Which Corys Do You Have?

[Magnum Man]

I had really good luck ordering from Joe's only have a few times, but I think my 1st order, came the next day... 2nd order may have gone over a weekend, before they shipped but I found the quality good, & prices low ( & reasonable shipping costs )

I know the Serbai question wasn't meant for me... I have some that are doing well, in a tank at 78 degrees

 

[Byron]

@Byron is there any hope for people in this situation, or is it a complete non-starter?

No, assuming the aquarist wants the best for their cories and is not one of those who experiment without realizing the dangers. It is true that the pygmies might not dig down depending how deep the cover of sand is but there is still the underlying bacterial issue with plant substrates. It is a real shame that plant forums tell people they need some special substrate to grow plants, it is complete nonsense. There is nothing better than inert soft sand.

 

[Byron]

The issue of water temperature has arisen, so the record might as well be set straight. There are no Corydoras species that occur in warm water, "warm" meaning anything above 25C/77F long-term, and most never get this warm. Ian Fuller is the Corydoradinae authority and he regularly gives 23-24C/73-75F as the upper limit. Someone on Corydoras recently asked about a problem with C. sterbai and Ian asked about the temperature, and when 79F was returned, said that was too warm.

Temperature is vital to a fish's life, because they are ectotherms. The life processes that are governed by temperature are significant. And before someone says it, the temperature in tropical SA waters is within a very narrow range and there is very little diurnal or seasonal variance.

[In another thread someone posted a link to a post more than 12 years ago by Ian on Planet Catfish with higher temperatures, but Ian clearly no longer holds that view.]

 

[anewbie]

What temps do you keep your sterbai ?

I read on one site they like it cool the other site fairly warm.

seriouslyfish and planetcatfish are the only two sites i trust when it comes to fishes - not sure if sterbai have different catch location which might impact their preferred temp; i keep mine around 80 since they are able to handle warmer temps (one of the few cory that can handle warmer temps) with fishes that require the warmer temps. If i kept them alone i'd keep them around 77-78 range.

 

[anewbie]

The issue of water temperature has arisen, so the record might as well be set straight. There are no Corydoras species that occur in warm water, "warm" meaning anything above 25C/77F long-term, and most never get this warm. Ian Fuller is the Corydoradinae authority and he regularly gives 23-24C/73-75F as the upper limit. Someone on Corydoras recently asked about a problem with C. sterbai and Ian asked about the temperature, and when 79F was returned, said that was too warm.

Temperature is vital to a fish's life, because they are ectotherms. The life processes that are governed by temperature are significant. And before someone says it, the temperature in tropical SA waters is within a very narrow range and there is very little diurnal or seasonal variance.

[In another thread someone posted a link to a post more than 12 years ago by Ian on Planet Catfish with higher temperatures, but Ian clearly no longer holds that view.]

I think someone i knew who caught wild sterbai (at least I think it was sterbai) indicated he found them in warmer waters - what I don't know is if there are different catch locations for sterbai where some naturally live in warmer waters than other locations. I do know this is true with a lot of species where there are peru and brazil populations (for example; though that in itself doesn't mean the temp will be different as the specific location is needed). Anyway i've kept my sterbai for years at 78 (more than 5) it might be non optimal i suppose but... my pgymy and orange laser (aenus) i keep at target 76 though it does get a little warmer during summer and a little cooler during winter. I moved my orange lasers from 40B to a 112 (72x30 floor in inches) and they completely stopped hiding. In the 40B i saw them at most once a every 3 month and only at night - now i get to see them all the time.

 

[anewbie]

I want pygmy Cories for my 10 gallon but I added plant substrate then topped it with sand, so now I can't have them but maybe once the substrate loses its nutrients I'll just put sand in, then I can have Cories.

I wouldn't keep pygmy in anything less than a 29; now pangio shelfordii will work in a 10 but again they require very soft sand and love to bury themselves.

 

[Salamandra]

The issue of water temperature has arisen, so the record might as well be set straight. There are no Corydoras species that occur in warm water, "warm" meaning anything above 25C/77F long-term, and most never get this warm. Ian Fuller is the Corydoradinae authority and he regularly gives 23-24C/73-75F as the upper limit. Someone on Corydoras recently asked about a problem with C. sterbai and Ian asked about the temperature, and when 79F was returned, said that was too warm.

