6 Corys + ?

[VespertineStar]

Hi all.

I am currently cycling a 25 Gallon(ish) tank and I am wondering what to stock it with. I have been to my lfs(Atlantis Aquatics Great Yarmouth) and I really liked watching the corys swimming about in their tanks so I thought I'd start off the stock list with 6 or so of these, possibly Julii if I can get them. How big do they grow and what else could I have that are compatible? I have about 12 plants in there ranging from 15cm to 40cm, a piece of mopani wood and a few rocks etc. I can add hiding places if necessary.

 

[LauraFrog]

Corys are great fish, but if you are going to stock with julii corys can I suggest they aren't the first fish you add? Corys are fairly sensitive to water quality, but once you've finished the fishless cycle and matured the tank a bit with some other fish, they are really delightful. I love corys.

Corys are very gentle and are compatible with just about anything except serious fin nippers. My LFS has some corys with tetras and nippy barbs, and they usually have part of their dorsal (top) fin missing or bitten and red. Peaceful tetras are okay, but it's a good idea to stay away from really nippy ones like the black widow, and I'd recommend no barbs if you want to see the corys.

Other than that, just about any common community fish should be fine. Stay away from mollies because they need salt and the corys won't tolerate much salt at all. But you could have almost anything: peaceful tetras, rasboras, gouramis, platys or guppies, maybe bristlenose catfish...

Have you got your eye on anything else?

 

[pippoodle]

totally agree with Laura on corys being sensitive
i would give it 4 wweks with other fish in your tank before introducing any corys
and then if i was you i would try and get a nice group of 8 or 10 the bigger the group the more they interact

i got to increase the numbers of mine - i had a poisoned mains water incident and lost lots of fish

with mine i have neon tetras , wc minnows, hump back limias(livebearers) , platys , guppys and harlequin rasboras and have no problems with them

i did have problems when i had congo tetras so they had to go , i would say no to congos IME

good luck and let us know what else you are planning to stock your tank with

Sarah xx

 

[doresy]

Hi, you have probably got the wait a while before adding advice by now so I wont repeat.

Cory really do best over sandy substrate as it is kinder to their barbels, also sand, unlike gravel, does not trap so much harmful bacteria which can cause infections.

Members do keep Cory over smooth gravel without problems, just be frequent with the vaccing

Another point to remember is that Cory are shy during daylight/lights on so ample cover (caves) is needed. I know it sounds odd but the more hiding places Cory have the more you will see then as they feel safer

 

[VespertineStar]

Corys last in, got it.

Looking at my lfs website it says Julii are awaiting delivery and they've been like it for a while so I'm not sure if they will be getting anymore in but the do have bronze and albino if memory serves.

Some neons would be nice too and I'll look into some of the others to see what my lfs sell.

How many neons is a good number?

If I had 8 to 10 corys and some neons could I realistically add anything else? I'd rather have just a few types of fish behaving as they would than a lot of different types that look a little stressed.

I have a gravel substrate at the moment as this was what the corys had at the lfs, I would say it is the normal sort of size for gravel but not really rough or sharp. They had fine gravel but it looked rather sharp. I do regularly vac the gravel in my other tank every week but with caves, plants etc I'm not sure I could get to the whole tank, would that be a problem?

Can you add sand over gravel? If so, how do you go about cleaning the stuff and what are some things to watch out for?

 

[vinylman]

Hi Tautitan,

If you really want Neons (or Cardinals for that matter) you'll have to be patient. Neither are really hardy enough for a newly-cycled tank. If you can wait around four months until the tank has cycled AND matured, you'll have a much better chance of success with them. Neons, like a lot of fish that were once considered hardy, have been bred and bred until they can't really be regarded as a 'long-term' purchase.

 

[VespertineStar]

Ahh OK not a problem. What fish would you recommend as first fish that would be compatible with the corys and tetra down the line?

What's the average lifespan of a neon and, come to think of it, corys?

 

[vinylman]

TBH, the best thing you can do is to look at as many fish databases as you can, get a list together and then whittle it down, as some won't be suitable for your water (hardness/ph). It's YOU that will be looking at the fish, so you have to be completely happy with them. It'll also help you decide whether you want a specific biotope tank or a community tank.

 

[VespertineStar]

OK thanks for the advice vinylman. I have heard from people on this forum that fish can be put into a range of pH levels with little trouble(within reason) is that true? My pH is around 8.0 out of the tap.

Any advice on my previous Q's about lifespans? I have found people's actual experiences differ quite a bit than in some of the books I've got on the subject.

 

[vinylman]

Wow, that's a high ph. If you choose your fish carefully, though, you should be able to find something that appeals to you. The most important thing about ph is to keep it constant. Does it change between one water change and the next?.
As for life expectancy, there are so many variables; you may not know how old the fish are when you buy them from the shop; they may not be from good stock; they may be sensitive to your water conditions, anything really. IIRC in PFK magazine around 5-6 months ago they had an article on the AVERAGE life expectancy of certain fish. It might be worth a look to see if it's among their archived online articles. Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk.

 

[VespertineStar]

Currently cycling the tank but that's the pH out of the tap. Do you think it would be worth checking a tank I have at a different address(close by) to see what it's pH is? It's only a 10-12g and has been set up for a year.

Thanks for the pointer to Practical Fishkeeping, looks like a very informative site.

 

[OldMan47]

My tap water is at 7.8 to 8.0 pH depending on the time of year. My cories living in that water are living at least 4 years because that is how old my first ones are. They are still looking healthy so I don't know how long they will live in it. 7 of my 8 angels have died in that time and most of my fish are newer than the cories.

 

[VespertineStar]

Thanks OM47. I am starting to see Nitrite in the tests now, it's been about 5-6 days so the cycle seems to be moving along nicely.

I have pretty much decided on a similar stocking to one of the others above with corys, neons and rasboras. Unoriginal I know but at least I know the setup works lol.

Bought me some log caves off fish and fins too.

 

[OldMan47]

Logs are mostly for plecs but I am sure any bottom cover would be appreciated by the cories.