cory seems to have some type of reddish tinge and acting restless. or am I just paranoid

[outofwater]

hi everyone,
I have a total of 5 corys. I bought 2 first, a small gray one (like the one on the pic) and a salt and pepper one. after a few days I decided to round up their numbers to 5. went and got another small grey, an albino, and the bigger gray one. those were the only ones left, and they had ALL been in the same tank at this store.

the 3 newcomers have been in the tank for over a week now. In the last 2 days or so I noticed the big one seems "too active" : going up and down the glass, mostly the rear. and I definitely have noticed that one of the small ones seems to either be chasing it, or joining it on this.

the pictures I took are not the best since they just can't seem to stand still (although I have seen them all resting from time to time) anyway, I hope they are enough for you to give your feedback.

do you think there's a reddish tinge to the big one's belly?
what to make of this seeming restlessness on the big one?
why is this other small one joining that? are they doing a mating dance of sorts?

thank you in advance,

p.s. water as follows: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, nitrates seem to swing between 5 and 10 (all ppm, I use the API master kit). water temp: 78 F



thanks again

 

[DoubleDutch]

They look normal and healthy to me.
The gravel and the lonely Salt and Pepper worry me though

 

[outofwater]

They look normal and healthy to me.
The gravel and the lonely Salt and Pepper worry me though

thanks, I was thinking about getting him a buddy or two too; I do notice that while they all hang around together, there are times when the albino and the salt and pepper seem to be "left out". I just need the store to restock them. I'm getting these from pet supply plus. there's a local shop that I trust, I might swing by to see if they have them; but I'm trying to avoid getting fish from different places to minimize any disease or bringing along unwanted hitch hikers.

the gravel is soft, while not completely round. I'm thinking of switching half of the surface to sand though, I know from reading that they will enjoy that a lot more than the current situation.

 

[Colin_T]

In the last 2 days or so I noticed the big one seems "too active" : going up and down the glass, mostly the rear. and I definitely have noticed that one of the small ones seems to either be chasing it, or joining it on this.

Breeding behaviour. The female is the bigger one and she is cleaning and checking out the tank and looking for spawning sites. The smaller male is following her.

The fish in the pictures look fine but they are a bit blurry so it's hard to be 100%

 

[outofwater]

Breeding behaviour. The female is the bigger one and she is cleaning and checking out the tank and looking for spawning sites. The smaller male is following her.

The fish in the pictures look fine but they are a bit blurry so it's hard to be 100%

oof. I guess I better get that second tank ready soon then. LOL. wasn't counting on breeding any fish, but if babies come, I'll welcome them.

I'll try to get and post better pictures, issue is as soon as they see me approaching they start swimming around, even if the were just resting.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Are you sure it isn't a Peppered (C.paleatus) instead of Salt and Pepper (C.habrosus).
The albino will likely be the same species as the others (C.aeneus)

 

[Byron]

the gravel is soft, while not completely round. I'm thinking of switching half of the surface to sand though, I know from reading that they will enjoy that a lot more than the current situation.

Different substrates tend not to work. For one thing, they will mix unless you manage to somehow keep them separate with dividers attached to the bottom glass and the tank walls. Cories need to "dig" and whiole they cannot really do this in gravel, they can and will with sand, and this plus the normal water currents will mix the substrates.

I also find that one substrate adds space visually; two types immediately draws attention to the small space.

It is not difficult to change a substrate, but do it sooner rather than later. You are in the USA so you can acquire an excellent sand from Lowe's or Home Depot (maybe elsewhere too), called Quikrete Play Sand. Only their play sand is safe, and the Quikrete Brand. I have been using this for nearly ten years now.

 

[outofwater]

Are you sure it isn't a Peppered (C.paleatus) instead of Salt and Pepper (C.habrosus).
The albino will likely be the same species as the others (C.aeneus)

Hi, here are better pics of what I called Salt and pepper and the albino. They were all grouped as "pygmy corys" at the shop. If you can point out their actual names it'd be great

 

[outofwater]

Different substrates tend not to work. For one thing, they will mix unless you manage to somehow keep them separate with dividers attached to the bottom glass and the tank walls. Cories need to "dig" and whiole they cannot really do this in gravel, they can and will with sand, and this plus the normal water currents will mix the substrates.

I also find that one substrate adds space visually; two types immediately draws attention to the small space.

