Pandas

[bluemoon11]

Went to my LFS today. Got new tank a bit ago and finally cycled woohoo well I decided I wanted to try live bearers again as I love their colours and there were 2 little panda cories in a tank with kribensis. Fell in love wit them so of course they came home with me. Question. Is 2 enough? It's all they had but will be on the lookout if I need more to keep them happy. Busy investigating at the moment. I also have 3 platy in with them. Tank is 40L x

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Not really. They like numbers like 6+. But my 3 did spawn and now I have 9. They are far more visible and less timid in larger numbers.

I'd stick with 6 and the platys (single gender?) for that size tank.

 

[bluemoon11]

Not really. They like numbers like 6+. But my 3 did spawn and now I have 9. They are far more visible and less timid in larger numbers.

I'd stick with 6 and the platys (single gender?) for that size tank.

Thank you I will try and find some more then, we are heading to another town tomorrow that has a fish store, will see if they have any. Yes single gender, all male!! Xxx

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Awesome. You'll love the pandas more once you see them in their true light. They are adorable, and stay about an inch and a half long. Small as cories go, which is perfect for a smaller tank. They like sand to shuffle their snout into and search for food. Get some sinking pellets for them (I feed mine shrimp pellets and flake, plus occasional bloodworms). Platies are notoriously active beggars and will eat off the substrate, so try to keep them occupied while the cories feed with floating food. Cories can be slow to eat, so feeding them close to lights out is helpful. At least until the ylearn the routine. Now mine come out to the front at feeding time. ;-)

 

[bluemoon11]

None left in LFS or any other on island store. Ordered another 5 from eBay!! Hopefully they'll be a lot happier with their new friends hopefully arriving Tuesday x

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Glad to hear it... acclimate them slowly, as you have no idea what water they are coming from. Drip acclimation for an hour or so should do it nicely.


http/www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=157

 

[bluemoon11]

Glad to hear it... acclimate them slowly, as you have no idea what water they are coming from. Drip acclimation for an hour or so should do it nicely.


http/www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=157

Thank you, I will do just that!! Link is very helpful thank you looking forward to seeing these at their full happiness. Had albinos years ago and adored them! Will be upgrading in a few months to a bigger tank but need to make room first!!! Xxx

 

[Better is Betta]

On the subject of pandas. Do they require special conditions. I can't seem to keep them for very long, yet I have no problems with peppers and adolfoi. Are they more temperamental than other corys?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They do seem to be a bit more sensitive than other corydoras sp. Not sure exactly the details of it, but mine are flourishing currently.

 

[JenJ]

On the subject of pandas. Do they require special conditions. I can't seem to keep them for very long, yet I have no problems with peppers and adolfoi. Are they more temperamental than other corys?

They don't seem as hardy as some others, no. I added 3 to a fairly new tank, and lost 2 within 12 hours and 1 a few days later. However I tried again a month or so ago in a more established tank and still have all 7. Planning to get 3 more - they're fabulous!

 

[bluemoon11]

eBay cancelled as he sold in store!! Not happy! ONE store on island had 2 left so I went out and brought them little guys home. Drip test and all are happily swimming together. Darting everywhere

I've heard they can be more difficult of the cories, with parameters etc. very important to have fully cycled tank and keep parameters stable! Xxx

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sorry you lost out on the others, but I'm glad you got 2 more. So, you have 4 now? That's not a bad start. I ended up with 3 survivors, which then spawned and now I'm up to 9 (maybe 10... haven't seen the littlest one in a while).

 

[Better is Betta]

I wouldn't mind giving the pandas another shot......they could be a real challenge though. I think they need real pristine water conditions, meaning no sign of nitrate at all. Whereas other fish can tolerate small amounts the panda may not tolerate it at all. Also the water temp has to stay around the 21-24c anything hotter/colder will be disastrous. I don't know what do yous think? I'm just trying to figure out why all of mine died.

[background=rgb(236, 236, 236)] [/background]

 

[bluemoon11]

Mine is stable between 23-25c. 50% changed every 2 days, filtered fluval U2. One got stuck in ornament and lost him but other 3 are going nuts. So have 3 happy lil ones now. Not sure on gender? How do you tell?

Here they are

Xxx

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Can't tell the gender from those pics.


Males are a bit smaller, and have a flat "stomach". Females are plumper and from the side have a bit of a rounded "stomach". Further from the top, the males look more slender, whereas the females are again, plumper. A good ratio, as I understand it is 2m:1f, but I've never really worried about how many of each gender I have. I just don't worry about it. its much less important with egg layers than with livebearers. Generally, even if they spawn, the eggs will be eaten or the fry will be eaten quickly. My pandas have been spawning fairly regularly, but only 6 have made it to maturity.