Corydorus Habrosus Water Stats

[iceprizm]

have these fish being delivered tomorrow. I am fine tuning the water stats of my 55g tank. the corys will be joined by 6 otos and 10 platys. I read that Corydorus habrosus is sensitive to water stats. the problem is i have very soft water at ph of 8+. the platys and otos are used to that ph just wondering if i should adjust it to be more cory friendly. also is it true corys dont like salt?

 

[jollysue]

do not use salt long term with scaless fish.

Corys can tolerate small amounts for medical treatment, but they are a fresh river water fish, not brackish.

 

[lljdma06]

do not use salt long term with scaless fish.

Corys can tolerate small amounts for medical treatment, but they are a fresh river water fish, not brackish.

I personally don't like using chemicals to play around with pH. That being said, I will often inject CO2 and put in wood to drive down pH, but since it is beneficial to live plants anyway, I don't consider it manipulation.

I don't use salt either, again not great for plants. The betta people use IAL (Indian Almond leaf) extract as a sort of health booster. They will often put parts of leaves in a tank or boil leaves and use the extract in small doses. I have used this as well, and like how it works. I imagine that it is not harmful for other fish

I don't know, creating a habitat that works well for plants often has the side effect of being extremely beneficial to most fish, without relying on chemical additives. If you lighting is adaquate, it might be something to consider. And inadaquate lighting, more often than not, is quite easy to remedy at not too high a price.

For your information, I am currently keeping C. habrosus in a pH of 7.0, and I have moderately hard water. It is a planted tank.

llj

 

[OldMan47]

I have lots of C Habrosus in water that is around 10 degrees of hardness and a pH of around 7.6. The conditions are not ideal for the cories but they are doing fine and thriving. When I decide that I want them to breed I will be adding in RO water to bring the hardness down and it will probably lower the pH in the process. The tanks are also a bit warmer than cories like because the fish they are with like their water warm the same way that platies and otos do. The corydoras habrosus would be better off with 72F water at 5 or less hardness and 6.8 pH but the rest of my fish won't go to those conditions very well.
Any time you mix fish you need to find a compromise they can all live with. It is usually less than ideal for one or more of the fish in the tank.

 

[iceprizm]

ok the fish are in....right now my stats are:
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - slight trace
gh - aound 10
temp - 75
ph - ? cant decide what the color is.

Everyone seems ok. I lost one platy the first night. Something happened where he lost part of his tail and he struggled swimming. the Corydorus pygmaeus school during the day and at night they feed on the alage on the plants leaves. they also zip to the surface gulp air then zip back to the leaves. Unfortunately I was shipped the pygmaeus whe i ordered the Habrosus, when i complained i was told they are the same fish.......In the beginning i was disappointed but the pygmaeus are cool to watch. They also school with the otos. or the otos school with the cories hard to tell which.

So how are my stats? Any advice?

 

[Cory_Dad]

Your PH is off the low level scale. There's a high level PH test kit you can get to test > 7.6. You could always put in some wood to lower it a bit but if the Corys are locally bread then I suspect they are use to that PH.

Good luck.

 

[OldMan47]

I'd call that a 7.8 pH but someone else will probably disagree. What matters is that it is the same tomorrow and the next day and so on. The actual value doesn't matter as much as stability. The fish will adapt within reason.

 

[lljdma06]

I'd call that a 7.8 pH but someone else will probably disagree. What matters is that it is the same tomorrow and the next day and so on. The actual value doesn't matter as much as stability. The fish will adapt within reason.

I agree that stability is better than the actual value. If I can keep these guys alive with my stupid Miami tapwater, you'll be fine.

See if you can find some frozen BBS or possibly raise your own. They love the stuff and your other fish won't mind either. When the defrosted BBS sink to the bottom, the habrosus will just park infront of the pile and eat until their bellies are near bursting. I raise my own and freeze what I don't use. Having yummy food may make them acclimate to your tank better. I know if I'm eating well, I am usually more comfortable in a new environment. Not that I have any doubts, a 55g sounds like paradise. How many of these fish did you get?

llj

 

[iceprizm]

I have tried freeze dried bbs blocks but cories didnt seem interested. they really dont seem interested in anything i put in the tank. i put a batch of bbs up to hatch just for the heck of it, see how that goes.
I ordered 12 of them and lost 2 the first couple of days. ill have to see how the live food works, dont the bbs all get sucked up by the filtration unit?

 

[lljdma06]

I have tried freeze dried bbs blocks but cories didnt seem interested. they really dont seem interested in anything i put in the tank. i put a batch of bbs up to hatch just for the heck of it, see how that goes.
I ordered 12 of them and lost 2 the first couple of days. ill have to see how the live food works, dont the bbs all get sucked up by the filtration unit?

I turn the filter off for about 10 minutes and then shine an led light at a bottom corner of the tank. BBS congregate there and are easy pickings for the catfish.

 

[OldMan47]

I feed mine the usual flakes and pellets but for a treat I alternate between frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and frozen daphnia. The habrosus go crazy for any of the frozen foods buts that's the kind that I happen to have. Once in a while they also get some spirulina but in general cories are not vegetarian, they are omnivores.

 

[lljdma06]

I feed mine the usual flakes and pellets but for a treat I alternate between frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and frozen daphnia. The habrosus go crazy for any of the frozen foods buts that's the kind that I happen to have. Once in a while they also get some spirulina but in general cories are not vegetarian, they are omnivores.

What kind of spirulina do you feed yours? Flake, pellet, or frozen? I know their omnivores, but they do go for the little algae pellets I feed my otos, and some fiber is always nice, especially when you eat a lot of little animals with shells. Something to help clear the pathway, I guess. I currently use HBH Super Soft Spirulina, a soft pellet, but was eyeing the frozen last time I took a trip to the pet store.

I want to feed bloodworms, but I'm so allergic to them. At least I was to the freeze-dried ones I used to feed when I first started the hobby like a million years ago. I doubt the frozen ones will be any better.

llj

 

[Cory_Dad]

I feed mine the usual flakes and pellets but for a treat I alternate between frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and frozen daphnia. The habrosus go crazy for any of the frozen foods buts that's the kind that I happen to have. Once in a while they also get some spirulina but in general cories are not vegetarian, they are omnivores.

What kind of spirulina do you feed yours? Flake, pellet, or frozen? I know their omnivores, but they do go for the little algae pellets I feed my otos, and some fiber is always nice, especially when you eat a lot of little animals with shells. Something to help clear the pathway, I guess. I currently use HBH Super Soft Spirulina, a soft pellet, but was eyeing the frozen last time I took a trip to the pet store.

I want to feed bloodworms, but I'm so allergic to them. At least I was to the freeze-dried ones I used to feed when I first started the hobby like a million years ago. I doubt the frozen ones will be any better.

llj

I've shied away from the freeze dried bloodworm and went with the frozen BW and ALL of my fish go ape s h i t over it. No problem with allergic reaction with frozen BW.

Corys look like they are sticking a tongue out at me with frozen BW. (need to get a photo of it, hilarious).

Enjoy.

 

[iceprizm]

dont frozen foods float? is there a trick to get them to sink. my fish ignore anything on the surface.

 

[Cory_Dad]

dont frozen foods float? is there a trick to get them to sink. my fish ignore anything on the surface.

Yes, normally it does. But, I hold it in my fingers at the bottom of the tank and let it melt. The melted blood worm/brine shrimp sort of floats so you'll also need to turn off the filters for a bit so it sinks to the bottom for the Corys. Of course, if there are other tank mates, they won't care.