Help Me Make The Optimal Environment For Pandas

[Fishy412]

ok so i have an old 10 gallon tank with about 4 tetras in it. this tank has never really been that exciting. ive kept cories in that tank before but they never really thrived at all. so ive decided to redo the entire thing to make it the absolute perfect tank for cories. pandas to be exact. the ones i had lived for about 2 years. they were my first ones and the only ones that ever layed eggs so i wanted to try them again. i know how fragile they are which is why i want my tank perfectly catered to them.

heres my to do list
- find new home for tetras
- take out all gravel, fake plants etc.
- clean out entire tank with water and vinegar (?)
- replace gravel bed with sand, possibly replace filter as well (whisper. 10 gallon model)
- make caves, hiding places etc.
- re-cycle tank
- re- establish tank ( 1- 2 months)

heres what im worried about
- water ph. i have very hard water. 8.4-8.6. this is the same as my lfs but i still dont know how cories like it.
- bioload. i want 4 panda cories and a group of 3 of another species (havent decided yet)
- feeding. i have beefheart, algae, bloodworm, plankton, and catfish pellets. theres also always the flakefood that falls to the bottom.


anything that you may see as a problem or a common mistake that im missing please speak up.
im not looking for these species to breed as i only have 1 tank so i cant seperate them. i cant say i would be disapointed if they did though. this is not a breeding project, just a quest for the perfect cory tank

 

[Rez]

ok so i have an old 10 gallon tank with about 4 tetras in it. this tank has never really been that exciting. ive kept cories in that tank before but they never really thrived at all. so ive decided to redo the entire thing to make it the absolute perfect tank for cories. pandas to be exact. the ones i had lived for about 2 years. they were my first ones and the only ones that ever layed eggs so i wanted to try them again. i know how fragile they are which is why i want my tank perfectly catered to them.

heres my to do list
- find new home for tetras
- take out all gravel, fake plants etc.
- clean out entire tank with water and vinegar (?)
- replace gravel bed with sand, possibly replace filter as well (whisper. 10 gallon model)
- make caves, hiding places etc.
- re-cycle tank
- re- establish tank ( 1- 2 months)

heres what im worried about
- water ph. i have very hard water. 8.4-8.6. this is the same as my lfs but i still dont know how cories like it.
- bioload. i want 4 panda cories and a group of 3 of another species (havent decided yet)
- feeding. i have beefheart, algae, bloodworm, plankton, and catfish pellets. theres also always the flakefood that falls to the bottom.


anything that you may see as a problem or a common mistake that im missing please speak up.
im not looking for these species to breed as i only have 1 tank so i cant seperate them. i cant say i would be disapointed if they did though. this is not a breeding project, just a quest for the perfect cory tank

Your setup sounds pretty good for pandas but if I may make some suggestions. The water pH is fine that high, agreed that they would prefer more neutral water parameters, but the pandas can be kept happily in basic water conditions provided that the water is kept clean for them, and that they have been properly acclimated to the water. Since the store water is the same pH I would not worry too much about that, plus you have had them breed for you before so obviously it had no adverse effects. Also, I have reared panda fry in just one 10 gallon aquarium however you will need a net breeder. If you do not want fry, just leave the eggs in with the adults, if they are anything like mine they will eat the eggs before they hatch anyway.

As for bioload, might I suggest that you just get 6 pandas? 7 corries can become a bit much for a 10 gallon, granted it is possible to fit 7 small cories into a 10 gallon I certainly would not put larger cories in with them (ex. Aeneus, Paleatus, etc) also a school of 6 pandas. Remember to change 1/4 of your water twice a week once you have the 6 to 7 corries in them since this would be pushing the bioload of a 10 gal, and also the frequent water changes can lead to breeding.

