Panda corys

[Crystal]

after doing a search ont he boards, I was reading a lot of people are having problems with their panda corys. Are they hard to care for, or are they just sensitive? I would love some in my tank with a school of black phantom tetras, but after reading all the posts, I am worried.

 

[MAM]

i've had four for a year now without issue. i've even moved them from a couple of tanks to others, they survived teh move across town. it could just be people are getting ones that already have some health problems when they buy them at the lfs.

 

[Crystal]

Oh, that makes me feel better. =)
My lfs is really good, and I trust them a lot with their fish, they will not sell them if there is anythign wrong.

 

[yhbae]

My presonal experience is that if they survive the first month, they will be healthy for the rest of their lives (of course, this is given that you provide a good environment to grow). For some reason, they were hard to aclimatise compare to other species...

 

[lizard]

They do tend to be a little more sensitive than some other Cory species (like Peppered Corys, for instance). I've bought Pandas from two fish stores. I had no problems keeping the Pandas from one fish store alive. All the Pandas I've gotten from the other store have died within the first week or two I owned them. My guess is that the strain one store has is stronger than the other, perhaps one is more inbred than the other. So, at least part of it depends on the genetics of the ones you get.

They's such cute little fishes!

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[smithrc]

we got 4 about 18 months back, 2 died within a month.
So we got another 4 (figuring 6 would be ok) and lost 2 of these over about 2 months.

the remaining 4 were fine for over a year, but last monthe we lost 2 within 4 weeks

not really sure what got to them - but the other 2 are fine (as are the rest of the tank)

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

i had five for about a month and they died not long ago

 

[clutterydrawer]

i had three which i believe to have been sick when i got them as they all died very wuickly. they were also very tiny, smaller than most lfs fish.

i got six more a while ago and five are ok but one sucumbed to an entirely random bacterial infection, i don't know why. *sigh* conversely my friend has some, keeps them on coarse gravel and never cleans them, and thehy are fine while her betta in the same tank is ill.


they are worth it if you are willing to keep them clean and well cared for though, and i think they would go well wth your black phantoms as they both like slightly cooler temperatures than many tropical fish.

 

[KarlosFandango]

I bought one smallish panda a few weeks back - and touch wood, he's very healthy and happy. However I went to local LFS yesterday, and noticed they had a new batch in, but their markings were very pale and not as consistent as with my little chap, who's black patches are as black as coal. Could this indicate poorer breeding/inbreeding?

 

[purple_drazi]

I bought two just yesterday! I didn't think I liked catfish very much but these guys really are cute. I've done a bit of research on looking after them but does anyone have specific suggestions that they've learned from experience?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi purple_drazi

You will surely enjoy your little pandas. They are just about as cute as a fish can get!

However, they do seem to be more delicate than some of the other corys and need very clean conditions to thrive. They also seem to do better in larger groups. If you can add a few more, it would be a good idea.

Please be sure that they have a little cave so they can escape the bright lights from time to time. If you feed live or frozen worms to your fish, do be sure they get their share, since corys need a diet high in meaty, protein rich food.