Corydoras pygmaeus colony breeding, surprise!

Lajos_Detari said:

I guess I am late... LOL

Short answer:
My priority is always "fish over plants". Fish first and plants second.
So, as long as you "like" the look of your tanks and there is no issue with your fish, then the tank should be fine.
It will require more work if you really want the plants to thrive in your tank.

Long answer:
Nevertheless, if you really have a lot of time and you really want to build a very nice planted tank, you can take a look at this ADA website below.

It will require soil in your tank or soil at the bottom layer and sand at the top layer.
But probably you cannot have fish like Corydoras that will dig into the sand/soil.
Also, the problem with soil is you may have to replace them after a few years.

Nature Aquarium Starting from Zero | ADA - NATURE AQUARIUM

ADA designs and develops products of aquarium, lighting and CO2 supply system to propose Nature Aquarium where tropical fish swimming in densely grown aquatic plants.

www.adana.co.jp

But for my own tanks, I only have simple planted tanks as I don't have much time to take care of the plants.
So, my tanks only have floating plants, tall driftwoods and some rocks.
I took only a few hours to set up a new tank(excluding the hours in rinsing the sands and sterilizing the driftwoods and sterilizing+ quarantining the plants).
I tried to create a "biotope or a jungle look" for the fish to feel secure and comfortable.
My favourite plants are Java Moss, Anacharis Elodea, Cabombas and Hornworts.

I find that biotope style of tanks look very natural and very relaxing..
It's like having a small stream or river in your house....
You can consider this kind of tank if you want an easy to maintain tank.

Here are some information about biotope and how to create them.
There are many videos of different biotopes from different countries and continents where you can get some ideas.


Biotope info:

Index of /info/

biotope-aquarium.info

Videos of biotopes from different countries and continents:

Videos • Biotope Aquarium

biotope-aquarium.info

Here is another website on expeditions to South America:

Welcome to Toms Homepage

Lastly, I attached some photos of aquariums from a LFS here.
They used mainly soil plus CO2 injection.

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Thank you so much! I have a lot of reading and video homework now, and I love it! Thank you so much for gathering these together for me, I have so many projects I want to try and areas of the hobby I want to learn more about, and these are a great start.

Those tank photos you shared - wow! Absolutely stunning.

I'm with you though, fish first, plants second. I'm no where near ready to try CO2, I just like a lot of live plants in a low tech system for me personally. I want to learn more about aquascaping so I can try to make them prettier/better planned out, but I don't have tons of free time, nor the funding- to go full aquascaping nut!

I really love seeing those beautifully aquascaped tanks, they're breathtaking! And I can easily see how people get really into it. You could easily spend a small fortune on CO2 systems, glass pipes, hardscape and delicate little plants. But the reality is that a lot of those beautiful tanks are put together for shows and photographs, and only stay up for 4-6 months at most. Not so easy to maintain that level of perfection in a home tank! especially with fish in it and low tech.

I'm trying to figure out what substrate I want to use in my 57gallon tank, once it's ready for rebuilding. I like the idea of some kind of soil side/corner of the tank, because I'd like to create some height difference in the substrate, so it's high at one end. Not sure how else to do that, since sand levels itself out again. But would need to be capped too, since while I have no idea what other stocking it will have yet, I do know that it'll have bronze and sterbai corydoras. So many options and decisions to make!

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I'm trying to figure out what substrate I want to use in my 57gallon tank, once it's ready for rebuilding. I like the idea of some kind of soil side/corner of the tank, because I'd like to create some height difference in the substrate, so it's high at one end. Not sure how else to do that, since sand levels itself out again. But would need to be capped too, since while I have no idea what other stocking it will have yet, I do know that it'll have bronze and sterbai corydoras.

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Any two substrate materials will mix together over time, unless you separate them with hardscape (for lack of a better term). A divider of wood or rock can work; usually this has to be siliconed together and to the bottom of the tank to avoid grains of "x" moving to the other side of the divider. Strips of glass can work for this too, then cover them with a thin piece of wood perhaps.

