What Should I Keep With Pygmy Corydoras?

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smudge_

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if I had to pick a favourite tropical fish I would have to say Pygmy's. I could never get them where I used to live but I have found them locally now.     
 
I am planning a simple tank, 68l or so with only a few basic fish.  The center piece of this will be my Pygmys
 
I was just wondering what gets on best with these fish, as I know they are very peaceful.
 
I'm not considering anything very exotic, probably a mix of (some of the following) platty's, tetras, a male fighter and I thought a few shrimp would be nice (ive never kept Shrimp)
 
Would any of the above not get along well with the Pygmy's?  My one concern would really be the shrimp, but I don't know much about those.
 
 
Do Pygmy's do well with any specific types of plants?   I was planning to use black sand in the aquarium and they are best with sand anyway aren't they?
 
 
Thanks for your help guys!
 
My cories like broad leaved plants that they can easily glide over, instead of grass-like plants. :)
 
The Betta would be the only concern for the pygmy cories, it all depends on his attitude.
Same for the platies and tetras. He may bully them, or they (most likely) would pick on him.
Shrimp are unbelievably peaceful. :D
 
As I've said before on other threads, I'm no stocking expert, but I'll give it a go:
 
1 betta splendens
10 neon tetras
5 pygmies
 
And IMO the platies should be left out because they might bully the Betta, but if you want platies, here's a plan:
1 betta splendens
8 neon tetras
4 platies
5 pygmies
 
Shrimp barely do anything to the bioload so you could add in shrimp as you like. ;)
Another reason I think the platies should be left out is because they would distract the attention from your centerpiece fish, the betta, but that's just my opinion.

EDIT: Cories like sand. ;)
If you do get platies you might consider getting females only or males only.
 
Thanks very much!
 
The betta was a bit of a concern for me as well, but I figured he should mostly stick to the top and them to the bottom  but I know its never that simple, especially in a smaller tank.
 
Interesting point about the plattys, I have had 3 tanks in the past, various sizes and I have always kept a few platies and mollys in my tanks (I am very partial to balloon mollys) and have always found them to be very peaceful, including  with the various fighters I have had.  Maybe I was just lucky.

Here is something I have always wondered about Tetras.... instead of say 10 neon tetras,  would (example) 5 rummy-nose tetras and 5 neon tetras work?  it probably isnt that simple but its worth asking.
 
I'd leave the platty out of the equation and as Lyra said, Pygmies are very peacefull and love broad leaved plants.
I have 15 of them with a Betta and they are doing very well.
My betta doesn't mind them at all and I actually think he likes them.
 
I used to have my betta in with the tetras but they nipped his tail so bad I moved him to his own aquarium and got him pygmy cories as friends
smile.png

 
Cheers!
 
Edit:
 
I think you should stick with one school of tetras instead of two separate schools.
Neons would be better in that tank since Rummy Nose require a lot of moving space, they like to swim a lot. I have a school of 10 in my 46 gallon and I think it's barely enough for them.
I also keep shrimp and they are very very peaceful but think they might compete for food with cories.
 
First the substrate must be sand.  I use play sand which is natural and not at all rough.  My 10g currently holds several dozen pygmy cory fry with their adults (six).  This sand is a mix (black/white/tan/grey); one thing about black is that every speck of detritus shows clearly, something I never see with play sand in six tanks (I had black in one tank, changed it for play sand).
 
Second, temperature.  It should not rise above 76 F (24 C) for pygmy corys.  Neons would be a good match as they too do better with lower temperatures, and you could go to 74/75F here.  Shrimp would be fine if large enough not to get eaten; all South American fish naturally feed on small crustaceans.
 
With this small a tank, I would not have rummynose; they like to swim more, and longer tanks suit them better.  They also do best in larger groups, say 12+, so I would not have this species in anything under 3 feet.  Neons are less active, so good on that score here.  Platy I would not include, this tank is not large enough for platy.  And the Betta should have more warmth, plus it is really not a community fish.  Yes, I know some members have kept it with this or that, but most of the time a male Betta is best alone.  I had one that easily ate neons many years ago, and conversely the smaller fish frequently nip the Betta fins as has already been mentioned.
 
Another good tetra with the pygmy corys would be Ember Tetra.  You could have a group of these (10-12) with the corys, and also a group of neons (7-8) in this tank.  Planted, with weekly 50% water changes, no problems.
 
Byron.
 
Thank you very much for all your advice folks, I got fantastic feedback on this!
 
I would have liked a fighter, especially as I know someone who wants rid of his setup.  if it comes between the toilet and my tank I will just take it anyway.
 
Its a shame about the plattys/mollies but I will not use those if it will be an issue. Same with the rummynose.... even though I find them a very pretty fish
 
So I have them now.  10 of them to be precise.   They seem happy, but I have a question if you don't mind.
 
I know they are meant to school, but mine don't swim around all together much, they mostly run around in 2's and 3's and sometimes by themselves  is that an issue and mean they are unhappy or is it fine?
 
 
 
 
I thank you guys for the previous advice, I did take on the fighter in the end, but have him with the corys and 5 ember tetras.   All seem happy and none bother the fighter, I don't think I have even seen the tetras within an inch of him.
 
 
 
I will up the tetra number at some point, but I didn't want to add too many fish at one time.   Its just as well, one got ich quickly and they all now have it,  but thankfully it hasn't spread to any of the other fish yet and I started treatment quickly.
 
It's quite normal for them to form loose groups, pygmy corys are not tight schoolers
 

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