A corydoras in a tank of fast mid-water fish loses the feeding race before it starts. Food dropped at the surface is intercepted on the way down, and a bottom feeder that ambles over to investigate finds fins and crumbs. Target feeding solves the problem by changing the delivery rather than the menu: the food arrives at the bottom, in the corydoras's own territory, without ever passing through the crowd above it.
Food Sent Straight to the Substrate
Use food that sinks and stays put: sinking wafers, bottom pellets, and thawed frozen foods that drop rather than drift. Deliver them through a length of tube held into the tank, dropping the food down the tube so it lands in a small pile on the substrate instead of scattering through the water column where fast fish can chase it. If you feed without a tube, set the food down carefully beside the shaded spot under wood or plants where it spends the day, so the meal appears within inches of the fish that needs it. Feeding in the same spot each time builds a routine the corydoras learns quickly; it will begin waiting near that corner at feeding time, which shortens the distance between the food landing and the food being found. Keep the pieces sized for its mouth and let them soften on the bottom, where it can work them in gradually with its barbels.
Save Part of the Ration for After Lights-Out
Split the bottom ration in two. Part goes in with the main feeding, delivered by tube to the resting area, and part is saved for after lights-out, when the corydoras becomes most active and the day-active mid-water fish are settling and feeding far less keenly. That late portion is often the one that makes the difference, because it lands in a quiet tank and the corydoras can graze it undisturbed for as long as it takes. A small pile placed in the learned feeding spot after the lights go out will usually be gone by morning. Judge the amount by what remains at the next feeding: a clean patch means the portion was right. Uneaten food left behind clouds the water as it breaks down, so aim for a portion the fish finishes.
Check Its Belly Weekly
The honest test of target feeding is the fish itself. Check its belly weekly, viewing it from the side and, when it rests against the glass or climbs briefly, from underneath: a corydoras that is feeding well looks gently rounded along the belly, smooth and filled out behind the head. A belly that looks hollow, with the body narrowing behind the head, says the food is still not reaching it in enough quantity, whatever the feeding routine looks like from outside the glass. Weekly checks matter because the change is gradual in both directions, and a fish checked every week cannot quietly lose condition for a month unnoticed. A well-fed corydoras also rests calmly and forages with unhurried sweeps of its barbels.
A Late Feed That Survives Busy Evenings
The after-lights-out portion is easy to forget, because it falls outside the normal feeding moment and often belongs to whoever is still awake. In KinsLe, Care Teams lets you assign that late feed as a named duty, with the method written into it: tube delivery to the resting area, the saved portion only, and the weekly belly check noted on its day. Each completed duty is marked with a timestamp, so a second person does not add another late pile on top of one already fed, and the corydoras's most important meal stops depending on one person's memory at the end of a long day.
On nights someone else feeds the tank, your Care Teams assignment in KinsLe spells out the tube delivery, the late portion, and the weekly belly check.