How much to feed Sterbas Corys?

Hi there,

I've got 6 Sterbas Corys and I'm feeding them NLS Thera A Small Fish Formula (0.5mm sinking pellets). The jar says feed twice a day, and as much as is eaten in 1-2 mins.

However, the Corys don't really react to the food being added and while they do end up feeding in the area the food settles in, it's impossible to time it.

So how much should I be giving them?

Thanks...

J.

Less can be more Jason,
I feed mine twice a day a light feed in the morning
And a good feed just before lights out in the evening
My sterbia,
Mine are in a single species tank so I can monitor what they eat
And there good Grubers
Now like I said before they hide under bogwood and sponge filter,
As soon as I put food in the pile out almost immediately on the search for
What's on offer
A variety of foods should be offered
Il give you a list of what I give
Pleco wafers
Algae wafers
Flakes
Bloodworm
Brineshrimp

Thanks for your reply Ciaran,

At the moment I'm definitely leaning towards less is more. So far I've only fed them in the evening, I put about two 'pinches' of food in, and I try my best to make sure the food breaks the surface tension and sinks instead of floating around. I also try to put the food in one corner of the tank, as that helps me keep an eye on them to see if they spend time there for a while after feeding or not. If I just put the food in randomly I wouldn't be able to tell if they were actually feeding or just poking around in the substrate as they do!

So, with feeding them in one corner, I can see that they spend some time in that section for a while, and I'm fairly confident that they're getting food (I'm just not confident if they're getting enough / too much). And considering how many times I've read about overfeeding being a mistake that everyone makes, I am trying to lean towards less is more. But it's very hard to use the 'twice a day for 1-2mins' guideline when it comes to Corys, especially as mine aren't used to my feeding methods yet, so it could be half an hour later before they find themselves in that corner. If they ever get to the stage where they get used to my feeding and come looking for the food then it might be easier to figure out how much they're getting.

I do plan to vary their diet too, so some other types of food might be easier to keep an eye on quantity.

It'll hopefully be easier with my other fish when I get them, as they won't be bottom feeders.

Thanks...

J.

They'll learn a routine quickly enough, esp when you get them a few midwater tank mates who aren't so shy about taking the food. It'll put manners on them quickly

As long as your giving them a feed every day, I wouldn't worry about under feeding them. They'll all get enough on average; overfeeding is the real threat, more from a water quality point of view than any worry about lethal catfish gluttony!

What substrate do they have ?
They'll rummage around for it anyway, but small food can
get lost in gravel whereas sand will keep it near top.