Big Boisterous Cories?

[Miss Wiggle]

well i may have a nearly empty 92 gal tank soon which i want to make into a nice low tech planted community

only occupents to be left will be a 6" chocolate albino common plec and a 6" syno

both are moderatley aggressive/territorial however it's a big tank so they rarely come to blows and are quite happy with their own territories

now if we make it into a community then i want some cories, i've missed having some soo much. we'd want just 1 species but a really decent size group, probably 12+ maybe even up to 20, i was thinking brochis (ok not really cories but i think this is still the relevant place to ask about them!) would maybe be best as they're big and boisterous so a big group of them should have no trouble contending with spot and al.

do you think i'm right in this reasoning?
would it be best to get a smaller or larger group (i'm thinking smaller group they are less likely to get in the way of spot and al and therefore into scrapes, but larger group maybe there's safety in numbers and no one fish is likely to be singled out for bullying?)
would any other cories fit the bill, Ian likes metae's which are also fairly large, could they work?

any other comments/suggestions?

 

[geo7x]

As soon as i read the first couple of lines of your posts i was thinking brochis too. The only trouble i can see with Brochis is that they can be a bit like bulls in a china shop with plants, unless they were robust plants, which i suppose you would be getting with plecs anyway (?)

But to be honest, im not sure about the syno, but i think plecs will only "see off" fish that come into their territory, and more just stand their ground than get into a full-blown fight.

Especially with cories, of course cories are inquisitive little things and would venture in to the plec's territory at first, but im sure that with a little flick of the plecos tail they would soon be shooting off with no harm done.

I dont know your fish but can you really imagine the plecs and syno going to all the trouble of chasing little cories around? im sure they would rather sit and relax The cories arent exactly going to fight plecos or any other fish so im sure that the pleco and syno wouldnt mind them as they would swim away at anything.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah spot and al don't fight because they're both lazy buggers, they sit in they're little territories and they'll have a little chase if someone comes too clear and is bothering them but i can't imagine them seriously harassing the cories. it's definately more a case of territoriality than aggression and there's plenty of room

obviously you never quite know until you try so i thought i'd ask and see if anyone else had experience of a similar set up or anything.

yeah we're not talking nice carpet plants or antyhing like that, i've 2/3 massive amazon swords, some java fern and moss on assorted ornaments and i'd maybe like to put something like some vallis around the back of the tank. nothing fancy or delicate. just some average plants really!!

i figure if they can withstand spot al and oscar then they can probably handle some brochis too

any thoughts on the group numbers.

just planning my stocking and i'm up to around 60" with all my top and middle swimmers and spot and al accounted for so there's room for a decent sized group, i'm just not sure if it's a good idea to go bigger with the territory issues?

 

[geo7x]

i would try a smaller group (around 5-10) and see how they are if you're concerned at first. Then you can always add more gradually if you think that there would be no problem with bigger numbers
Never had any experience with cories and big/boisterous fish im afraid

 

[NEONCORY]

Hi Miss Wiggle,
I can't say for sure since I never had any Brochis so I haven't done much of homework/research. Not to mention, I never kept other fish you mentioned(I just got few ABN recently) aand they are suppose to close to Ple*o. But they are still babies and still few months away from territory stuff.
Anyway, so I can't comment on the competability of your fish but there is one thing I would like to get your attention though. Please do some reseaarch of the water parameter preference and adaptability to the water(probably your local tap) or the water you are planning to keep them.
Also, I'm sure you know all about the aging and cycling tank, filter and such.
Just a little reminder.

And Cory family really appreciate the fine smooth sandy substrate. I know people say they would be fine with small smooth gravel but they definately prefer smaller. Something they can process/filter through and take in from their mouth and push out from their gill plate cheeky area.

Although I only have few species of Corys, they are spreading over to many tanks(since they have been blessed me with so many eggs). Same goes the Red Cherry Shrimps(well I don't need to hatch them, their Mom take care of that).

Anyhow, your big tank sounds like cool. Good luck with set them up and take your time to stock them please.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

thanks neon cory

the tank's been cycled and mature for years so no issues there it's got enough filtration to cope with a messy oscar and plec so absolutely tonnes to cope with a standard community tank type stocking

water params in terms of pH, hardness etc are pretty average, we're neither one thing or another here which makes it ideal as most fish can adapt to it. slightly on the hard side if anything but certainly not significantly



substrates sand so that's fine for cories

if you have a read of the link in my sig about stocking lists, it's an article i've written about researching fish compatibility before you buy so don't worry i know my stuff in general terms.

was just the specific fish in question i wanted some info on.

just worked out my stocking lists and sticking to 1" per gallon to start out with (aiming for 2 eventually to go low tech planted i.e. overfilter and overstock to fertilise the plants) i'll have a group of 8 brochis or other large cories to start then i can up the shoal later if there's no issues or just increase the stocking in other areas of the tank if there are

 

[Xebadir]

Nice to see you coming over our side Wiggles.

