Can You Please Recommend Some Cories For A Beginner?

[ey2006]

Hi everyone, I'm new to tropical fish and have recently finished cycling my 29g tank. The tank has been running for 8 weeks now and I have 1 bristlenose pleco, 2 small plattys and 1 neon tetra.

I was thinking of stocking the tank with hardy fish but wasn't sure what to add.

I was considering the following:

* White Clouds
* Zebra Danios
* Gourami's
* Barbs

Then on the chitchat thread, James007 and Dwarf_Dude suggested corys!

I did some research on all the types of corys and noticed they all seem to be pretty similar in their appearance and behaviour. This is most likely because I am new to Corys and I'm still digesting the info!

Which of the corys are the most popular in the species and what Corys would you recommend for a beginner?

I really like the Sterbai Cory, but am not sure if I will find it at the LFS.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

[madattiver]

the most widely available and most hardy of the corys are c. aeneus (bronze corys) or c. paleatus (peppered corys).. both great beginner corys

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

The Bronze/Albino corys tend to be a good Cory for beginners as they are hardy. They accept most foods (flake and frozen), and they will breed in a community tank in the right conditions.

 

[ey2006]

the most widely available and most hardy of the corys are c. aeneus (bronze corys) or c. paleatus (peppered corys).. both great beginner corys

Thanks for the quick reply! Do the colour and patterns on the corys vary (like plattys) or are they the same, regardless of where they are from (eg. Clown loaches)?

Are they sterbai corys equally as hardy?

Is it better for me to get a one larger group of corys (say the bronze corys) or two smaller groups (bronze & peppered)?

If I do end up getting either the bronze or peppered corys for my 29g tank, how many would be optimal to get so that they will be happy?

The Bronze/Albino corys tend to be a good Cory for beginners as they are hardy. They accept most foods (flake and frozen), and they will breed in a community tank in the right conditions.

Hi Fishkeeper2006, thanks for the reply.

Are all corys peaceful and friendly fish? I'm surprised they don't grow to large sizes as other tropical fish do! If kept in a clean environment, can corys live beyond 3 years?

Do Corys behave like loaches (another bottom feeding species)? Their mouths look very similar and both seem to be bottom feeders.

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

the most widely available and most hardy of the corys are c. aeneus (bronze corys) or c. paleatus (peppered corys).. both great beginner corys

Thanks for the quick reply! Do the colour and patterns on the corys vary (like plattys) or are they the same, regardless of where they are from (eg. Clown loaches)?

Are they sterbai corys equally as hardy?

Is it better for me to get a one larger group of corys (say the bronze corys) or two smaller groups (bronze & peppered)?

If I do end up getting either the bronze or peppered corys for my 29g tank, how many would be optimal to get so that they will be happy?

The Bronze/Albino corys tend to be a good Cory for beginners as they are hardy. They accept most foods (flake and frozen), and they will breed in a community tank in the right conditions.

Hi Fishkeeper2006, thanks for the reply.

Are all corys peaceful and friendly fish? I'm surprised they don't grow to large sizes as other tropical fish do! If kept in a clean environment, can corys live beyond 3 years?

Do Corys behave like loaches (another bottom feeding species)? Their mouths look very similar and both seem to be bottom feeders.

Corys are a peiceful species, and will not do well if kept with aggressive fish. If you keep corys in a clean environment (frequent water changes and gravel cleaning), then they can live for upto 4 years in many cases. They behave exactly like loaches, they are bottom feeders, and you can by special sinking algea wafers for them from your LFS, probably about £3-£4 per pack.

 

[catxx]

bronze corys come in the traditional bronze colour and also in albino.
they're super hyperactive fish, when i had some they were all over the tank, not just snuffling in the gravel.

 

[ey2006]

Corys are a peiceful species, and will not do well if kept with aggressive fish. If you keep corys in a clean environment (frequent water changes and gravel cleaning), then they can live for upto 4 years in many cases. They behave exactly like loaches, they are bottom feeders, and you can by special sinking algea wafers for them from your LFS, probably about £3-£4 per pack.

Wow, I didn't know Corys were algae eaters too...I already have algae wafers that I feed the Bristlenosed pleco so I guess they will come in handy if I get corys!

I've already asked this, but is it better for me to get a one larger group of corys (say the bronze corys) or two smaller groups (bronze & peppered)?

If I do end up getting either the bronze or peppered corys for my 29g tank, how many would be optimal to get so that they will be happy?

bronze corys come in the traditional bronze colour and also in albino.
they're super hyperactive fish, when i had some they were all over the tank, not just snuffling in the gravel.

Hi catxx, what colour is the albino colour? I hear that word used frequently on Albino sharks, is that the milky white colour?

Also, were your corys hyperactive 24/7 or only at nights? Were they easy to keep and maintain?

 

[catxx]

hyper 24-7!
very easy to look after, they were rehomed to my brothers tank which was bigger

you won't have this problem because you have fast fish, but my betta (bruce) had some fin rot when he was in with them, they would try and munch on his tail!

they're carnivorous little things, loved defrosted brine shrimp.

Albino

Bronze

edit:
mine never touched algae
they're meat eaters, not veges like plecs.

 

[ey2006]

hyper 24-7!
very easy to look after, they were rehomed to my brothers tank which was bigger

you won't have this problem because you have fast fish, but my betta (bruce) had some fin rot when he was in with them, they would try and munch on his tail!

they're carnivorous little things, loved defrosted brine shrimp.

Albino

Bronze

Oh my god! They're not shy at all? So unlike clown loaches, who are mostly shy and hiding during the day, these guys are hyper 24/7? IDo you think they would go well with zebra danios or white clouds? (since these fish are also known to be pretty active!)

The only slow fish in my tank is the bristlenosed pleco so hopefully he wont get too stressed out if I get the corys.

If the corys grow to full size, would they be large enough to eat my neon?

 

[catxx]

i don't think they'd eat a neon, never heard of them eating other tankmates!
if the neon was dead on the gravel though, they'd polish that off.

 

[ey2006]

i don't think they'd eat a neon, never heard of them eating other tankmates!
if the neon was dead on the gravel though, they'd polish that off.

Thats great to hear! How many did corys did you have before and did they always school/swim together? Do they need hiding spots like clown and yoyo loaches require or do they just swim where ever they want?

I'm not expecting the corys will eat algae if I get them, as I don't seem to have any algae yet!

Are the albino and bronze corys the same sub-species? They look very different! Also in photo of the bronze cory, in the centre of its body, are those its bones? A lot of corys seem to have that on their body pattern.

 

[catxx]

the albino is just a colour mutation of the bronze c.aeneus

i had a pair of babies, they're now a trio in my brothers tank.
it's handy to have some hidey holes in the tank anyway
and small gravel or sand as substrate for them to snuffle around in, nothing sharp! they'll damage their barbals.

they did like to snuffle around together, they're very sociable little fish.

 

[madattiver]

there actually have been cases of corys living up to 18-20 years.. with 10 years being not uncommon

 

[emma12321]

Theres and article some where on the net with a 36 year old bronze cory. Sterbai are very nice looking fish but they are also a lot more expensive than bronze and peppered corys. I have lots of different corys and find that the ones that look similar will shoal together.

Emma

 

[neon_platy]

i also had mix at first and it was soo cute when the smaller bronze swam up and found the pepper in the main tank...then he'd like swim with him all over the place and eat together..it was like a little brother following the big brother around...corys should be fine with ur tank i think...i just had a problem with a CAE, which luckily/unluckily died as the cae's tend to attack corys and stuff...