Tank environment does not have to be spectacular for pandas to be happy, a sand bottom is fine and it is great fun to watch the pandas in the sand real or artifical plants are also a great addition, but I have found not a neccesity. What pandas really like are hiding places so I place plenty of bogwood in my panda aquariums they really like huddling together under them, and in them. actually my aquariums with pandas do not have any plants in them, but lots of fake and real bogwood with plenty of caves and hiding places. Although pandas are usually not shy about being out and about but they seem to like the feeling of being close to cover at all times.

Feeding the pandas a variety of foods is great, but I really just stick to a few. I just use Hikari sinking wafers as the cories staple food and condition them on frozen bloodworm and live grindal worms for breeding.

The breeding of pandas and the rearing of young takes a whole different sort of person as panda babies can be especially difficult to raise to adulthood. It took me many failed attempts before I finally worked out the proper ways of going about it, once you get the hang of it it will become second nature to you, but that post will have to wait for another time. Good luck!




-Rez 8)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Severum

Have you redone your tank yet?

I would recommend a species tank for the pandas too. They seem to be skitish with bigger fish in with them, but don't seem to mind little ones like C. pygmaeus. They also like the temperature to be a little on the low side.

The hardest part of keeping pandas is getting a community established. Once they have settled in, they are no harder to keep than any other corys. I think they have trouble adjusting to different water when you have just bought them. If you get past that point, and keep a clean tank, with the nitrates low from generous water changes, you will really enjoy them.

I feed mine a lot of live blackworms with a little flake or a Hikari sinking wafer now and then.

If you do lots of water changes, you could probably keep 6 to 8 of them in your tank. I have mine in a 20 gallon long and there are at least 20 of them in it and a few pygmaeus too.

Good luck with them!

 

[Fishy412]

first off thank you both for your help.

i did redo the tank with sand. and i retained enough water and gravel to clone the tank with itself so i didnt have to re- cycle it. but i have two problems now. first off is getting rid of the tetras. none of the stores take trade ins and my mom doesnt want me feeding them to the bigger fish. my mom seems to like the tetras too so i have to convince her that they need to go.

the second problem is that i had 2 small cories dumped on me from a friend. he was going to flush em if i didnt take em so i had to. i believe they are corydoras aeneus but theyre very small atm. theyre both about 1" and i think i might have a male and female. so i have the options of rehoming those (may be difficult) or trying to put a small group of those in. im going to go searching for a positive ID tonight. theyre green with god towards the tail and towards the head. hopefully i can give them to a good home to make room for some pandas

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Severum

It was very kind of you to give those poor corys a home. Since bronze C. aeneus are so popular, their is a good chance that's what they are.

You might just get to like them. I still count them among my favorite corys, and once they mature, they should breed readily.

Since chain stores don't usually take fish in trade, look for an independently owned lfs to take your tetras. Even if they don't pay you for them they will have an opportunity to find good homes. If you can establish a good relationship with the owner/manager of such a store, there is also a good chance they will buy your cory young from you if they breed.

 

[Fishy412]

Thanks Inchworm. They are definately just regular bronze C. Aeneus cories. I'm going to try to trade in my cories at a new store i just found out about that looks really nice (SW,FW,Koi, big selection). I think i'm just going to look for a 15-20 gallon long and get a few large groups of some cories. Looking at some different varieties of C. Aeneus. The black and geen lazer look really nice. But again i dont want them spooking every other kind

I can definately say that the 2 cories i have now are very interesting and will probably be even more interesting once i get a good group of them.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Severum

It sounds like you might have found a good lfs there!

It's just a thought, but if you have room for a 20 gallon long, you might want to think about getting a 29 gallon tank which has the same size base, but is a little taller. You could fit a few more fish in it. If you are planning to get a stand for it too, the metal ones will hold either size and will also fit a 20 gallon high on the shelf underneath. This would come in handy later when you want to raise fry.

There are so many different corys, and one of the best things about them is that they are all friendly. With the exception that some of them do best in warmer water, and some of them like it a little cooler, you can pretty much keep any species of cory with any other. The albino C. aeneus are the same species as the bronze and they will play and breed together with no harm.