If you were looking for a bit of variation in colour and a large cory I reckon Sterbai(at adult size) would fit your bill, much more interesting than boring old brochis....and really cool looking. Just a thought, good luck with your new tank.

 

[Barracuda518]

B. splendens should be able to hold their own. They are very inqusitive, like all cories, and will venture all over the tank. I keep a group of 8 with some clown loaches (4" +) and they get along great. There are 2 more species of Brochis that are very nice, but they are a lot more expensive and harder to come by.

Another cory you might want to look into is Corydoras robustus. They also get pretty big, although I havent kept them...yet

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=288

There is also the Corydoras narcissus, which is very popular right now...

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=241

Corydoras robineae:

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=253

You mentioned C. metae. They arent one of the larger cories...

 

[The-Wolf]

I got 3 words for ya
corydoras super arcuatus

 

[Barracuda518]

I got 3 words for ya
corydoras super arcuatus

aka Corydoras narcissus

 

[The-Wolf]

how did I know someone would say that. no not cory narcissus!

There seems to be a larger version of arcuatus which in the trade is passed off as “Super Arcuatusâ€￾. It reaches the same size as narcissus (7cm) but has not got the long snout of Corydoras narcissus. This species is as of yet, not been named to science.
taken from
http/www.scotcat.com/factsheets/arcuatus.html

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hmmm i like the super arcisturus and the robineae

any more suggestions, just keep em coming

 

[jollysue]

I'm not sure about the dirty rating of synos--mine don't seem to do much damage--but the pleco might be worth a few extra gallons per inch. Also I am sure that you will add some extra mature media when you add 10 to 20 new fish. <<just covering bases with someone who already knows more than me

As to territoriality, Cories just do not get territories, so they will not ever understand being limited in their investigations. They will search the caves and root around the decor. Aggression will only "drive them to ground." I have had Brochis hide and get shy when a tank mate bothered them. Took them three months or more to show their friendly faces again, after I removed the annoyed Betta.

Super arcuatus=like skunk Corys? Cool, The Wolf!

C. sterbai would be cool, but not really a big Cory, and C. metae is small.

My Brochis have lots of water movement, and they do dance lots but not as much as the sterbai. The gossei is a lovely dancer with lots of color. But they may be shy. I don't have enough of them yet to know.

Aeneus are still the boss. They are a good size, a ready breeder under all circumstances, very active and come in albino and long fin varieties, too. They will happily mix it up with their varieties. They are not a bit bigotted. There are other varieties too that are being considered for separate species status. I am getting a Neon Green Laser variety next week. There are Black and Gold and Orange....

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I'm not sure about the dirty rating of synos--mine dpn't seem to do much damage--but the pleco might be worth a few extra gallons per inch. Also I am sure that you will add some extra mature media when you add 10 to 20 new fish. <<just covering bases with someone who already knows more than me

yup al is a poop machine, but the filtrations well over what's needed for the tank so should keep things reasonably clean.

what i'm hoping is when oscar goes i'll get a fairly big chunk of the stocking in the tank the next day to keep the mature media going to a decent level. in a well mature tank like this the nitrifying bacteria can double in 24hrs if need be so adding more fish later shouldn't create any problems a couple of water changes can't handle

As to territoriality, Cories just do not get territories, so they will not ever understand being limited in their investigations. They will search the caves and root around the decor. Aggression will only "drive them to ground." I have had Brochis hide and get shy when a tank mate bothered them. Took them three months or more to show their freindly faces again, after I removed the annoyed Betta.

hmmmm that's interesting, can I ask how big a tank that was in?

i'm leaning towards a smallish group, like 8 to start off with and just see how they get on. Cos there's tonnes of floor space, i'm going to re-arrange the decor to get rid of spot and al's territories before adding cories and stick a load more caves in so that the cories still have caves to play in where they won't be bothered. Also things like the big amazon swords break up the lines of sight across the tank which always helps dissipate aggression. any comments on the group size would be very helpful

there's always an element of suck it and see though, if there's trouble the cories can always go into Ian's tank temporarily or we've a spare 3' tank in the cellar which would do for a few weeks while i organised re-homing if it really came down to it.

 

[jollysue]

The Brochis were in a 20 long. But Betta think it is all theirs.

As I said, the Cories will not respect territories at all. "Territoy" is not in their vocabulary, like Native Americans did not have "ownership." Caused lots of misunderstandings. But maybe they will just run to their corner of the tank and not hide, as long as they don't get nipped.

There is nothing like a tribe of 10+ Corys in a happy dance. I like about 12.