Brief visitors before they find the corydoras tank
Visitors stop tapping a corydoras tank when the rule reaches them before curiosity does. Most tapping is an attempt to make the fish move, and corydoras resting quietly on the sand look, to a guest, like fish that need waking up. Head that off by introducing the tank yourself: name the school, point out how they rest in a group, and say plainly that knocking startles all of them at once. A short sign at the stand asking guests to watch with eyes only reinforces the message during parties when you cannot personally walk every visitor to the aquarium. Pair the rule with an invitation to come back at feeding time, when the school performs entirely on its own.
What a tap does to a corydoras school on the bottom
A tap on the glass sends a corydoras school bolting in every direction at once. Vibration passes straight through the tank, and these bottom fish react as a group, exploding off the substrate in a panic scatter that can drive them into rocks, decor edges, and the glass itself. The delicate barbels around a corydoras mouth, which it uses to taste its way across the sand, are easily worn or injured in repeated frantic dashes and on rough surfaces struck mid-flight. Even without visible injury, a school tapped at through an evening often stays hidden the following day and skips the relaxed, spread-out foraging that marks a corydoras group feeling safe in its home.
Redirect guests to how corydoras actually entertain
Feeding time is the viewing experience to offer guests instead of tapping for corydoras. Drop sinking food in view of your visitors and the whole school converges, shuffling and snuffling across the sand with constant small movements, occasional darts to the surface, and the blinking eye behaviour guests find delightful once they are looking for it. A low stool placed for viewing the bottom third of the tank helps, because corydoras live their lives in the lowest layer and a standing adult mostly sees them from above. If children want involvement, let them count the school or spot the smallest member, jobs that reward patient watching instead of provoking a reaction from the fish. That extra minute of watching also reassures younger guests that calm fish are interesting fish.
Check the corydoras school after a busy visit
A quick school check after visitors leave tells you whether the corydoras paid for the gathering. Count the group, look for any fish breathing rapidly alone in a corner, and check barbels and flanks for fresh scrapes while the school settles for the evening. If the tank sits in a social room, consider a background or side panel on the most approached face and keeping the stand area clear so guests naturally keep some distance. Repeated problems with the same event, such as a weekly game night around the tank, justify moving the aquarium to a calmer room rather than re-briefing the same crowd forever. In KinsLe, Care Teams lets you log that post-visit check under a named person, so a quiet injury to one small catfish is caught instead of discovered days later.