Pygmy Cories - Hardy Enough For A New Tank?

[Matt T]

Hi everyone.

Im currently fishless cycling a 10g tank and its nearing completion. One of the fish that I plan on stocking is the Pygmy Corydoras.

What im wondering is if this fish is hardy enough to be in the first stocking, or do I wait for the tank to mature for 6 months or so with the other more hardy fish?


Thanks

 

[mattlee]

i personally would wait a few months before adding any corys as they can be very sensitive especially the pygmy species, lots of people find these dont last long in a mature tank let alone a new set up. i have no idea why people struggle with them, maybe they dont acclimatise them enough or properly who knows but from peoples topics on here they always seem to lose a few in the first couple of weeks.....
im not saying dont get them as they are cracking little fish just hang on a bit before you do
is it defo pygmys you want as in a rio 180 you can have a nice group of 6-8 regular sized corys and there are loads of beautifull species out there.....

 

[Matt T]

Thanks for the advice, ill hang on for a while. How many months would you suggest?

The reason I chose pygmys is that the 10g tank would already have 6 harlequin rasboras and a honey gourami. I fear that if i were to stock any bigger corys that this would overstock the tank.

 

[mattlee]

Thanks for the advice, ill hang on for a while. How many months would you suggest?

The reason I chose pygmys is that the 10g tank would already have 6 harlequin rasboras and a honey gourami. I fear that if i were to stock any bigger corys that this would overstock the tank.

sorry mate i thought you had a rio 180 for some reason..... my error
yeah i would stick with pygmy corys then as they will have more room and you will be able to get a bigger group which will make them feel more secure and be more active i would leave it with the harlequins and gourami for at least 3 or 4 months, then add the corys in two lots of 3, i think with 6 you will be fully stocked then.
if you have fishless cycled then you will have enough bacteria to fully stock straight away but if its corys you want i would leave it a while as said before, the only thing is that your bacteria will die off to whats needed to cope with the bioload from the fish already in the tank so adding fish slowly if leaving it is a must as the bacteria will have to catch up again and you dont want an ammonia spike by adding too many fish at once
dont know why i thought you had a rio 180 must have been on my mind from another post somewhere......

 

[Coryologist]

What's with all this waiting months to put fish in a new tank? I suggest you head down to your lfs with a gallon jug and a plastic baggie. Ask them for a gallon of water and a handful of gravel or sand from one of their tanks. While there, pick-up a container of fresh-water biozyme.

Put the gallon of water, along with four gallons of of de-chlorinated tap water in the tank with the gravel. Add a sponge filter, laid on its side. Throw in a pinch of biozyme. Add a gallon of water and a pinch of biozyme per day, until your tank is full. Stand the filter upright. When the tank is full, throw in some plants and a few nice red rams horn snails. Wait a few days, if you feel you must.

You should be good to go. Start with adding the Corys, first. Contrary to popular misconception, they are one of the hardiest and least sensitive of all aquarium species, including the pygmies. It's hard to kill them with a rock. If your water is within normally accepted parameters, the Corys will be fine.

Six months? I have never heard of such a thing. When I set-up a new tank I use 50% water from an established tank, 50% fresh water, 50% new sand, 50% old sand and a well-seasoned sponge-filter from an established tank. Total elapsed time - 6 minutes. lol. I have never lost a fish in decades of employing this technique. Not once. That includes Corys, a wide-range of live-bearers, angels and bettas.

C'mon. Life is short. - Frank

P.S. If you are wary of adding fish after using water from your lfs, simply treat with Formalin3, first. That will take care of any nasties.