I really would not use soil in a tank with cories. Or any other fish for that matter. The initial problems of ammonia, then the problem of fish digging...no.

So cute, congrats!

Byron said:

That's fine, just remember you will not see many (if any) cory fry with any of those fish in the tank.

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Ch4rlie said:

Nano fish species come to mind as they have smaller mouths and less greedy than guppies imo but most fish species regard any eggs in the tank as food nonetheless really.

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Byron said:

About the only fish that would not likely find and eat the eggs would be surface fish like hatchetfish. The smaller species in the genus Carnegiella only, not the larger in Gasteropelecus and Thoracocharax. Any fish that is mid-tank or lower is bound to find eggs unless they are really well placed.

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Dang, back to the drawing board on that one then! I need more tanks...

Perhaps some shrimp in the pygmy cory tank then? To add some colour. I've read about people using cherry shrimp to help maintain cory eggs even, that they help reduce losses to fungus, since they'll eat the fungus while leaving the healthy eggs alone.

Perhaps some caridina or neocaridina shrimp would work well?

Byron said:

On the pygmy and habrosus cories, do not keep these together in the same tank. I did this once, and I am not sure why but it just didn't quite work.

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I hadn't thought of putting them together, I don't know why! Funny that it didn't work out. You'd think it would work, both being peaceful and sociable, and most other cories are happy enough to mix and match, hanging out with other cory species. So thank you for the warning, because I might have tried it myself sometime otherwise.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I hadn't thought of putting them together, I don't know why! Funny that it didn't work out. You'd think it would work, both being peaceful and sociable, and most other cories are happy enough to mix and match, hanging out with other cory species. So thank you for the warning, because I might have tried it myself sometime otherwise.

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Imo it is nearly always better to get more of ONE species of cory (or any other specie of fish for that matter actually) than to go with a mix of two or three and hope that they mix well together in one tank.

So if one has to choose then it would only be either a nice group of 12+ habrosus or 12+ pygmys only, not both, sorry, even though they are similar but they behave differently and think habrosus are more of a bottom dweller whereas pygmys are more like middle section swimmers even though they are cories but don't exactly alway behave like cories

Ch4rlie said:

Imo it is nearly always better to get more of ONE species of cory (or any other specie of fish for that matter actually) than to go with a mix of two or three and hope that they mix well together in one tank.

So if one has to choose then it would only be either a nice group of 12+ habrosus or 12+ pygmys only, not both, sorry, even though they are similar but they behave differently and think habrosus are more of a bottom dweller whereas pygmys are more like middle section swimmers even though they are cories but don't exactly alway behave like cories

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I phrased that poorly, since it was you, Byron and I speaking so I figured we all knew that! lol. I didn't mean mix and match like a pick n mix...I don't love it when people get two bronze, a peppered, some pandas etc. I call those "Noah's Ark Tanks", because they want to keep ALL THE FISH, rather than in the numbers they need.

While of course it's always better to just have more of the same species, I meant more like when I moved my six sterbai's into the same tank as the 9-10 bronze cories I have. Had I been looking just to add more cories to that tank, I would have bought or bred more bronzes. But I already had the sterbai's, and they were quite shy in the tank they were in, and that tank wasn't large enough to add more. So I put them with the bronzes, hoping that that the fact that they were in a larger group of cories - even a different species of cory - might make them feel more comfortable and less easily spooked. And it seems to have worked! Sterbai's do tend to stick together, but they'll also be in the thick of it with the bronzes, and now and then they'll all just be mixed in together.

NCaquatics also mixed different species of cory in the same tank without problems. Larger numbers of the same species always better, of course, but I haven't heard of it not working, like Byron said happened when he put habrosus and pygmies together. But I guess it depends on what he meant by it not working out well.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

NCaquatics also mixed different species of cory in the same tank without problems. Larger numbers of the same species always better, of course, but I haven't heard of it not working, like Byron said happened when he put habrosus and pygmies together. But I guess it depends on what he meant by it not working out well.

