Got A Young Corydora, But Now What?

[AlphinaNovaStar]

I went to the local pet shop that happens to be at the same mall I work.  I wanted to get two female platies, but ended up getting a corydora with my platy pair.   I was wondering what do I feed my little Cory (what I decided to name him)?    He is in the same tank as my platies and swordtails so it is not like he will starve.   Do I need to get Cory some friends of his own species later?   They are in a twenty gallon high.  Right now it is 2 female platies, 2 male platies, a female swordtail, a male swordtail and Cory.

 

[Byron]

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you have some issues here. Your swordtails will quickly outgrow this tank. And with male and female of both swordtail and platy, you will be seeing fry by the hundreds monthly before too long. They can't all get eaten.

As for the cory, yes, this is a shoaling fish that lives in very large groups, so it needs some friends. Minimum five is recommended, more is always better--but here we come to the already crowded tank. But the cory is not going to be happy, and that mean not healthy due to stress, without more of his kind.

Corys will not exist on scraps, and with gluttonous feeders like swordtails and platy not much is likely to escape them anyway. Sinking prepared foods like shrimp pellets, Nutrafin tabs, or almost any similar sinking food is necessary. Frozen bloodworms can be fed as a treat, once a week, if you like, but the nutrition of good prepared foods is the more important.

Byron.

Edited March 27 just to correct some spelling. B.

 

[Akasha72]

agreed. Do you know what type of cory he/she is? Some get much bigger than others. The largest I have is the peppered cory, my females are a good 4 inches long and an inch wide - they are very chunky fish. My smallest cory is the panda - I also have the similar sized melini and smudge-spot. These only grow to just over an inch so much much smaller.
 
With such a small tank (and here I also agree with Byron) I'm hoping you have aquired one of the smaller types. In terms of friends, yes, definitely but they need to be 4 or 5 friends of the same kind. Cories come in many species type but they need to be in groups of the same type.... I have 6 peppered, 5 bronze, 6 panda's, 5 melini .... groups of the same type ... does that make sense?

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

yes it makes sense.   Actually I hoping one day to put them in a fifty five gallon tank.  But that will be in September or October at the earliest. I need to get my ride issue situated before getting that tank.  then I will have to wait for the next petco dollar per gallon tank sale.   Then I can use the twenty gallon tank to hold the fry or something.

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

I got two more corys as that was how many they had at the pet shop.

 

[Akasha72]

can you post a picture so we can identify them? Then we can give you an idea of how big they'll grow

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

Okayhttps/vimeo.com/175286189
Here is a video with two of the corys and Emma


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[Akasha72]

sorry .. I'm not able to 100% identify due to the poor quality of the video  

 

[Byron]

Yes not easy to make out from the video, but they look like the common Bronze Cory, Corydoras aeneus.  The Betta at the end is definitely female (tyhe other thread had this question).

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

I have three corys but how many more do I need?


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[Byron]

I have three corys but how many more do I need?


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You should get two more, to have a group of five.  I realize the tank size and other fish, but making the corys "happy" goes a long way to having them healthier.  Just keep up with your water changes, once a week, half the tank volume, and don't overfeed.  I understand a larger tank is likely in a couple months, so this should work out fine.  But sooner rather than later, as your swordtails are fairly rapid growers and the small tank space limits fish growth.
 
Byron.

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

I might be able to get my fifty five gallon tank next week. That is if I can get the funds and figure out the transportation of the tank home, to my room and onto the stand. I still have to work out the details though.


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[AlphinaNovaStar]

One of my Corys is swimming not at the bottom of the tank or the top of the tank but in the middle. Is this normal? he is going back and forth.

 

[DoubleDutch]

One of my Corys is swimming not at the bottom of the tank or the top of the tank but in the middle. Is this normal? he is going back and forth.

Yep. It will ease down

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[AlphinaNovaStar]

I am back on the forums. I got a big container of shrimp pellets for the corys and they love them. I also got plecco wafers, are those good for Corys or did I waste my money on that?