Curious About Cories

[daizeUK]

Just wondering a few things...
 
Would a 54 litre, 2 foot long tank be suitable to keep cories?
Would they attack small fry or leave them alone?
 
Also I have hard water around pH 8.2.  I originally thought this was too hard for cories but I've read that Panda and Sterbai cories can both tolerate these conditions, is that right?

 

[DiddleBug]

Well, I'm not sure about the ph, but you the tank size should work (I think, at least pandas and pygmys).  I have green corys in 10 gallons fine, and they spawn readily.  They left my guppy and molly fry alone, but fry any slower and smaller than that might get eaten.  They don't hunt them, they would just probably eat them if they came across them.  I think they'd be a lot of fun for you.  Now they're all I have (I breed and sell them)!    I have 7.4-7.6 well water with lots of Iron and they seem to like it.  Hope this helps!

 

[Lilfishy]

What else do you have in the tank & what's the temperature as pandas prefer cooler temps & sterbai like higher temps.
Corys won't eat fry, though they may at eggs if they find them

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks for the replies!  I currently keep platies and I was thinking of buying a 54L tank to raise their fry or juveniles.  The temperature would be about 25°C.

 

[DiddleBug]

That would work out nicely. If you wanted a large group of them you might want pandas, pygmys, or some smaller type. You'd want to get at least 3 if you get any corys because they don't like to live alone.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Pandas wouldn't be suitable... 25C is at the top of their temp range and can shorten their life span to be at higher temps.  The sterbai can handle that temp easily though.
 
 
The bigger issue is the pH.  Planetcatfish discusses sterbai in water as high as 7.6, but not higher.  Pandas are shown at 7.4.  8.2 is nearly 10X more basic than that.
 
 
A better bet would be brochis splendens ("Emerald cory") which grows significantly bigger(> 3 inches) than pandas (< 2 inches), and marginally bigger than the sterbai (~2.5 inches).  But, these guys are listed as being ok up to 8.0 pH.  They are also fairly commonly found in LFS, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them. 
 
 
From my experience with panda corys and fry, they don't seem to care about them.  (The other fish in my tank are the main culprits for eating them.)  The fry hang out with the adults in their 'caves' and come out as they grow. 
 
 
I would think corys (or technically - brochis) and platy fry would be fine together, just provide a fair amount of cover - like mosses, etc. for the fry to hide in, it needed.  (Mosses also provide a good food source for the fry as well.)

 

[snazy]

Brochis splendens are way too big for a tank this size.
There used to be a regular member in here, harlequins. She used to keep many different species of corys and also breed them in a Ph around your levels with no problem. It's also worth checking the Gh and Kh of your water as in some cases a high Ph is not an indication of very hard water.
 
As long as you don't buy wild caught corys, and also acclimate correctly, the corys will be just fine.
If you are worried about the temperature range, lower it down. Platies will do just fine in lower temps and you can get panda corys.
Or if you want sterbai, they'll do perfect at 25, and lower or higher too.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

By the time I posted, I forgot what size the tank was...
 
 
Thanks snazy!

 

[snazy]

It happens to me too. I sometimes write a response and then when I read the question, I am way off the track and not even answering the question 

 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

BTW, I miss harlequins!  Where's she been?

 

[snazy]

I've no idea. She disappeared

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Quality member - very knowledgeable cory keeper!  Loved watching her vids.

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks for the information guys, I was leaning towards Sterbai cories from the information I had but I need to be sure that they can tolerate my water conditions.  I'm sure I read somewhere that they could, but I can't find it now!
 
My LFS has several different types of cories in stock and they always keep the pandas and sterbais along the left wall and all other cories in tanks along the back wall.  I found out that all the tanks on the back wall are mixed 50% RO to soften the water.  So, the pandas and sterbais are kept in our local high pH hard water.  That's another reason I thought they might be okay.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They are better than some, but the ph Is still a bit high, honestly- IMO.  It can be done, but that doesn't mean its ideal.

 

[snazy]

The Ph is not the best indicator when it comes to whether the water is soft or not. You'd need to test Gh, Kh, TDS, then you'll know.