Getting cories

[Tempestuousfury]

I don't want to overstock any of my tanks and I want to have large groups of cories, so I wanted to get panda or pygmy cories. However, none of the lfs around here have them, though I haven't really been searching for them. If I ask Petsmart, do you think they could ship some in? Or should I just stick with the Aeneus and do more frequent water changes?

 

[Sondan]

Temp,
I know a lot of people around here say that corys need to be in groups but I have not found this to be. I have 1 albino cory and 1 Cory julii and they are about 3-4 years old. They are completely grown and very active. I have even thought about getting a small cory to put in my 10 gallon feeder guppy breeding tank to make sure any left over food is cleaned up.
Signed,
Sondan

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I read that you can have 1 cory per 5 gallons. Mine seems to be ok in the five, but the book said they have different behaviors in groups. I wanted to add the cories for variety and b/c they live in a different stratum than the others so I can have more fish.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Temp

I don't think there is any real rule about the number of corys you can keep any more than any other fish. You can't get away with keeping a dirty tank, but I think you already know that.

The general rule of one inch per gallon applies for all the fish in the tank, but with extra water changes, good filtration, etc. you can stretch things a bit. If you have a large proportion of bottom feeders, be sure to siphon the bottom carefully every time you change the water. This isn't a bad job even if you have to do it a couple of times a week.

Personally, I have a number of different corys, but I still think that you can't beat the bronze or albino aeneus. They seem to be more outgoing than any of my others and breed most readily.

Actually, you will probably be happy with whatever corys you can get.

Corys are schooling fish. They will live alone, but you will not get to see their real personalities. I strongly recommend getting 2 or 3 or more of each kind to see them at their best.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Do you think I should take the cory out of the five? It's really densely populated, but if it becomes a rearing tank it won't be as bad...

Anywho, I believe they lay adhesive eggs? I've read up on them, but only had one, so didn't bother to read it thoroughly or even try to figure out my cory's gender. Any tips on mating?

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi temp

I do think that you should take your cory out of the 5 gallon and move him to more spacious quarters. Get him some friends, too.

If you have some extra time, I would strongly recommend that you visit all the lfs in your area in search of an independent retailer who specializes in fish or a pet store that has a large fish department that is managed by a knowledgeable fishkeeper. Finding such a place would be a big asset to you even if you have to travel a distance to get to it.

Such a lfs will often special order fish, if you request them, because they are free to order whatever they like. The chain stores are not. They will also buy your fry when they have grown to the right size. Make yourself known to the owner and employees and you will have started a relationship that could prove profitable to you both.

Bronze corys are one of the most often requested fish and are good sellers. My lfs owner told me that he would be happy to take all I can supply him with. If you stick to them, I hope you will be as fortunate as I have been.

 

[KnuckleHead]

Visit all your local retailers to see what they can bring in. If you still cant find what your looking for let me know and Ill see what I can do for ya.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Thanks for all your help. I'm going to start stocking my 50 gallon with cories once it's done cycling, so I'll look around for pymies and pandas. If all I can get is the leopard, bronze, or albino corys, I won't be too sad.

I read up some more on them and one of the other threads really confused me b/c the pictures on cory genders that were posted flew in the face of what I believe I read. I'll have to go back and consult that book I checked out on catfish...

How would I go about removing the eggs and placing them in a, let's say, 5 gallon (not the one I have) tank? Do they lay eggs on granite slabs? Leaves? Glass?
The books I read didn't go very far into this because the tanks they were written for were supposed to be only for corys...

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi temp

I know the illustration you are referring to; just ignore it. It was posted by a person who swiped someone's art and changed the labels on it. She didn't know what she was talking about.

To breed corys, you will need a separate tank for them to spawn. This tank can then be used to raise the fry. I use 10 gallon tanks for this purpose. When the fry are large enough I move them to a 20 gallon grow out tank and begin with another spawning.

I recommend using separate tanks rather than trying to save and move eggs from one place to another. This way the eggs (and fry) don't get eaten by the other fish and do not get damaged during the move. You will probably find that, in the long run, 10 gallon tanks cost about the same (or less) to buy and equip than the 5s.

Once the corys have been conditioned by feeding bloodworms for a week or two, spawning can be induced by lowering the water temperature. This too is easily managed in the smaller tank. They lay their adhesive eggs right on the glass.

Some corys are easier to breed than others. Some, like sterbai are quite difficult to get to spawn, and so are more valuable. The bronze and albinos are easy compared to most of the others and that is why I recommend them to beginners.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Thanks.

I've got a ten gallon taht i'll probably raise livebearer fry in. Would that be ok, since the fry wouldn't be able to eat the eggs?

You're right about the 5 and 10 gallon tanks being the same price. I can't believe I bought my five when I could have gone with the ten ...

I talked to the fish manager at Petsmart and he said taht he has the ability to special order fish. i asked him if he could get pymies and pandas, he said he could get panda look-alikes, so that'd be great! I'm thinking about going with albinos and pandas b/c my substrate is white.

Getting the cories in two weeks!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi temp

First, I don't know how well the livebearer fry would do with cory fry or eggs. The livebearer fry grow quite rapidly and I don't know how long it would be before they could eat the much smaller cory fry.

Second, the 10 gallon tank is considered a "starter tank," these days. It's often sold with basic accessories as a kit. It's much more commonly seen than the 5 gallon which is usually only bought by fish keepers as a hospital tank or maybe to fit in a tiny space. It's not a very practical size, so they charge more for it.

Third, I don't know what your lfs means by a "panda look alike." (an imposter? ) I suggest you ask him what it is by its Latin name to be certain what you are getting. If you plan to breed them at some point, this could be very important since some corys spawn more readily than others. (Pandas are not the easiest, either.) Albinos are a good choice, though.

Here's the link to see the different kinds of corys. Perhaps you can find your "look alike" fish.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ra/g_thumbs.htm