste as they usually do. This means that the water will remain quite clean without sudden spikes in ammonia and nitrates.

I monitor the water condition of my aquarium weekly and do partial water changes to lower the ammonia and nitrate levels. After using this product, I only needed to change the water every three weeks or so.

This fish food also contains a lot of protein, primarily from freeze-dried shrimp. It helps the cory catfish grow quickly and produce more muscle mass. Even though my fish did not grow longer than 2 ½ inches, they are quite fatter now but still very active.

Now, I am not entirely happy with this fish food because these pellets would quickly get soggy and disintegrate. This food would make the water cloudy for a couple of hours, longer if I have not cleaned the filters yet. This is why I would only feed my Corydoras after the other fish have eaten and I would just put two pellets at a time.

3. Tetra Algae Corydoras Wafers

This fish food is specifically for bottom feeders like Corydoras. They are roughly a third of an inch in diameter, which promotes the natural feeding habits of bottom feeders.

My catfish would place their mouth over the wafers and gnaw on them for a couple of minutes. A cory catfish can probably finish a wafer in three minutes, and sometimes faster if they are really hungry.

These wafers contain a lot of algae, which is the green-colored part in the middle. This product also comes fortified with additional vitamins and minerals so that Corydoras and other bottom feeders get all the nutrients needed for optimum health and a stronger immune system. It also has protein to promote healthy growth and development.

Although these wafers come in yellow and green colors, these are not the result of artificial colors. Green is the natural color of the algae and yellow is from the other ingredients. These are safe for your fish, and will not cause any negative reactions. This fish food helps improve the immune systems of my catfish.

Another reason why this is one of the most common foods for cory catfish is that the wafers do not break apart, even after half an hour has passed. Unlike other fish food I have tried before, it would disintegrate after just a minute or two of being submerged.

They would retain their shape up until the fish finished eating them. However, you should fish out any leftovers as they will break apart after an hour or so and will make the water cloudy.

Now, my Corydoras are not picky eaters but they will only eat the green centers of these wafers. I would constantly be fishing out the yellow outer rings after every feeding, so I can safely guess that they are not tasty.

I think that the outer rings are made from extender ingredients. If you check the ingredients list, you will find that there are many extenders.

4. Sera Catfish Chips Wafers Wood Fish Food

In their natural habitats, bottom feeder fishes like Corydoras would rasp the bark off driftwood. This is important because this is their main source of roughage, which they do not get enough of in most aquarium settings. If you don’t have driftwood in your setup, this is the next best thing for your cory catfish.

With that said, the wood content of this product (willow bark and alder cones) provides the cory catfish with their much-needed fiber. Just like humans, fish need fiber to help make their digestive systems more efficient.

The fiber cleanses the digestive tract and the cleaner it is, the more efficient it is at absorbing nutrients from food. In addition, efficient digestion means the fish will prevent too much waste production.

These wafers sink immediately to the bottom and once there, they will not break apart even after an hour has passed. I have used other algae wafers for bottom feeders and some of them would immediately discolor the water.

Some have made the water so murky that I needed to change the water afterward. This product, even when the fish are gnawing at it, does not cloud the water at all.

I originally intended to feed this just for my cory catfish but I did not expect that the other denizens of my community tank would love this too. I keep my cory cats with a group of tetras and mollies and they would go into a feeding frenzy once they see a wafer hit the water.

Most of the time, the wafers would not even reach the bottom. The reason is that the little fishes would finish them in seconds.

The fact that these wafers do not sink to the bottom fast enough is a problem for my cory catfish. Because of the positioning of their mouths and the fact that they usually stay at the bottom, cory cats could not join the feeding frenzy. I have to wait until the other fish have finished eating before I put another wafer for the cory catfish.

5. Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food

If you are a beginner at fish keeping, then you probably have not encountered a product quite like this before. Unlike traditional fish food, these are not in pellet or flake form. This fish food consists entirely of freeze-dried black soldier fly larvae, which is a good source of animal protein.

Pound-for-pound, this product contains more protein than beef. All your fish, not just the Corydoras, will benefit a lot from eating this.

Aside from high amounts of protein, this product comes fortified with Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids. These nutrients are essential for preventing the oxidation of the cells of your fish.

