Do Different Cory's Shoal Together?

[cbr6fs]

I've got 4 Corydora Schwartzi's.

They're the highlight of the tank
Granted i've only got them and 11 Harlequin Rasbora's but still the Corys have something about them.



I know that they tend to like upwards of 6 to feel comfortable together and i plan on adding to them, but as my tank is fairly new i'm trying to build up my stock gradually.



Sooooooo to the question in hand, thew LFS has more Schwartzi's, Adolfoi's, Pandas and Trilineatus.

I'm not really interested in breeding so how will 4 Schwartzi's be together with say 3 Adolfoi's or possibly 3 Panda's?
Will they happy shoaling together or is it really better just to get 3 more more Schwartzi's?




Cheers
Mark

 

[jollysue]

I recommend 3 more Schwartzis. If you find you are a Cory-a-phobe, Add another kind later. That would make them the happiest. But if you do go for a second species, they will be ok as long as the conditions are right for both groups.

 

[cbr6fs]

Thanks Sue.

Will the Schwartzi Corys be more comfortable with other Schwartzi Cory's, or will they happily shoal together with other condition compatible Corys like Adolfoi's, Panda's etc?




Cheers
Mark

 

[cbr6fs]

Well i decided to buy 3 Corydoras Melini (at least i think that's what they are).

So far so good there is one of my Schwartzi's that seems to prefer it on his/her own but apart from that one the Schwartzi's and Melini's are swimming together great, so far

Cheers
Mark

 

[jollysue]

It is a matter of happy vs. happiest. The Corys are happiest if there are 6 or more of their own species, but they can be happy with another species. I'm sorry if I was not clear.

I think there will be a big size difference between the melini and the Schwartzi. PlanetCatfish.com is a good place to research the requirements of various catfish species, including Corydoras.

Great pics and good looking Corys! Congrats!

 

[cbr6fs]

Thanks Sue

From what I've read so far it seems that both the Melini and Schwartzi grow to around 5cm.


I'm still have no idea on how to stock the tank further, i certainly want some more colour but i really do like the Cory's they've such character.
I may get 3 more of each later on




Cheers
Mark

 

[jollysue]

Corydoras meleni There is a size comparison here right next to the ruler.

45 mm/1.8"; temp 22 C to 26 C/71.6 F to 78.8 F

melini are one of the smaller Corys.

Corydoras Schwartzi

70 mm/2.8"; temp 22 to 24 C/71.6 to 75.2 F

Planet Catfish is one of the premiere catfish sites. It is a great resource. I have both of these species. Because I have so many Corys and have not yet got them sorted into there tanks by temp. etc., I keep all my tanks around 75 degrees, some a little lower. Corys get very sick quick;ly at the wrong temps.

I do have some schwartzis with some smaller species and they do ok. My melinis, however, are with pandas, skunks and San Juans all smaller species.

 

[cbr6fs]

Thanks Sue great site

Have you had any Corys bread yet?




I've noticed around 1 hour after every water change (20%) the Corys go absolutely mental, they start swimming over each other and chasing each other.

I did a water change today and all 7 were going crazy, 1 of the Melini's is a lot smaller than the others, he/she was swimming flat out up and down and across the tank.



It's really entertaining to watch there seems to be no aggressiveness involved purely playing, but i'm wondering if this is behaviour during breeding?




Cheers
Mark

 

[jollysue]

The melinis are not much of tank breeders I gather. And I don't know yet about the Schwartzis. I have several that are Schwartzi like and near relatives, but not properly sorted yet.

None of these have bred for me yet, but I have not worked on trying.

There are some different "Cory Dances." When new Corys are added to the tank there is the "Welcome Home Dance." There is the"Fresh Water/Spring Runoff Dance" and the Ooh! bubbles Dance." And the wonderful "Sexy Dance!" Any of the exuberant Dances of the Corydoras can lead to spawning, if there is a mature male and female. Each species has different viability levels and hatch rates for their eggs and fry.

The smaller Cory is most likely a male.

It is a good sign that your Corys are dancing. When people post that their Corys just hide and they never see them, it usually means that they are frightened of tank mates or just surviving the tank conditions, imo. Corys are fresh river water fish for the most part. So water conditions that lean in that direction will excite them. Spawning triggers are fresh cool water changes, live high protien foods like black worms, and barametric changes.

 

[cbr6fs]

Good to hear it sounds like they're doing well.


From my observations even though the aquarium light is on, they seem a hell of a lot more active during the early evening.

It's usually around 19:00 that they start "dancing", no real rhyme or reason, but and hour or 2 after a water change certainly seems to float their boats



They are the highlight of the tank for me, no idea if it's they way the stare at you or blink, or if it's the waddly way the swim but something about them just screams character.

The Melini's with their stripes look just like mini dolphins when they do the "dash for the surface" swim.


We went to a different LFS today and they had some Corys in exactly the same as mine, but the owner said they were not Melini's so i think i need to a bit more reading up.



Cheers
Mark

 

[jollysue]

I forget the name. There is one that looks like the melini to me, but is probably bigger. Barracuda is good at pic IDs.

I am notoriously awful.

 

[LolaLouie]

Metae look just like Melinis, very hard to tell apart unless they're next to eachother. Melinis are a little darker I believe.