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Who/what is NCAquatics?

There is no significant "problem" for most species of Corydoras being together in an aquarium. It depends somewhat on what "problem" means. The cories will chum around together and so far as I know suffer no serious health issues. But it is still advisable to have several of each species if this is possible--and by possible I mean if you can acquire five or so of species "x" then do so. More of the species is more important than more species, here as with every shoaling freshwater fish species.

Hybridfization will not occur if there is a group including male/female of each species. And this is critical, as I have explained elsewhere.

The reason I said the combination of C. pygmaeus and C. habrosus did not work, was more aesthetic. The two just didn't seem right together. I don't know why, but they did not look "good."

In my main cory tank I have 40 cories, representing 12 species; some have 5, 6 or even 7 of a species, others one or two or three. Nothing "looks" out of place here, in spite of the mix. It is not the best idea frankly, and knowing what I now know of this fish family, I would never do this again. But I have had these cories for over 13 years some of them, and there are a few grown fry in the group (one each of C. dupicareus, C .panda, C. sterbai, two C. concolor, and--the real issue--two hybrid fry from I think the lone C. axelrodi female and the lone C. metae male). And this is the real problem; I can never allow these fish to get into tyhe hobby outside my own tanks, where they will have to die (or be euthanized should I not be able to keep the tank running--which with my cancer and related health issues is a concern).

NCaquatics, who changed her name to CassCats, is a member who has left the forum. She kept a lot of cories.

Essjay said:

NCaquatics, who changed her name to CassCats, is a member who has left the forum. She kept a lot of cories.

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The forum lost a really great and helpful member when she left I miss her.

Byron said:

I assume the tank dimensions are 24 inches (60 cm) length, and 12 inches (30 cm) width, i.e., a standard 15 gallon.

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Yep, both of my 15 gallons have that standard footprint

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

The guppies are also only a temporary tankmate. I'm keeping these as I'm attached to them, but as they pass away, I won't be replacing them (no matter how tempted I may be!). They might get moved to another tank at some point, not sure yet, but either way, once the guppies are gone, I plan to gradually adjust the GH back down so it's 3/4s rainwater and 1/4 tap, then get some nano schooling fish to live with the pygmies and otos. Ember tetra, kubotai, celestial pearls - something like that. Haven't chosen a species yet, but I'd really love some kubotai rasbora. Stunning little fish that would suit the tank I think!

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Byron said:

That's fine, just remember you will not see many (if any) cory fry with any of those fish in the tank.

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Ch4rlie said:

Nano fish species come to mind as they have smaller mouths and less greedy than guppies imo but most fish species regard any eggs in the tank as food nonetheless really.

By the way you mentioned salt & pepper corys (habrosus) in an earlier post, those ARE my absolute top favourite cory and pygmys a close second place, the only reason I prefer habrosus is that they display more natural cory behaviors when in a good sized group than the pygmys, also habosus are cuter imho

If you happen to set up a breeding tank journal for habrosus in the future, I'd be watching that thread REALLY closely

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Byron said:

About the only fish that would not likely find and eat the eggs would be surface fish like hatchetfish. The smaller species in the genus Carnegiella only, not the larger in Gasteropelecus and Thoracocharax. Any fish that is mid-tank or lower is bound to find eggs unless they are really well placed.

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Have been mulling these things over since last week, and sorry @Ch4rlie , might not be getting those habrosus this time round after all

I can't really fit or manage more than three or four tanks, and have three at the moment. The two 15 gallons, and the 57 gallon. The stocking for the 57 gallon is still up the air, but will have the bronze and sterbai cories for sure, and given its size and my tapwater, will remain a harder water tank. Still has some tetra of different species right now, left from when it was my father's tank, living out their lives in there without being replaced.