Temperature is vital to a fish's life, because they are ectotherms. The life processes that are governed by temperature are significant. And before someone says it, the temperature in tropical SA waters is within a very narrow range and there is very little diurnal or seasonal variance.

[In another thread someone posted a link to a post more than 12 years ago by Ian on Planet Catfish with higher temperatures, but Ian clearly no longer holds that view.]

When it comes to keeping fish it does seem like several opinions and all correct based on that persons experience .

I have been to the Jack Wattley fish store in Miami and the cories are kept cooler but he did no have Sterbai which interested in .

I have a friend who lives in Key West , Florida and a couple of miles from his house there is an old abandoned wooden pier with anemones , fan worms and damsels , shallow water and WARM .

Yet if one kept them in a tank so warm imagine all would die .

 

[Salamandra]

I think someone i knew who caught wild sterbai (at least I think it was sterbai) indicated he found them in warmer waters - what I don't know is if there are different catch locations for sterbai where some naturally live in warmer waters than other locations. I do know this is true with a lot of species where there are peru and brazil populations (for example; though that in itself doesn't mean the temp will be different as the specific location is needed). Anyway i've kept my sterbai for years at 78 (more than 5) it might be non optimal i suppose but... my pgymy and orange laser (aenus) i keep at target 76 though it does get a little warmer during summer and a little cooler during winter. I moved my orange lasers from 40B to a 112 (72x30 floor in inches) and they completely stopped hiding. In the 40B i saw them at most once a every 3 month and only at night - now i get to see them all the time.

Thank you and envy 72x30 lol as my biggest tank is 55 gallons .

 

[Salamandra]

I had really good luck ordering from Joe's only have a few times, but I think my 1st order, came the next day... 2nd order may have gone over a weekend, before they shipped but I found the quality good, & prices low ( & reasonable shipping costs )

I know the Serbai question wasn't meant for me... I have some that are doing well, in a tank at 78 degrees

You keep your Venezuelan Blacks same temp ?

 

[Magnum Man]

@Salamandra my blacks are in my barb tank… that one is at 73 - 75 degrees

 

[anewbie]

btw sterbai are the only species i would intentionally keep about 76; though there might be some less common species from warmer areas - i'm not sure of them by name.

 

[zebs]

Does anyone have Horseman's Cory Catfish (CORYDORAS EQUES)? If you do, what temp do you keep them at and how long have you had them? I've read you should keep them at 72-79 and want to get feedback from anyone who has successfully kept them for a couple of years or more. Thanks.

 

[GaryE]

I had eques in the past, and kept then at 24c. I only had them for about 3 years as they were victims of an icestorm power outage. But until things got really cool, they were fine.

I have a new group of melini - lovely little fish - and they have been thriving at 22. That's the temp my punctatus, cf incolicana, panda, and brevirostris have been at. In summer, when it warms, I'll try breeding them.

 

[anewbie]

I have 4 for about 2 years now in a 29 @ around 76. I had 6 but various diseases and other issues killed 2 - they have been very very robust; they were full adults when acquired. I will be adding 4 more next week. They are also less shy than other cory i have like aenus (orange laser) and sterbai. I keep them on black substrate.

 

[GaryE]

I had sterbai live over 10 years in a tank I kept at 24c. I find it interesting how about every decade in the past few, suggested temperatures for all fish seem to have crept up, for no identifiable reason. It isn't based on nature, even with climate change. We seem to have a warming trend in fishkeeping, with sad results for fish.

I avoid fish like Discus or rams, because of their high temp needs. But I see people keeping tanks at 80f, and I wonder if they have stuck heaters.

I think sometimes the word "fish" is a bad one. It's so general. When I see a Corydoras I have never kept before available, the first thing I do is reference 3 sources for its temperature needs. We can generalize about fish from the same general region, but we still have to respect individual species needs.

A friend of mine used to keep and breed a Cichlid species found at over 40 degrees celsius, and if I choose to keep any of my local beauties, I need to figure out how to give them a few dark months at 3c or so. Corys are on a tighter range, but you'll lose Scleromystax kept too warm. We need to go back to seeing what the fish live in in nature, and to respect that.

No cheating. Our convenience shouldn't be the deciding factor.