Mad about Corys

[Mad about catfish]

Hi, I have this 54 ltr tank 60 x 30 x 37.
Already decided on corys. Had pleccies before but love the corys.
In my set up once cycled... and planted...

I want top middle and bottom fish.
I do like a Betta.
And Gouramis
Don't want busy breeders.
And lastly can danios live with betta and corys?


Yanks in advance.

 

[Byron]

Space is very limited here, but you can have a group of cories and an upper fish that remains small. Bettas are not community fish and should be housed alone, so I would not consider that here. Gourami vary in their aggression/peacefulness, but there are a few that would work here.

First question, what are the parameters of the source (tap) water? These refer primarily to GH (general or total hardness) and pH, but knowing the KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) can be helpful. Small fish suited to this sized tank usually have more stringent requirements when it comes to water.

Second issue is the substrate; for cories you need soft sand, not gravel. Assume you do not have any fish yet, so you can change the substrate easily enough if that is required.

Danios will generally be too active for this small a tank. Another thing to keep in mind is that most small fish, tetras, danios, rasboras, cories, etc are shoaling fish that must be in a group, and 10 is about minimum.

Welcome to TFF.

 

[Essjay]

If you decide on gouramis, the tank is only really big enough for honey gouramis (Trichohaster chuna) or sparking gouramis (Trichopsis pumila). While the tank size is suitable for dwarf gouramis, so many of them are infected with an incurable disease by the time they arrive in the store.

 

[Mad about catfish]

Space is very limited here, but you can have a group of cories and an upper fish that remains small. Bettas are not community fish and should be housed alone, so I would not consider that here. Gourami vary in their aggression/peacefulness, but there are a few that would work here.

First question, what are the parameters of the source (tap) water? These refer primarily to GH (general or total hardness) and pH, but knowing the KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) can be helpful. Small fish suited to this sized tank usually have more stringent requirements when it comes to water.

Second issue is the substrate; for cories you need soft sand, not gravel. Assume you do not have any fish yet, so you can change the substrate easily enough if that is required.

Danios will generally be too active for this small a tank. Another thing to keep in mind is that most small fish, tetras, danios, rasboras, cories, etc are shoaling fish that must be in a group, and 10 is about minimum.

Welcome to TFF.

Hi thanks for this. The water levels ph 7.0 - 7.8
Temp 72 - 78f
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Danios I hear you.

 

[Byron]

What is the GH? This is the most important parameter (aside from temperature) for fish. You should be able to ascertain this from your water authority, check their website, if you do not already know.

 

[Essjay]

Bridport as in Dorset? Your water company's website should give your hardness, usually on the same section as your water quality report on a page where you need to enter your postcode. If you can't find it, tell us the name of your water company and we'll see what we can find.

The reason Byron asks for hardness, GH, is that fish have evolved to live in hard or soft or middling water. If they are kept in the 'wrong' type of water they are more likely to become sick and won't live as long as they should. While there are ways to make hard water soft and soft water hard, it is much easier to keep fish which come from water with similar hardness to your tap water.

 

[Mad about catfish]

Bridport as in Dorset? Your water company's website should give your hardness, usually on the same section as your water quality report on a page where you need to enter your postcode. If you can't find it, tell us the name of your water company and we'll see what we can find.

The reason Byron asks for hardness, GH, is that fish have evolved to live in hard or soft or middling water. If they are kept in the 'wrong' type of water they are more likely to become sick and won't live as long as they should. While there are ways to make hard water soft and soft water hard, it is much easier to keep fish which come from water with similar hardness to your tap water.

Just checking it's hard water

 

[Mad about catfish]

Just checking it's hard water

So also checking what corys are OK in +201 GDH

 

[Essjay]

How hard? The reason I ask is because UK water company words always make water sound harder than it really is. For example, mine is 7 dH which is soft but my water company says 'slightly hard'.
Does your water company give a number? if they do can you tell us that number and the unit of measurement exactly as written as there are around half a dozen different units they could use.


Cories are soft water fish. Where did you find the info about 210+ GH? There are only a couple of reliable sites - Seriously Fish for all fish, Planet Catfish and Corydoras World for catfish in general and cories specifically. Anyone can set up a website with little or no actual knowledge so knowing the source of any info is important.

 

[Mad about catfish]

How hard? The reason I ask is because UK water company words always make water sound harder than it really is. For example, mine is 7 dH which is soft but my water company says 'slightly hard'.
Does your water company give a number? if they do can you tell us that number and the unit of measurement exactly as written as there are around half a dozen different units they could use.


Cories are soft water fish. Where did you find the info about 210+ GH? There are only a couple of reliable sites - Seriously Fish for all fish, Planet Catfish and Corydoras World for catfish in general and cories specifically. Anyone can set up a website with little or no actual knowledge so knowing the source of any info is important.

