Cory Doras

[Wilson Dennis]

Afternoon

Just a quick question I’ve got panda Corys in my tank unfortunately my pet store no longer stock them

Would they work well grouped with another type of Cory as I only have three in the tank right now and I know the recommended amount is 6

Any suggestions would be great thanks

 

[10 Tanks]

Afternoon

Just a quick question I’ve got panda Corys in my tank unfortunately my pet store no longer stock them

Would they work well grouped with another type of Cory as I only have three in the tank right now and I know the recommended amount is 6

Any suggestions would be great thanks

Hello Wilson. In good water conditions, these Catfish or any fish will thrive no matter how many you have. Don't buy into the whole recommended numbers thing. That rule isn't important to keeping healthy fish. Any fish you keep needs clean water conditions and this simply means that in order to keep them healthy, you remove and replace most of their tank water weekly. Small tanks need half the water changed a couple of times a week. Even the larger tanks need most of the water changed out weekly. If you don't do this, you leave the fish open for sickness. It's really that simple. The more water you change and the more often you do, the healthier your fish.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[On_a_dishy]

I kept panda corys and they were fine in a little group of 3. I did have other corys (sterbai and julii and emerald) and they all got along fine but didn’t really search for each other. At the moment I have 3 pygmy and they are happy; they mooch off on their own, then come together, then mooch off again. I was worried they would need to be a large group (like my rasboras which are definitely happier in a group of 8+) but they are showing no signs of distress.

 

[sharkweek178]

Shoaling is a defense behavior. It's how fish defend against predators. A fish that isn't in a sufficient shoal is living in fear of being eaten all the time. They might look fine. But they can't tell us that they feel ok or not. We know from studies that behavior often changes for the worse when fish are in insufficient numbers.

 

[Byron]

Afternoon

Just a quick question I’ve got panda Corys in my tank unfortunately my pet store no longer stock them

Would they work well grouped with another type of Cory as I only have three in the tank right now and I know the recommended amount is 6

Any suggestions would be great thanks

Corydoras are highly social shoaling/schooling fish, and a group of 10-12 should always be considered absolute minimum. "Six" is another out-of-date piece of advice, disproven with scientific studies.

But, having said that, you can mix species. I had some 60 wild-caught Corydoras several years ago, and some 12 species were represented. Some species had numbers of six or seven, but several were far fewer due to acquiring "left-overs" when I came across them. There is no doubt that each species does like to chum around with its own, this was clearly evident over time, but the more cories there are the happier they seem to be regardless.

One thing is essential...a soft sand substrate. Gravel has issues involving bacteria as well often as the roughness. Cories are filter feeders and they cannot do this without sand (or mud/mulm, but no one is going to have this in an aquarium!) The only issue with multiple species in the same tank is if they cross-spawn, and some of them will under certain conditions. I needn't get into that unless asked.

So go ahead, get more cories of any of the medium-sized species (not the "dwarf" species) if you have sand, and enjoy their entertaining antics.

By the way, the genus is Corydoras, all one word, and it is both singular and plural. Corydoras panda is the species you now have.

 

[AquaBarb]

Certainly agree with good water conditions. A must for any species of fish, but there is plenty of research to suggest certain species do better in groups and corydoras do indeed need numbers for their overall health and well-being.

When i first started in the hobby i had group of 3 Panda cory and everything seemed fine to my eye until i introduced more too the group. The difference in the Panda's behavior after their numbers grew was mind blowing different fish!

 

[GaryE]

If we forget the whole question of numbers for fish psychology (I don't but...), there is a second consideration. I have groups of 3 Cory species in a 75 gallon, and they do not mix much. But the ones with larger numbers are way more fun to watch than my one group of 3 incolicana (all I could get at the time, and since - beautiful, healthy and hard to find). Corys in groups are delightful.

My suggestion is patience. C panda is a standard, and while your shop may not have it now, they most likely will sometimes in the next few orders. It's a very popular one. Plus it is small, and can be pushed around a little by larger Corys, even if Corys are gentle. Going for food is what it is.

Patience is the key to fishing.

I will disagree with @10 Tanks , to a degree. There's a lot to see in fish behaviour. With three, even three kept healthy in the ways he/she suggests (I too change a lot of water, and the results are great), you'll get a limited behavioural show, with 6, it'll be more interesting, and with more, it'll be merrier. They really do function as social units rather than as individuals.

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.