Going to keep the pygmy cory tank pretty much as it is, since we all agreed not to change it since it seems to be working for them! Don't want to risk adding nano fish that might do a better job of hunting out the eggs and fry than the guppies do. So might still try adding shrimp, and might stuck with (male only) guppies or endlers to add some colour and activity, since the guppies in there now haven't stopped the pygmies from breeding and fry surviving, likely because of the amount of plants and ground cover.

The other 15 gallon just has a shrimp colony as permanent inhabitants right now, and they could always be moved, so more options for that 15 g. Had thought about getting the habrosus for that one, but given my limited number of tanks and long wishlist of fish I'd like to keep, I don't think I want two of the three tanks to be the same sort of thing, just different species of the same type of fish. Sorry, @Ch4rlie ! I want to keep them at some point, but it'll be a later date, or if I find I can squeeze one more tank in somewhere!

The wishlist of fish I'd like to keep include (and not all in the same tank, obviously!);

Small rainbowfish, like pseudomugli's
Nano soft water species - Kubotai raspbora, chili rasbora, ember tetra, CPD's
Rosey loaches
Apistogrammas

So I think I'd rather use the other 15 g to keep one of these species for now! If anyone has suggestions, recommendations or personal experiences they'd like to share, I'd love to hear them

This is the other 15g in question;


But it isn't looking nearly so lush right now, unfortunately. The amazon sword outgrew the tank much faster than I anticipated, and it's shading out all the other plants. Trimming back the leaves only makes it grow faster and send out even more, of course! So when the tanks all move, I'll be pulling that and moving it to the 57 g, and trying to save some of the other plants that remain/add more new ones.

Substrate is black limpopo sand. Which is actually more of a slate grey than black. I'm open to changing the substrate too if needed!

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Have been mulling these things over since last week, and sorry @Ch4rlie , might not be getting those habrosus this time round after all

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No need for apologies at all whatsoever

This happens to all of us I think, MTS is a curse and trying to keep a limit on what you can and cannot have can be extraordinarily hard to resist.

I'll have my habrosus thread one day, even if I have do it myself...........hang on there's a thought...........

Rosey loaches though, nice choice as I very nearly bought some a number of years ago and decided I can get them at a later date, turns out these are fairly rare to find in my area but did not know this at the time, they quickly sold out and never found more to purchase so instead went for whiptail catfish, a bit of a regret tbh as I rather like these little loaches.

Anyhow, nice to see you're thinking thing through properly rather than rushing in and finding out too late that you do not have the space or you cannot cope with the number of tanks.

Ch4rlie said:

This happens to all of us I think, MTS is a curse and trying to keep a limit on what you can and cannot have can be extraordinarily hard to resist.

Anyhow, nice to see you're thinking thing through properly rather than rushing in and finding out too late that you do not have the space or you cannot cope with the number of tanks.

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Thank you! Yep, MTS is a pretty severe disease! I found myself really pushed to keep four tanks maintained well, it takes up a lot of time. So I cut it down to three, since I'd rather keep three really nicely maintained and well planted tanks, than be stressing trying to manage four, rushed and messy ones.

I might be able to maintain four well at some point in the future, but not for now. Especially because the breeding pygmies need thorough substrate cleaning, and it takes much longer to check buckets for babies etc than it does on a normal tank W/C.

Definitely want to think things through properly! Haven't kept any of those species before so have a lot of research to do, and need to consider that it's a smaller tank, and has shrimp! Pretty sure apistos would destroy shrimp, and maybe rosey loaches would too. If so, will have to think about whether I want to move the shrimp into a different tank, or go for a nano tetra/rasbora instead. If I go for something like kubotai or embers though, wonder what to keep on the bottom? Maybe some rosey loaches, or hasbrosus after all! Pretty sure they can live together well, just less likely to get them successfully colony breeding.

But if I did go for that combo, I'd want to change the substrate to something finer. The unipac silver sand is really really fine, and seems perfect for the pygmies, but the limpopo sand is heavier with a larger grain size. I don't think a dwarf cory species could filter feed through it.

