Dwarf Corys In My Tank?

[neo83]

Hi

My tank is detailed in my signature and is currently stable with 0ppm of NH3,NO2 and 40ppm of NO3 (tap water level high) and decently planted.

Temp: 24-25 C
pH: 7.6

Can I have 6 dwarf corys like either the c. pygmaeus or c. hastatus? Would having them with the dwarf cichlid or the pearl gourami cause them any problem?

Thanks

 

[neo83]

Any opinions please, if you could?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Never heard of pygmy corys before! Some of my 6 Bronze Corys have a hard time with my Bolivian Ram on occasion.. I'd imagine dwarf corys would have an even harder time!? Why go for pygmy? in a125 litre i'm sure 'regular' corys will be ok

 

[Harlequins]

I would be wary of adding any corys with cichlids,especially pygmy cories...

 

[fishmad135]

would'nt recommend pygmy.. maybe some of the bigger breeds like bronze or pepperred?

 

[Inchworm]

I wouldn't recommend any corys be kept in a cichlid tank.

 

[neo83]

Never heard of pygmy corys before! Some of my 6 Bronze Corys have a hard time with my Bolivian Ram on occasion.. I'd imagine dwarf corys would have an even harder time!? Why go for pygmy? in a125 litre i'm sure 'regular' corys will be ok

Thanks mbsqw1d. My tank is already almost fully stocked, so i cannot have regular corys as they need to be in a shoal and there is no space at the bottom and no space in the tank for a shoal as well unfortunately.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I wouldn't recommend any corys be kept in a cichlid tank.

interesting. I've had bronze albinos in a tank with Bolivan Rams and an Angel for months and have never had an issue. The corys seem completely oblivious to them and I often cath them bumping ino each other. Never seen a hint of aggression/predation

 

[neo83]

I would be wary of adding any corys with cichlids,especially pygmy cories...

would'nt recommend pygmy.. maybe some of the bigger breeds like bronze or pepperred?

I wouldn't recommend any corys be kept in a cichlid tank.

Wow, that is a big 'NO' from very experienced forum members. Please understand that i'm not being rude with my reply and i always appreciate this forum and the members as always.

I have been reading a lot about keeping dwarf corys (c. pygmaeus/hastatus/habrosus) with dwarf cichlids and bolivian rams and many people seem to have tried and it seemed to have worked for them. Now, i'm no way saying i'm experienced enough to say it's not a problem especially after getting a resounding 'no' from the experienced members, but may i ask your observations when you have tried this setup please? It's just i want to understand more as to what i can do better for these corys.

I have already got a shoal of 10 c. hastatus which are lovely btw. They are really really amazing and shoal much much tighter than harlequin rasboras. While my apistogramma macmasteri and bolivian ram are still juvenile and still growing, they never seem to even bother the shrimp and the c. hastatus as far as i have read mostly be in the mid-levels (and resting on the plants) of the aquarium and seldom on the substrate, which might give them a levy against the dwarf cichlids. I have only read these things and it's the first time i'm going to experience how they are going to behave with each other. It's only been a day and the bolivian, apisto, pearl gourami do not seem to be bothered about corys, well most probably because they are never on the substrate.

Hope i have been clear enough with my reasoning without sounding rude at all and hope you appreciate a beginner's reasoning. Now that i have already got the corys, if you could elaborate your experiences when you had these dwarf cories with dwarf cichlids, i could probably put that into practice and provide good conditions for the fish.

Appreciate the advice always!

Thanks

 

[Jamepsss]

I'll just say that I've had young Sterbai and Trilineatus in my tank with a Bolivian Ram and an Angel for almost a year and never had any issues.

(The OP has a community tank with a couple of dwarf cichlids rather than a cichlid tank).

 

[FreedomFighter]

By dwarf cichlid do you mean the bolivian ram??

Don't know if they count as dwarf cories but i've kept Juvinile panda corydora with dwarf cichlids before without a single iota of worry. Cichlids get a bit shovvy at feeding time, but the corydora's seem to take it in their stride.

 

[neo83]

I'll just say that I've had young Sterbai and Trilineatus in my tank with a Bolivian Ram and an Angel for almost a year and never had any issues.

(The OP has a community tank with a couple of dwarf cichlids rather than a cichlid tank).

Thanks Jamepsss. Hopefully i'll not be having any issues as well. I only see territorial aggression among the ram, apisto and pearl gourami and they havent bothered the corys at all even though they are scavenging right beside the dwarf cichlids during feeding.

By dwarf cichlid do you mean the bolivian ram??

Don't know if they count as dwarf cories but i've kept Juvinile panda corydora with dwarf cichlids before without a single iota of worry. Cichlids get a bit shovvy at feeding time, but the corydora's seem to take it in their stride.

Yes FF, i meant both the bolivian ram and the apistogramma macmasteri as well. Think panda's are dwarf as well, but in my case my cories are as dwarf as they can get . They are settling in nicely however, swimming in the middle of the tank, resting on the leaves and scavenging the bottom during feeding. Although it's very little time of less than a week i had them, there has been no aggression towards the cories.

BTW, in terms of feeding, shall i get the usual bottom feeder food for the cories, as i currently feed flakes, pellets, veggie flakes and daphnia over the weekend. Do you think they will be fine with this food or it's better to get some bottom feeder food and stick it to the glass in the middle levels for the cories to munch on them.

Also, i wish i could have had like 20 of these c.hastatus (instead of guppies) as in my limited experience, these are the best shoalers i have seen (probably 50% better than harlequin rasbora).

A couple of pics of the cories and the current state of the tank

and the tank

Thanks

 

[FreedomFighter]

Tanks looking gorgeous, and yes Corydora's shoal really well, they're really sweet when they do.

As for feeding, all mine ever got was tropical fish pellets and whatever frozen daphnia managed to hit the floor, they seemed happy enough about it.