It is not difficult to change a substrate, but do it sooner rather than later. You are in the USA so you can acquire an excellent sand from Lowe's or Home Depot (maybe elsewhere too), called Quikrete Play Sand. Only their play sand is safe, and the Quikrete Brand. I have been using this for nearly ten years now.

Thanks a lot for the precise response. I guess I'll go for all sand then, looks like I have some work for the weekend. I used to have a half and half way back when I was a kid, it was half bare and half gravel, you're right, the attention drifts to one or the other side.

I read that one should rinse and/or even "boil" the new substrate, any comments on that? And thanks for pointing out the specific brand, I had read about it before, glad to get further confirmation from more knowledgeable hobbyists Herr

 

[Byron]

Thanks a lot for the precise response. I guess I'll go for all sand then, looks like I have some work for the weekend. I used to have a half and half way back when I was a kid, it was half bare and half gravel, you're right, the attention drifts to one or the other side.

I read that one should rinse and/or even "boil" the new substrate, any comments on that? And thanks for pointing out the specific brand, I had read about it before, glad to get further confirmation from more knowledgeable hobbyists Herr

Rinse sand, definitely. But never boil it, there is no reason to go to that extreme as there is nothing in this sand. I don't go overboard with the rinsing, it is after all just dirt. I rinse new sand maybe five times, in small quantities each in the bucket. Tedious, but this is a nice sand and worth it.

BTW, the cory in the left photo in post #8 is Corydoras habrosus, one of three "dwarf" cory species. It the store have them, get a group of at least 9-10. And definitely needs sand, these small cories have bacterial issues with gravel this large. The albino I can't tell, but @DoubleDutch will know.

 

[outofwater]

Rinse sand, definitely. But never boil it, there is no reason to go to that extreme as there is nothing in this sand. I don't go overboard with the rinsing, it is after all just dirt. I rinse new sand maybe five times, in small quantities each in the bucket. Tedious, but this is a nice sand and worth it.

BTW, the cory in the left photo in post #8 is Corydoras habrosus, one of three "dwarf" cory species. It the store have them, get a group of at least 9-10. And definitely needs sand, these small cories have bacterial issues with gravel this large. The albino I can't tell, but @DoubleDutch will know.

Many thanks for all the great feedback.

 

[outofwater]

Breeding behaviour. The female is the bigger one and she is cleaning and checking out the tank and looking for spawning sites. The smaller male is following her.

The fish in the pictures look fine but they are a bit blurry so it's hard to be 100%

OMG so it IS breeding behavior. Was trying to get a better shot of the big girl, look at those eggs under her fins!

BTW, also realized my dumb "smart" phone was "optimizing" the pictures. These are slightly better, clearer, "non-enhanced" shots.

The female came and picked them off the glass just a minute after I took the shots.

Seemed to be trying to move them to the floating plants, or did she just eat them? Couldn't tell for sure.

Any suggestions as to what, if any, I should be doing now?

 

[DoubleDutch]

Rinse sand, definitely. But never boil it, there is no reason to go to that extreme as there is nothing in this sand. I don't go overboard with the rinsing, it is after all just dirt. I rinse new sand maybe five times, in small quantities each in the bucket. Tedious, but this is a nice sand and worth it.

BTW, the cory in the left photo in post #8 is Corydoras habrosus, one of three "dwarf" cory species. It the store have them, get a group of at least 9-10. And definitely needs sand, these small cories have bacterial issues with gravel this large. The albino I can't tell, but @DoubleDutch will know.

Sorry @Byron but it is a C.paleatus (Peppered) . The albino is a C.aeneus.

 

[DoubleDutch]

If she picked them of the glass she ate them.

OMG so it IS breeding behavior. Was trying to get a better shot of the big girl, look at those eggs under her fins!

BTW, also realized my dumb "smart" phone was "optimizing" the pictures. These are slightly better, clearer, "non-enhanced" shots.

The female came and picked them off the glass just a minute after I took the shots.

Seemed to be trying to move them to the floating plants, or did she just eat them? Couldn't tell for sure.

Any suggestions as to what, if any, I should be doing now?

 

[Byron]

Sorry @Byron but it is a C.paleatus (Peppered) . The albino is a C.aeneus.

Yes, I agree now, thanks. That isn't the best view, but having compared the fish to my file photos, it is clear.