Corys

[welshfish1]

Hi I'd really like to get some corys but dont know a lot about them so was wondering if anyone could help and reccommend which breed to have. I have a community tank with guppies, platys, gouramis, RCS and a sailfin plec will they be suitable to live with these? How many should be kept together? is there a best ratio to keep them in? what is the best breed to have?

 

[Baccus]

The easiest to get and probably keep would be either Peppered Cory's or Bronze. They should be ok with your other fish as long as the temp isn't too high. Also it is highly advisable to have the cory's on sand rather than gravel as the gravel can hold harmful bacteria and the cory's can wear their whiskers away. On sand they will have a field day snuffling around in it. ideally you would need a decent school of cory's most people say around 6 but honestly they are happiest with more, it all depends on what sized tank you have and your current stocking of other fish. As most cory's are baught as juvi's it is really hard to try to sex them, but thankfully they are not an aggro fish and males don't fight or patrol territories so by just getting a group you are sure to get a mix of males and females.

I would suggest that you have a read through some of the posts in the Corydoras section of this forum and get some more insight into these great fish.

 

[welshfish1]

after posting this I found the cory section so have had a good read I have gravel substrate but it is very fine do you think this would be ok as I can see people all have different opinions on this

 

[This Old Spouse]

So long as the gravel you have is smooth and rounded without sharp edges it should be all right. Take a bit in your hand and kind of roll it around to get a feel. If it feels sharp, it's too sharp for cories. Imagine running it over the smoothest part of your mouth all day every day.

 

[James9114]

i used to keep corys on gravel and now i have them on sand the difference is unbeleiveable, i will never go back to gravel if i have corys.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I just took all the cories out of my 55g and put them in the 15g with sand substrate. I can't believe how much happier they are! Planning to change out the 55g, but just haven't found the strength just yet. But it will happen.

 

[twodoctors]

i used to keep corys on gravel and now i have them on sand the difference is unbeleiveable, i will never go back to gravel if i have corys.

I second that. Mine used to be in fine gravel. Now they are in play sand. Didn't realise they actually filter the sand and expel it through the gills area when they do their hoovering. They can't do that with fine gravel (coarse sand).

On a side note, if you have suitable substrate and big enough tank, consider loaches as well. Kuhli loach are suitable for smaller tank. I've got myself some zebra loaches for the larger tank. They are a bit different and as much fun to watch in my opinion.

Adrian

 

[fairghum]

I love corydoras!! They sit on the bottom and wink at you. They do best when kept in large groups (I have 8 of them in a 46 gal tank). They are also long-lived, which is a good thing when you're attached to them. Unfortunately mine are on gravel substrate and I'm not going to change that out. I have successfully had cory babies in this tank as well.

Bottom line- you'll love them!

 

[Bignose]

The sharpness of the gravel or sand wearing off barbels is pretty much a myth. Barbel erosion is largely a function of water quality. There was a nice experiment done with a tank with crushed glass substrate -- about as sharp as you can get -- with frequent large water changes, and a tank with sand and no water changes -- and the barbels eroded on the fish in the tank with sand and no water changes. (The study is on the Skeptical Aquarist's website, but it seems to be down at the moment.)

It is not that the sharpness of the substrate has no effect. I think that the sharpness does introduce cuts, and if the water quality is low, those cuts are more likely to be infected and result in erosion. But a main root cause is the water quality. Good water quality allows the cuts to heal without infection, poor water quality leads to barbel erosion no matter what substrate there is.

 

[fluttermoth]

I know you're right about that Bignose, but I'm with James, This Old Spouse and twodoctors; I think cories should be kept on sand.

I've always kept cories on gravel, but now I've put mine on sand I will never, ever keep one on gravel again; it makes such a lot of difference to their behaviour. I don't think cories can be really happy on gravel; it's just not what they were evolved to live on.

 

[welshfish1]

Update - I went to my lfs yesterday to check wat they had and got some sand and I've turned one corner approx 6inch square into a sand area but kept the rest gravel nd I got 4 corydora sterbai for 13 pound is this good? They only had 4 but I intend to get at least another 2 next week give these a chance to settle in. I also want to cover a coconut cave in java moss for them so if anyone knows how to do this I'd really appreciate the advice

 

[Athena]

Hi - I think that is a fair/average price you paid for the sterbai corys. I've seen some places selling them for around £6 each. My LFS sells at £4.50 each (at least they did last time I bought).

I guess you will be able to see which substrate they prefer if you have both sand and gravel - just watch and see where they spend most of their time LOL. You might find yourself increasing their sand section a bit more...

What size tank do you have?

Athena

 

[welshfish1]

I have a 300l bow back so far corys seem to prefer the gravel and resting on the big roccks I've got no interest in the sand or caves I created

 

[fluttermoth]

Give the little guys a chance to settle in! A 6 inch square patch isn't going to be that easy to find in a big, new tank

 

[Randomitity]

I just switched to sand for my tank that has corys in it and they are sniffing around more in it then when I had gravel lol and they might just like how the big rocks feel on their stomachs