My cory catfish now have shiny scales, vibrant colors, and distinct markings. They almost look nothing like they did a couple of weeks ago when I first started feeding them this product.

These black soldier fly larvae are not just for bottom feeders. All the fish in your community tank will love them. This fish food sinks slowly, so the other fish will have time to grab them while in the middle of the tank. This always causes feeding frenzies among the small fishes in my tank, and usually, none reach the bottom.

Don’t worry about where this product came from. The manufacturers did not go out looking for carcasses of dead animals to harvest the larvae. These black soldier fly larvae were all grown and cultivated inside a clean and controlled environment. This means there is no risk of parasites and other types of contaminants ever harming your fish.

As much as I do love this product, it is not without faults. For starters, these are small, so you have to feed your cory cats quite a lot for them to feel full. Also, because they sink so slowly, the other fish in the tank would eat them all, leaving nothing for the bottom feeders. Feed these to your Corydoras at night when the other fish are not as active.

6. Repashy Community Plus Supper Foods

You do not need to buy separate foods for your bottom feeders, it is definitely one of the most suitable foods for Corydoras and other community fish. First, it sinks to the bottom and adjusts its density by adding or decreasing the amount of water used in its preparation.

I have a rather big community tank and once this hits the bottom, it is everyone for himself. All the fish, including the snails and shrimps, would flock to the gel block to get a piece.

My Corydoras just love eating this fish food and it may have been the reason why they suddenly grew in length. I have been feeding this product to my community tank for a couple of weeks and the Corydoras were maybe a month old around the time.

Now, the catfishes seem like they reached their maximum length even though they are not technically mature yet, which is impressive, to say the least.

As mentioned earlier, you are the one who is in charge of what this product will look like. This fish food comes in a powder form and you prepare it like how you would “cook” Jell-O.

Only you can dictate how much water you want to put in it. It can be as firm or soft as you want it to be. I like to make my gel fish food a bit firm because it will remain submerged in the tank anyway so it will get softer.

The thing that I liked the most about this product is, unlike dry fish food, this does not cloud the water. Even if you leave a gel block in the tank for hours, it will not disintegrate and make the water cloudy. However, in my experience so far, this food does not last more than five minutes before the community fish would gobble it all up.

Now, if you are a newbie, then you would probably want to skip this product until you gained a bit of experience. First, this is not usable straight out of the box. You will need to cook this first, and not that many people are willing to do that. Also, if you have a weak stomach, the smell might seem a bit repulsive (it smells like bad wet dog food).

7. Invert Aquatics Corys Micro Mix

This product is a mix of wafers and pellets, both of them sink to the bottom of the aquarium. This makes it ideal for bottom feeders like cory catfish, plecos, shrimps, and snails.

I keep a couple of shrimps with my cory catfish and the little ones love this fish food, especially the pellets. The Corydoras, on the other hand, love the wafers, meaning they do not need to fight over the food.

The wafers are fortified with spirulina. Spirulina is a superfood mainly because it contains a lot of beneficial vitamins and nutrients. This ingredient specifically helps improve the overall health of the immune system, making the Corydoras more resistant to illnesses. It also helped enhance the color and vibrancy of the Corydoras.

Speaking of nutrition, this product contains all the vital vitamins and nutrients that Corydoras need. Not only does this product serve as nourishment but it is also like a food supplement, providing all the things that the fish are not getting from their usual food. If you are keeping shrimps and/or snails, you should still feed them with fresh vegetables most of the time.

Another nice thing about this product is that it provides a lot of value. You are getting quite a lot of pellets and wafers for the price, so you can be sure that one package can last for a long time. I have been using the same bag of fish food for almost two months and my fish have consumed just roughly half of the contents.

Now, here are my issues with this product. First, you should fish out the leftovers right after the Corydoras finish eating, or else it will cloud the water.

Secondly, the pellets tend to settle to the bottom of the bag, so whenever I grab some food for the fish, I would only get wafers. I have to turn the bag over if I want to get pellets. This would have been much better if they were sold separately.

8. HARTZ WARDLEY Shrimp Pellets

The biggest selling point of this product is that it contains real shrimp meat and lots of it. The main protein source of this fish food is freeze-dried shrimp, and according to the ingredients list, this composes 40% of the product.

