Bronze Vs Peppered

[DiddleBug]

So do peppered corys get bigger than bronze?  If I had a trio of each would the pepper spawn with the bronze?  I wouldn't want that... Also, what are the differences between the two besides coloring? The peppers have longer fins I know.  Do they act the same or is one type not as active?  Any info on how the two interact and how they differ would be appreciated.  

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They won't interbreed as far as I am aware.

 

[DiddleBug]

So are they about the same size?  

 

[DoubleDutch]

They don't interbreed. Peppered are bigger than Aeneus normally (females Peppered can be hugh). There are over 20 kinds of Aeneus though.
I have some that are not bigger than a panda, but got also ones that are a lot bigger.
Small Aeneus
 

Bigger Aeneus
 

Peppered
 

The pic of the bigger ones was taken just after I got them from someone who gave them a wrong diet.
They are already fattened up !!!

 

[Wildbetta]

Peppered get a decent amount bigger, close to an inch or so.  I have one pepper that is easily 4 in.  It dwarfs some of the other peppers I have in the tank with it.  The LFS has some albino/bronze that are easily 2yrs old and nowhere near the size of my big pepper cory.

 

[DiddleBug]

So would 3 peppers be too big for a 10 gallon?  I was thinking it would be cool to get some in a month or so.

 

[Wildbetta]

I personally do not recommend any corys in a 10 gallon unless they are one of the pygmy varieties (hastatus, hasbrous, or pygmaeous) because they really need to be in groups of 6 or more to be truely happy.  A 10 gallon just really does not have the footprint for a decent group of corys.  Now in saying this, I still wouldn't do a small group of peppers in a 10 because they have the ability to get so big.  The one huge one I have in a 20 long seems almost "cramped" so I know they would be in a smaller tank.

 

[DiddleBug]

Ok, so if I'd put just pygmys (the type with the black line all the way across their side and a white belly) in the 10 gallon how many could I have? I might have a few bronze in there also. My bronze aren't that big and they're fully grown. They are probably 2 1/2 inches long, if that.

 

[Wildbetta]

I still wouldn't keep bronze in the 10 gallon long term because they need a bigger footprint for a good school of them.  With the pygmys, you could probably get away with around 10 of them

 

[DiddleBug]

Could I have more than 10 if it was a species tank?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's max capacity, I'm afraid.

 

[Wildbetta]

I agree with Eagle, I would not put any more than 10 of the pygmys in the 10 gallon

 

[DoubleDutch]

Agree with Eagle and Wildbetta !!! Though even for the pygmys a larger tank still is better.
10 gallon is a fine tank to keep shrimp in.

 

[greenmumma141]

Why not just up the number of bronze that you have?  You'll really get some great shoaling behavior when they're in groups of 6+, and assuming you have the room in your tank, they'd be much happier in a bigger group of their own kind.

 

[DiddleBug]

Yeah, I was just wondering about pygmys cause I have some, but I'm getting rid of them in a few days.  I only have 2 10 gallons right now.  I'm thinking of keeping a bronze breeding trio in my one 10 and raising 10 fry (done it before) at a time in the other.  Would 6 adults (2 female, 4 males) work better or would they be crammed?  I have 6 in there right now-just temporarily-which I'm selling to a LFS along with the pygmys.  They are happy as can be and don't seem crammed at all.