Panda Corey’s in a 10 gal

[Jan Cavalieri]

What are they all going drop dead or be miserable if you don't buy at least 10? I have 3 sets of schooling species - 4-6 in each group. For my Cory's I have 4 because that's all I have room for and that's all the store had. They seem to have a lot of fun together but they "shoal" I guess, I've never seen them school (omg - maybe I needed the magic number 6 to school!!). Being bottom feeders they all want to eat in exactly the same place - so it's cute to see them nudge each other gently out of the way. Now I've got some huge Gourmii's (I bought 2 pairs) and they seem to be bottom feeders as well - but while they knock each other out of the way - they leave the cory's alone even though the cory's are half their size. Anyway - all my schooling fish (Zebra Danio's for example) school beautifully in a tight back. I don't think they know they are missing anybody. I'd need more room in my tank for them to have fun schooling with 6-10 so they seem to be accomplishing their natural behaviors without more fish The downsize is that I would imagine a HUGE school would be beautiful to watch. Maybe that's why 6-10 are recommended. .

 

[Byron]

No freshwater fish "school," technically defining the term, but there are shoaling species that need a group to be healthy. Though admittedly the two terms are bandied about interchangeably. But schooling fish hunt and feed as a group (like the marine fish) and no freshwater fish that I am aware of does this. But no matter what you call it, shoaling fish need a group to be in good health.

Studies have shown that with less than five, some species became more aggressive, so there is evidence it does have an impact. When one understands that the fish species evolved to "expect" a group and this is in their DNA...it must be important. The hobby has got mired down in "minimums" for so many things. A fish that expects to be in a group of dozens and even hundreds of its own is simply not going to be at its best when there is only one or two or three. There is no magic minimum, but given that every authority in the hobby will suggest "x" as the minimum for a shoaling species, with the caveat that they will be better with more...what more can one say?

 

[PastyPlayz]

Admit Byron you have no evidence to back up your claim, you just say so and so will agree with you.

 

[Colin_T]

In the wild, Corydoras naturally occur in groups of hundreds. Having 2, 3 or 4 in an aquarium causes them to stress due to low numbers. even 6 is a low number and most schooling fish do best in large groups consisting of at least 20 or more. Obviously, this is not always practical due to tank sizes, but you should try to keep them in groups so they can interact more naturally.

Just because 2 fish hang out together, it doesn't mean they like each other. If you have a large group of fish, they can choose their friends from the group and not be forced into coexisting with the others simply because they are there.