Normal pygmy cory behaviour

[Caol Ila]

I have eight pygmy corys in my 70L tank, along with five otos and seven cherry barbs, who ended up there because they had to be evicted from my big tank. The pygmies aren't nearly as active as their larger cousins in the other tank (black and false julii). They spend a lot of time sitting together on the substrate, whereas the other corys are in constant motion. Are pygmies generally shyer and less buzzy than other species, or is there something else going on?

I know the tank is wee. According to aq adviser, though, it's about 89% stocked. I've been doing water changes every 4-5 days.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
PH: 6.5-6.6.
Hardnes: Soft because Scotland.
Temperature: 24.

[fr499y]

They usually act pretty much the same way as any other cory. It could be that they just feel really safe.

[mikeyw64]

2 of my 6 Panda Corys (it may not be the same 2 every time!!!) always seem quite manic at the front of the tank, 2 of them seem to prefer spending a lot of the time at the back of the tank behind the bowood/under one of the filters whilst the other 2 alternate between sitting in hollows in the sand and crawling all over the bogwood.

And then they'll all decide to meet up in a group lined up against the front glass

[Jen1981]

What type of pygmys do you have? I have the c Hastatus who have bursts of energy then they stop to rest for a bit, sometimes for quite a while then the other Pygmy I have, the c Habrosus (salt & pepper kind) is constantly on the move

[Caol Ila]

These guys: https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/sp ... ies_id=283

[Jen1981]

I think @plankton has these little guys?

[black ghost]

These Corys typically live in groups numbering into the hundreds, so you won’t always see natural behaviour with a group of half a dozen or so anyway. It’s an arbitrary minimum, but far from what the Corys themselves would call a shoal.

[mikeyw64]

https://youtu.be/cWIVCdLOImw

[plankton]

I have 9 (I lost 3 of the original 12), and they have little spates of swimming with the gold tetras I have, but they are relatively static, except when I go near the tank or they're feeding......

[Caol Ila]

Good to know. Sounds like mine are doing what they do then. I had presumed that they would be as active as my larger cory species and was worried about my set-up, as it wasn't the most planned stocking in the world.