But the apistos really appeal! And would be a very different fish from anything I've kept before. Ooohh, or maybe rams!
I'm gonna have to watch a load of videos and maybe visit a fish store, see what really grabs me. And collect some data from Seriously Fish, see what water requirements the different species have, and what other species might work with them.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Thank you! Yep, MTS is a pretty severe disease! I found myself really pushed to keep four tanks maintained well, it takes up a lot of time. So I cut it down to three, since I'd rather keep three really nicely maintained and well planted tanks, than be stressing trying to manage four, rushed and messy ones.

I might be able to maintain four well at some point in the future, but not for now. Especially because the breeding pygmies need thorough substrate cleaning, and it takes much longer to check buckets for babies etc than it does on a normal tank W/C.

Definitely want to think things through properly! Haven't kept any of those species before so have a lot of research to do, and need to consider that it's a smaller tank, and has shrimp! Pretty sure apistos would destroy shrimp, and maybe rosey loaches would too. If so, will have to think about whether I want to move the shrimp into a different tank, or go for a nano tetra/rasbora instead. If I go for something like kubotai or embers though, wonder what to keep on the bottom? Maybe some rosey loaches, or hasbrosus after all! Pretty sure they can live together well, just less likely to get them successfully colony breeding.

But if I did go for that combo, I'd want to change the substrate to something finer. The unipac silver sand is really really fine, and seems perfect for the pygmies, but the limpopo sand is heavier with a larger grain size. I don't think a dwarf cory species could filter feed through it.

But the apistos really appeal! And would be a very different fish from anything I've kept before. Ooohh, or maybe rams!
I'm gonna have to watch a load of videos and maybe visit a fish store, see what really grabs me. And collect some data from Seriously Fish, see what water requirements the different species have, and what other species might work with them.

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Yes, Apisto & Rams are beautiful and interesting.
Apisto have very nice fins and tail shape but they are not so colourful.

Recently, I restarted keeping Apisto again after having bad experience of gill flukes that killed many of my Apisto in the past.

But now I realized that they are not so colourful even for the males.
I realized that whenever you look at an aquarium, the first thing that stand out is the colours of the fish.
Secondly, you will observe the fish's behaviours. Having 1-2 schooling fish makes your tank very lively and full of active fish.
Thirdly, having intelligent fish and fish with nice fins and tail will make it even more attractive.

I'm thinking if you really want a tank full of colourful fish, you can try a combination of :
1)Cardinal Tetras - one group of 10-20.
After trying out many species of schooling fish(Tetras, Rasboras, Barbs), I find that Cardinal Tetras colours are still the most striking especially in the dark.
2)Killifish - 2-3
Try the Bluefin Notho.
But avoid the Striped Panchax(Golden Killifish) which will grow to quite large and will eat small fish.





By the way, since you have hardwater, you can consider the Lake Tanganyika fish.
They are beautiful, interesting and intelligent.
I've kept some of them in the past.



You can even read the book about Lake Tanganyika fish.

By the way, if you really want fish that are safe for shrimplets, you can consider these(all soft water fish)
1)Chili/Mosquito Rasboras
2)Boraras Maculatus
3)Blue Axelrodi Rasboras (maybe - never keep before)

Other fish will most likely eat the shrimplets.
Stay away from Tetras except probably for Morse Code Tetra or Axelrodi Riesei(Ruby Tetra).

Also, take note that the Green Kubotai colour may not really stand out.
Espei and Ember colours are better.

For bottom level, you can just have the shrimps and shrimplets.
But if you really want to have some bottom level fish, you can consider Panda Loaches but I cannot guarantee that they won't eat the shrimplets when they grow larger.
The small Panda Loaches are very cute and have striking black and white colours.
But when they grow large, their colours will change.

Im sure they’ve had Rosy Loaches in my local PAH. I think that’s where the couple who I’m gonna adopt some fish from got them.
I’m unsure about adopting them but they’ll probably be given to a lfs if I don’t and everyone around here has my liquid rock as tap water so the odds are they’d be in my water type anyway.