How To Look After Cories?

[fishboy619]

ive had cories before, pygmys mostly, but i hear a lot of stories on how to look after them, for example what substrate, food etc so i wondered if you cory experts could help me, i have 3 pygmy corys in a gravel substrate and drop a tetra tabimin in ever night for them, as well as the leftovers that fall to the bottom(flakes, bloodworms,brine shrimp) they have lived like this for a while now and i have seen no ill effects.i was hoping to get some albino cories for my other 10 gallon tank but i wanted to make sure all was ok.
so really the point of all this is for people to give their stories and experience on keep these cory cats.my other tank has gravel substrate, a large cave, plenty of live plants and has a trio of platies in, with fry.
is it really nessary to have sand, what foods do they need, tamperature? is it possable to keep 2 albinos?(im hoping to get 3) can different species shoal together(albion, bronze) other info you can give me?
thanks for any help

 

[CorysRusUK]

ive had cories before, pygmys mostly, but i hear a lot of stories on how to look after them, for example what substrate, food etc so i wondered if you cory experts could help me, i have 3 pygmy corys in a gravel substrate and drop a tetra tabimin in ever night for them, as well as the leftovers that fall to the bottom(flakes, bloodworms,brine shrimp) they have lived like this for a while now and i have seen no ill effects.i was hoping to get some albino cories for my other 10 gallon tank but i wanted to make sure all was ok.
so really the point of all this is for people to give their stories and experience on keep these cory cats.my other tank has gravel substrate, a large cave, plenty of live plants and has a trio of platies in, with fry.
is it really nessary to have sand, what foods do they need, tamperature? is it possable to keep 2 albinos?(im hoping to get 3) can different species shoal together(albion, bronze) other info you can give me?
thanks for any help

substrate

sand is preferable as they are able to mimic their foraging as they do in the wild. If you choose gravel them go for SMALL and smooth edged. However, given that Argos playsand is £2.49 for a 15Kg bag.... im sure you will take the sand option.

food

I personally feed a dry food in the morning and a wet food at night with the end treat in between on occasion.

Dry food is anything from a good quality crushed flake, tetra prima, tetra tabimin.

Wet food is tubifex, bloodworm, chopped earthworm etc

caves

i would provide plenty of hiding places such as caves, rocks, bogwood etc for them to spend time in

temp

depends on what genre of corys they. different corys prefer differnt temps. Sterbai for example can take temps up to 30c and therefore are generally good with discus. others prefer cooler temps down to 23-24c.

Quantities

some people state that corys prefer to be in groups of 4, however i personally prefer to keep them in groups of 6+. They are also much more active i find in groups of 6.


hope that helps in some way

 

[fishboy619]

the problem i have is my tank already has gravel substrate, what mesurments do you call small gravel?im not sure if i have the time,money or experience to change to sand.the tank does have planty of caves, plants and hiding places. what temp. do albinos like, my tank is roughly about 25-26oC all the time.i know corys cant be kept alone but what is the smallest number you can keep?would 3 fit in a 10 gallon? cheers for the food edvice tho.

 

[Sibelius]

3 is an accepted minimum. Sand is preferable, and on my second tank, with knowledge behind me, I plummeted with confidence for sand, but my first tank has smooth fine gravel and all of my cories in that tank have been around for well over 2 years, and as long as the substrate doesn't become infected then there is no problem. However, it isn't hard to switch. As was said, get some cheap sand, take everything out, wash the sand by swirling it in old tank water, then put in the sand, and put back in whatever was in there before. Your platys won't mind and it won't take more than an hour, especially not for just 10 gallons. Similarly, in my first tank I've got 3 corys, all of different species, which they don't mind, but having all the same species is "better", and this is what I'll do in my newer tank. Hope this helps, and/or reiterates the good points made above, all of which I second.

 

[CorysRusUK]

just to mention, mixed corys (that is to have corys of a different type) do not do as well as corys of the same type. Corys to be seem to be a "safety in numbers" type of fish species and if they do not recognise their own "type" they are not as entertaining or brave as they could be. Thus, they will not be able to provide you with as much pleause. Whilst sibelius has given some top advice on changing from gravel to sand, i personally would never contemplate on keeping less that 4 of the same type of any type of cory for any length of time.

