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my panda corys don't seem to be eating?

i have a 5 gallon fish tank which was running for a couple weeks before i put in 3 dwarf gourami's and 5 panda corys, as well as a couple live plants. i put all of these things in the tank 3 days ago. the dwarf gourami's are really active and have been eating well, but for some reason my panda corys don't seem to be eating anything. i put in flakes for my gouramis (and some probably sinks to the bottom) but i also put in a couple Hikari sinking wafers. the corys don't seem to find them or care about them, though, and they just end up being eaten by the gourami's. i'm just afraid that the panda corys aren't getting enough food. any suggestions as to how i can make sure my pandas are getting food? or do they eat very little and i probably have nothing to worry about?

Public Comments

Sorry, but you're tank is too small for all those fish. You should have a minimum of a 10 gallon, but 20 would be better. And, since it's a new tank, I'm guessing it also isn't cycled. If you just let the water run in the tank for a few weeks without adding an ammonia source, it's not cycled. The beneficial bacteria that grows to start the cycle, needs to have a constant ammonia source to survive. Here's a link that explains that process: http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/startupcycle/Step_5_The_Cycle.htm There's also 2 articles on there about ammonia and nitrite poisoning. That's what may be happening with your fish. Do you have a test kit? If not, I'd suggest buying one that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You should start doing daily water changes to help dilute the toxins in the water. Use your test kit daily to monitor those levels until the ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm, and some nitrates are showing-then the tank is cycled. But, since your tank is overstocked, it may not cycle, and there will always be ammonia present in the tank. I'd suggest upgrading to a larger tank, or getting rid of most of those fish, because they're all pretty sensitive to ammonia and nitrites, and I doubt they'll make it through the cycle process. Good luck!
Corys demand a cooler water than most tropicals,as well as exacting parameters.Always use a tap water conditioner to rid of clorine and heavy metals in this water.Sounds like the tank is uncycled,i would try a Cycle type product to introduce some bacteria if this is the case. If it doesn't get a water change of 50% or so,your corys will probably die.Water quality is very much needed by corys
Your tank is definitely overstocked. Dwarf gouramis need at least 10 gallons each. You could maybe get away with one dwarf gourami in the 5 gallon, but you'd have to remove all the other fish. I'd really recommend giving away all the gouramis. Have you done a test on your water lately? With the number of fish in your tank, the parameters are probably going through the roof. You also shouldn't have put in so many fish at the same time. The bioload is too great for any biological filtration present to catch up with. The excess food rotting in the tank is probably making the ammonia situation worse. That's probably one of the reasons why your pandas aren't eating. Panda cories are especially sensitive to water quality. Even 0.5 ppm of ammonia can stress them out to the point of death. In addition to that, panda cories will usually forage for food in the night. Turn the tank light off so the gourami will be less likely to scout out the algae wafer and the panda cories should find it.
you need a bigger tank! time to save up some allowance. a 10 gallon would be great for your current fish. i always recommend getting the biggest possible tank because they are easier to maintain and fish tanks are easy to outgrow (like you outgrew your 5 gallon when you started). save your 5 gallon and adopt a betta from walmart and save a life! i found the best thing to do for getting food to bottom feeders kept with gouramis is put a sinking wafer in a syringe (you can get one at the pet store for feeding baby birds, hamsters, etc). fill the syringe with water and let it sit for an hour or until its mushy and then shoot it out near your cories. most fish won't eat off the bottom but gouramis will eat anything from anywhere. thank you for being a responsible fish owner and realizing your cories need food too.
The tank is definitely too small. 2 gouramis and a couple of cats should be the limit. Try getting a can of sliced green beans, take a slice out, rinse it well, and place it in the tank. It will sink and the fish will love it.