I love corys!

 

[Fishy412]

hmm... i'll definately think about a 29 gallon tank. its just going to come down to what i can afford. Im going to be making 100-150$ when i re-do a neighbors trailer so thats going to be most of my budget right there. I make my own stands so that wont be a problem. I can make em stronger for less money so thats a plus. When i finally visit this new LFS i'll see what they have in stock and ask about trading in some tetras. If i can get those tetras traded in i could make the 10 gallon into a fry tank right?


Edit- What does everyone think of this tank? im not so sure if the measurements would be ok and i have no experience with the eclips system. I saw some others i like but the hood/light style looked like it would be very hard to access the tank

http/www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...&N=2030056&Ne=2

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Severum

I'm not fond of those combo set-ups. They are expensive and if something breaks, you could end up with a big problem.

Dollar for dollar the regular glass tank is your best buy. Look locally to find the best price on one. Then, since the hood and lights will be the most expensive part, perhaps, since you are handy building things, you might want to make one yourself. Check out the DIY section to find some of the lovely ones some of our other members made.

If you are in the US, Petsmart is the cheapest place I've found for hoods, heaters and filters. Several times a year they run offers where if you spend $50 - $70 they will ship for free. Or, if you print out the page from the computer, they will honor that price in their stores even though they normally charge more there.

I like AquaClear filters and use the 300/70 for tanks ranging in size from 29 gallons to 55 gallons. They do a good job and are reasonably priced.

http/www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...&N=2030059&Ne=2

A bag of play sand at Home Depot or other home improvement store just costs $3 and will be the least expensive substrate. It's a little bit of work to clean, but the corys love it.

A ten gallon tank is just fine for getting your corys hatched and off to a good start, but to grow them to a good size, you should think about moving them up to something a bit larger when they start growing.

 

[Barracuda518]

I raised a batch of Bronze C. Aeneus in a 10 gallon also, until they got too big and I moved them to my 30 gallon. Ive since traded them for store credit. The bronze cories breed in my 55 gallon all the time and I still dont think they are fully mature yet. I still plan on setting up a cory species tank later on when I have more room. Its a lot of fun to raise a cory from an egg to a half grown fish.

Good luck with your set-up and give updates as you go

 

[Fishy412]

I raised a batch of Bronze C. Aeneus in a 10 gallon also, until they got too big and I moved them to my 30 gallon. Ive since traded them for store credit. The bronze cories breed in my 55 gallon all the time and I still dont think they are fully mature yet. I still plan on setting up a cory species tank later on when I have more room. Its a lot of fun to raise a cory from an egg to a half grown fish.

Good luck with your set-up and give updates as you go

will do. i believe im getting another bronze tomorrow so that they feel comfortable as a group.

 

[Teelie]

Glad I found this thread. I'm doing my own Panda set up. I've got a 29 I'm going to put 10-12 Pandas in myself. The goal is to get them to breed but if not, they'll look just fine anyways.

This is what it looks like now. Should I remove one of the pieces of wood for more bottom space or would they be fine with this? I have 10 of them in my other Cory tank at the moment and they seem to do fine with all the various ornaments strewn about and the strip of bare sand in the front of the tank.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Teelie

Your tank is very pretty.

The only thing that might be a problem is that pandas like to lay their eggs underneath things and also tend to be egg eaters. It's possible they could spawn on the bottom of the wood and you might not even know it.

My pandas seem happy with just two Amazon sword plants, on which any eggs placed are easily visible. I have several metal thermometers hanging on the side for them to spawn under too.

 

[Teelie]

Thanks, the tank is a work in progress and I do intend to add more plants like swords, if I can get them to grow.

 

[Fishy412]

Well i've finally re-homed the green cories and i have an empty tank laying about, fully established, cycled, and with sand. Perfect for Pandas. Now it's the waiting game until my shop gets some in. I'm thinking of going with a group of 6 or 7. I've always thought they were very good looking fish and i can't wait to get some in this tank.