 

[fishboy619]

cheers for the replys guys, just a few more questions, what do you mean "if the substrate doesnt become infected". i forgot to add (sorry) my 10 gallon is really a 15 gallon but with a devider for a seperated betta, and the whole thing has a juwel filter/heater. does any of this matter.(oh i have 2 ADF's in the betta side) its getting more and more complicated, really sorry about this.ive heard sand gets nitrate pockets and decomes dangerous and then if you stir it up, it cloges your filter and make the water cloudy.any tips?will the plants be ok with the sand. i mosly have java moss but a few different ones planted.does it really matter if the substrate is gravel, wont the corys just act the same, i use to have a chinese algea eater(beginners mistake) and that managed ok on the gravel. all going well ive decided to get 3 albino corys.or would another species be better(panda, bronze) i dont want pygmy cories though.
sorry for asking, but better to know than to guess.
thanks again
fishboy619

 

[Sibelius]

pygmaeus would be better for a tank of your size. Sand won't form anaerobic pockets with live plants, as they will take all the toxic substances up. Also, your corys will disturb the surface of the substrate and keep turning it over, which is a good thing. I spoke of sand being more natural, it's what corys live on in the wild. This is mainly why it is preferable. It is so corys can nose around for food naturally. The problem with the substrates is that if they hold harmful bacteria, or any other nasties, then the corys sensative barbles can become damaged, as they are prone to infection. (Ask in the betta forum, but it might be preferable taking out your partition, as then filtration will have less blockaging, the flow around the tank will be better, and I doubt that there'll be aggression between corys and bettas. Also, then you can have a more sensible number of corys, say 5 or 6.)

 

[fishboy619]

i devived my betta becasue its aggressive towards my platies.i was looking at pygmys, but i already have them, they are very expensive and the fish shop take months to get any in.what about malysian trumpet snails? i usally hate snails, but what do you think.how does the substrate hold harmful bacteria, and how can i help this.it is common for their barbels to become infected. my pgmys are fine.the bettas condo is all perfectly set up.the betta was bought and added to the tank to hopefully eat any extra fry i didnt want, and because ive had good luck with communities betta in the past, i thought i would try it, it didnt work out and the betta was chasing the platies. so i devided him all is pieceful in the tank. the betta has floating plant and i swurl the water around daily, plus the devider has planty of holes for the water to go though.i know sand is good for frogs aswell and cories love it, so today, im going into town and buying 2 bags of play sand from argos, then the change over tomorrow.(not really looking forward to it )let you know how it goes if you want.
wish me luck

 

[Sibelius]

yes, good luck. It'll be easier than you think. Snails should be fine, so long as you don't mind them laying eggs all over the place. The only time barbels become infected is when the sand isn't cleaned of decaying fish waste or uneaten food. Regular maintenance will prevent this. C. Habrosus and C. Hastatus are other dwarf corys that you might like to look into.

 

[fishboy619]

well, just an update, i bought that playsand from argos.my plans are to turn off filter and heater, remove lot of the water, to put my betta in a small jug, my frogs in another jug, then my 3 platies in a bucket i have, the shrimp will go into a bag (like the ones from fish stores) and float in the bucket. i remove all plants and decoration.scoop the gravel into another tub, wash the sand in the tank water i removed earier, place the sand into the tank, replanting the plants and adding the decor, topping up the water with treated tap water, adding the fish back. then waiting a few days to buy my cories. just a few more questions, will the juwel aquarium be suatable for sand, will the plants grow well, (i heard someone else say on this forum plants dont grow well in sand) and will the gravel vac still work with out sucking up lots of sand. will the fish be ok with out a heater all that time, what can i do to help
at least it gives me chance to rearange the planst and decor i want to do,
any other help is welcome, hints and tips will be greatly apriciated.
i hope it goes well, i bit nervous as this is my first time.

 

[Sibelius]

You will need to get a full-time heater ASAP. Make sure you test your new tank water in about a weeks time, if all is well then you should be ok to add your corys. With the right care and attention, plants grow brilliantly in sand. Keep check of your fish just incase they seem stressed by the changes.

 

[fishboy619]

i have a full time heater. its always in the tank set at the right temp. it came with the tank. sorry if i wasnt being clear, i meant should i move the heater into the bucket of fish while i do my change, or will the fish be ok for an hour or little more, do i need to float them back into the tank after all finished?

 

[n3ont3tra]

I think the fish will be fine in a bucket without a heater for an hour or two, if you are really worried, get a 2 liter bottle, fill it with warm water and float it in the buckets. The main thing to be worried about, IMO, is the water you replace into the tank, after the substrate change. Make sure that's the same temp as what you had when you took the fish out, I think if you move fish too much it puts a lot of stress on them, so if the water is close to the same they should be okay. I would float the fish for about 15 minutes when you reintroduce them, to be on the safe side. Good luck.

 

[fishboy619]

ive changed the gravel to sand, its looking good but the sand is taking ages to settle, its been 45 minuets and the waters really murky.all my fish are in bags and buckets with bottles of warm water floating near them.the water level in the tank is 5inches from the sand, hopeing the sand will have less to fall. but to no avail.please help as the fish have been out of the tank for 2 hours now and im really worried.

 

[Bozza]

Maybe put the air pump in the buckets that the wish are in? They shouldnt be in that much stress. Depends how clean the water they are in is. I moved my fish from my place to my gf's and it took 1.5hrs to do the whole move including tank. And that included 30min car ride all in buckets.