It also contains fish meals, so this product is rich in protein. You will be surprised at how much your Corydoras can grow after just a couple of weeks of eating this stuff.

Another thing that makes this ideal for bottom feeders like Corydoras is that it sinks immediately to the bottom as soon as you drop these pellets in the water. This means the Corydoras do not have to compete with the other fish in the tank, although my tetras would also pick on the pellets that settled on the bottom of the tank.

Once the pellets reach the aquarium floor, my Corydoras would immediately pounce on them.

As mentioned earlier, this is not just for bottom feeders. I keep a couple of mollies and tetras with my two cory catfish, and they all love eating this product. I think it is the smell that makes them go into a feeding frenzy. Even my mystery snails and shrimps love this (yes, shrimps are cannibals), so there are rarely any leftovers to clean.

What I liked the most about this product is that it does not cloud or discolor the water. I have had a couple of pellets remain in the tank for well over an hour and they remained intact. However, most of the time, there are no leftovers to clean anyway. My cory catfish would finish eating this in just a couple of minutes leaving nary a trace.

I would have loved this product better if it came in a bigger can. The small can that this product comes in would usually just last me a month or so. It might also be a bit cheaper if the can was a bit bigger. The smell is also a slight issue, but it is not that much of a deal-breaker.

What to Look For When Buying a Food for Corydoras

If you are worried that you will not be getting the top food for your cory catfish, you can use this as a guide while you are shopping.

Immediately Sinks

Corydoras are bottom feeders, which means their mouths are at the bottom of their bodies. Because of that, they cannot eat floating food. Also, bottom feeders cannot swim upside down and they usually just stay at the bottom of the tank.

You should buy the best sinking pellets for Corydoras that will immediately settle on the bottom of the tank. This will prevent the other fish in the community tank from eating the food before it can reach the bottom. The Corydoras will be able to eat without competing with the other fish this way.

Does not Disintegrate

Most Corydoras are slow eaters, so you should get a product that does not break apart in the water. The fish food you get should at least be able to hold the shape up until your cory catfish finishes its meal.

You would not want fish food that leaves your tank cloudy after every feeding. Not only does this make the tank look unhealthy but it will also cause serious algae bloom.

Easy to Digest

Although cory catfish and other bottom feeders, you should still give them food that is easy to digest. This is especially true if there is not any driftwood in your tank. Cory catfish need to gnaw on driftwood so they can get enough fiber in their diet.

When shopping for fish food, look at the ingredients list. Make sure that the product contains at least some form of vegetable matter. This will help improve the efficiency of their digestive system. This means they can absorb more nutrients from the food and they will also create less waste.

Contains lots of Protein

Protein is important because it will help repair the damaged muscle cells in the fish’s body and help make new ones. This means protein will help your fish grow and recover from injuries and sickness.

Most fish foods contain fish meal as the main source of protein but if you want the best for your fish, go with a product that contains shrimp or fly larvae. Those ingredients are just chock-full of protein that your fish will grow at a staggering rate.

Color Enhancing

Unlike plecos, some cory catfish have brighter colors, like panda cory catfish. You can enhance their look by choosing food for cory catfish that contains color-enhancing ingredients. Some of the ingredients that you need to keep an eye out for include spirulina, ascorbic acid, and shrimp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Cory Catfish eat Algae Wafers?

Yes, they do. Cory catfish are bottom feeders, so their diet mainly consists of algae, but they can also eat tree bark, mealworms, and anything else the other fish eat.

How Often do you Need to feed Cory Catfish?

You only need to feed cory catfish and other bottom-feeding fish one or two times a day. Also, make sure to only feed them with enough food that they can finish in just five minutes.

Conclusion

Corydoras, also known as cory catfish, are among the most beautiful breeds in the catfish family. Although they are quite small as they typically do not grow more than three inches, Corydoras can eat a lot of algae. This means that they can keep the glass and water in your aquarium clean.

However, you should not just expect the Corydoras to eat algae all the time. You should give your cory catfish the best food for Corydoras so that they can live for as long as they can and remain as healthy as they can be.