So I am going to the aquarium shop literally down the road Saturday so they have same water. Will ask them when looking at the fish.

 

[Essjay]

Never ever believe anything a shop says. They are trained in how to make a sale not in knowledge about fish. Most shop workers will make up anything if they think that will persuade you to buy something.

 

[Mad about catfish]

So I am going to the aquarium shop literally down the road Saturday so they have same water. Will ask them when looking at the fish.

Oh not buying fish Saturday... just looking whilst tank cycles.

Never ever believe anything a shop says. They are trained in how to make a sale not in knowledge about fish. Most shop workers will make up anything if they think that will persuade you to buy something.

15.96 I found a page on Wessex Water page

Never ever believe anything a shop says. They are trained in how to make a sale not in knowledge about fish. Most shop workers will make up anything if they think that will persuade you to buy something.

Never ever believe anything a shop says. They are trained in how to make a sale not in knowledge about fish. Most shop workers will make up anything if they think that will persuade you to buy something.

15.96 I loved it up on water provider page.

 

[Byron]

@Essjay has very correctly laid all this out, but I sense a problem looming so I am obligated to reinforce and perhaps explain a bit more. We at TFF care about your fish and prefer success in keeping them healthy.

First, the fish store water has absolutely nothing to do with what the fish may require. Stores expect to sell fish quickly, and the brief time the fish are in the store tank usually poses no issues long-term (though this is not always the case with some sensitive fish) whatever the water parameters. You however intend keeping the fish until they die, and hopefully this will not be sooner than their normal life expectancy which can vary but cories can live 20-25 years easily. In water that is too hard for cories, problems occur and develop along the way, causing stress and leading to increased health issues and usually a shorter lifespan. We don't really know what the fish "feels" through this, but given the symptoms the fish is probably struggling with less than enjoyment.

All Corydoras are soft to very soft water fish. They have evolved over thousands of years to live in a very specific environment. Most species only live in one creek or stream or river. There is very little if any real fluctuation in GH, pH and temperature from day to day and season to season. As soon as the fish is forced into hardish water, it becomes more difficult for its physiology to function, and the immune system is weakened. It would take generations before the species adapted to significantly different water without some side effects along the way. This applies to all freshwater fish generally speaking. This is why I am continually recommending that members research the specific habitat of a species, to understand what it requires to function well. Stress is responsible for over 90% of all disease issues in aquarium fish, so a great deal of sickness and suffering can be avoided simply by providing reasonable water parameters and other environment conditions the fish "expects."

To the GH number...15.96 dH (presumably this is the unit...@essjay can you confirm?...is equal to 286 ppm, another unit common in the hobby. This is hard water, though that is a subjective term. But the majority of species in Corydoras will not have a comfortable time in this hardness. You should be relatively safe with the common commercially-produced species, though I admit this is not really the best.

Finding upper fish is more of a challenge, given the hardness and the space. Livebearers will do well, but many of them get too large for this tank, so look at the Endler's Livebearer and the guppy. These are livebearers, and you said you did not want fry exploding, so only acquire males no females; males are the more colourful anyway. Ther are some small cyprinids that could work here, I would have to dig around as I am not that familiar with them, but other members may be.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Shane's World

Catfishology

Corydoras 101

Article © Julian Dignall, uploaded April 09, 2013

Many catfish fans will have started their catfish keeping careers with one unassuming species of Corydoras or another. But, what if you are at that stage in your fledgling fishkeeping career? Why should you consider keeping some Corydoras and what species are typically available?

There are many reasons why Corydoras are popular and have been an enduring part of our hobby almost since its inception. There are hundreds of species to choose from, most are easy to keep, many are inexpensive, every fish shop has some, and they even have a scientific name that's easy to pronounce - although it is commonly contracted to cory! Chances are that if you have pretty much any size of community tank, and indeed many more specialised set-ups like river biotopes, then there is a species of Corydoras for you. So, how to shortlist a selection for this overview of the common species often offered for sale?

Read the rest of this article here https://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=490&title=Corydoras+101

 

[Essjay]

Re the hardness, that 15.96 could be dH (German degrees) or possibly Clark degrees, but either way it's hard water. (If it is 15.96 Clarke, that converts to 13 dH which is better but still not soft enough)


@Mad about catfish There is still an option for keeping cories - reduce the hardness. This is done by mixing hard tap water with pure water such as RO water. Many fish store sell this, though make sure it hasn't been remineralised.
The amounts of each to use can be determined by experimenting in a bucket to find the proportions needed to get the GH where it is needed. Then the same ratio must be prepared outside the tank for every water change to maintain the tank water hardness at a constant level.
Even if you decided against cories, the same applies to the other fish you have mentioned as they are also soft water fish.