Albino Cories In A 63L Tank

[Mason7773]

Tank: Juwel Rekord 600
 
My tank is finally cycled and I'm looking to purchase some fish today.
 
I've been very keen on the ideal of having around 6 Cardinal Tetras & 4-6 Corys.
 
The Tetras are pretty straight forward in the fact that they don't grow very big so I know they will be suited to my tank.
 
However, I know that different Cory species grow to different sizes. The only species that I am keen on are the Albino Corydoras but I know that these get quite big.
 
Would I get away with 4 of these & 6 Cardinal Tetras, or not?
 
 

 

[Byron]

On the corys...these are shoaling fish, meaning they must be in a group.  Five is the minimum number, but more is always better for the fish.  Your 63 litre tank (roughly 16 gallons) will hold 5-6 corys.  The albino corys are derived from one of three species, and the most common is Corydoras aeneus, though C. paleatus and C. sterbai also have albino forms now.  None of these get too large, and they have minimal impact on water quality (assuming you have a good maintenance regime and do not overfeed).  They will be "happier" the more there are, and this means even less impact on the biological system, so there is more to this than mere numbers of certain-sized fish.  Corys are best with a sand substrate, and the sand must be very smooth as the fish sift it through their gills.
 
The cardinals should be OK with this, I would get seven, for no reason other than I think they will be "happier."  You don't mention water parameters, meaning the hardness (GH) and pH, and these are soft water fish.  But so far as numbers, you should be fine.  Some floating plants will be good though, if you can get some.  And some chunks of wood on the substrate, for both species mentioned.
 
Byron.

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't advise albino corys (which are a colour morph of the bronze), as they do get quite big (and they're deep bodied, so bigger than their length would suggest. Pandas or one of the dwarf species would be better, especially as we normally recommend at least eight or ten for a group.

Same for the cardinals; six is really a bare minimum number.

 

[PepperjacksMama]

Have to agree on the Albonos, if anything like mine they will be chunky monkeys.
And with any of the shoalers/schoolers the larger the group the happier they will be.

 

[Mason7773]

Thanks for the replies!
 
To be honest, I was looking at the Cory species today. I have seen pretty much all of them, but I had never seen the Panada Cories up until today and I quite like them...
 
On another note, the Albino Corys I usually see at the LFS I regularly visit are small, but today I visited a few different shops that had much bigger ones thus giving me an insight that the Albinos aren't a good choice.
 
I purchased 6 Cardinal Tetras today and I guess the Panda corys seem a decent choice too.
 
Maybe a few more Cardinal Tetras to bring it to about 9-10 and about 6 Panda Corys?
 
Other species I considered were; Honey Gourami & Peacock Gudgeons more for a centrepiece idea... I'm not so sure anymore as I don't want to overstock.

 

[Byron]

Well, with these suggestions we are getting into other issues.  Re the panda cory, this is a 2-inch fish about the same size as most of the "basic" corys, though they do seem to remain smaller in aquaria.  I'm not sure why this is, but I have seen mature pandas and they were 2 inches and Planet Catfish gives 2 inches as the basic size.  Mine have never reached this...but whatever, they do need more water current than most other corys, something your cardinals will definitely not appreciate.  And cooler temps, I would say 76-77F/24-25C max for the pandas.
 
The "dwarf" species also need cooler water, around 75F/23-24C max.  And sand is essential for these.
 
My initial OK on the albinos was assuming this would be a 24-inch (60 cm) length tank, something of a standard 15g.  But on reflection I agree that 3 inches is larger than what I was picturing in my mind's eye...which only shows that I should check my references rather than going from memory which is not always reliable these days.
 
The peacock goby is getting large at 3 inches, so perhaps not a good idea.  Gourami I would avoid in this small a space, although the really small species are possible.  But we don't know your water parameters (GH and pH) and with the small species this can be a significant aspect.
 
Small tanks like this one are well suited to the various "nano" species, but water parameters are critical as many of these are wild caught.  A group of cardinals alone (with the group of corys) will work, as they are fairly sedate (= non-active swimmers), but they need lots of cover such as wood, branches, floating plants.
 
Byron.