Panda Cory ?

[lilfishie]

How many panda cories could i fit in my 15 gal?
They have some in my LFS which is rare and i feel in love with them, there ready for sale tomorrow so wanted to pop back and get a few.
The current tank inhabitants are a few guppies and platies

Thanks

 

[tyyrlym]

How many guppies and platies? Panda cories get to be about 2" long and like to be in a school so if you want to get the most out of them you'd probably want 6 at least. They like to root in substrate so if your gravel has sharp edges its not a good idea, they would love a sand bottom.

That said they're great fish with a lot of personality.

 

[lilfishie]

currently a few juvi guppies growing out (not sure on how many but growing out ready to be sold) and 5 Platy although i will be moving 2 males out of there soon (got 3 male 2 female ), the substrate is Roman gravel, so small and smooth would that be ok? the tank is planted and has some bogwood too

 

[tyyrlym]

You should be fine with a small school of panda cories. They'll love the plants and wood. I assume the pH is lower due to the wood? Regardless it should be fine for them, just be aware that if they aren't wild caught they can be a tad on the delicate side so good water quality is a must.

 

[lilfishie]

not sure if there wild or not, and the wood was only added today, would that cause a problem for them?

 

[tyyrlym]

I couldn't tell you. They're amazonian fish so they won't mind a low pH but there's no way to know how fast the wood would affect the water. Did you boil it and soak it before adding it? The big thing is that the water parameters are steady. A long slow drop in the pH won't stress them out.

 

[lilfishie]

yep boiled and soaked for a week or so

will they be ok fed on catfish pellets and bloodworm once a week? do the eat veg too?

 

[tyyrlym]

Can't say with bloodworms, never tried them. Mine did just fine on catfish pellets.

 

[lilfishie]

ok, well all the other fish eat most of it anyway, thanks for all your help tyyrlym

 

[tyyrlym]

No problem. The pellets worked because they sunk right past the other fish and they're all top feeders so once it hit bottom they didn't care. Anything that floated down gently though, they ripped into it. My corys stayed on the bottom even during feeding time, so they didn't get much flake or frozen food. It's the reason I got the sinking pellets for them.

 

[lilfishie]

yeah they are sinking pellets there the same as what my shrimp love so got a good amount

 

[Cory_Dad]

You should also supplement with live/frozen food like blood worms or brine shrimp.

To make sure the Corys get some in a community tank, while I'm feeding the 'upper level' fish I reach into the bottom of the tank with the feed and release it down there. If I don't then as you say, the other fish get it all. Jut remember that if there is still any of it floating around after 1/2 hour or so then you need to get it vacuumed up so it doesn't foul the water.

Cheers.

 

[lilfishie]

is £3.10 a good price for these lil guys?

 

[Cory_Dad]

Hmm, how can I respond to this....

If you like them and they look healthy and you want them then go for it. In the grand scheme of things what does it matter a few dollars/pounds one way or the other? It's only money.

 

[lilfishie]

i do like them, and they did look healthy its just whether or not i can afford to get a proper sized group, maybe i'll go see if they'll do me a slight discount as i am a regular there and have been since i started fish keeping 12 years ago