pygmy cories

[-cAtFiSh-]

my 5 panda cories died a month or so ago for some unknown reason and i want some more fish to replace them. i was going to get kuhli loaches but my lfs didnt recommened them. i want to try cories again but not pandas and the only cory i can think of that wont get too big are pygmy cories.
are they easy to look after? or would they die like my pandas?
thanks for any help

 

[bunjiweb]

Pygmy Corys are great little fish and only grow to a couple of cm max.

I have 8 of them in a 5gallon and theyare very happy.

The only thing is, as with most corys they are sensitive to water conditions, so if you had 5 corys that died i would suspect your water quality is bad, you still have nitrates in the water or something.

So before investing in new fish make sure you know what killed the old ones.

Ben

 

[jflowers]

As bunjiweb says, test your water first. Usually you can take a sample to the lfs to be tested but make sure they give you the readings, not just its ok or perfect. Out of interest why did they advise against kuhli's? I have kuhli's and cory's, dont see much of the kuhli's but they are great fish.

Jon

 

[bunjiweb]

for khulis you should have them in groups of 5 or more if you want to actually see them, although they grow to about 3.5" each so if it is a small tank i would deffinatly reccomend going for pygmy corys instead As they are so small you can get away with a small shoal of about 6+ in a small-ish tank. They like planted tanks as well as something like a bit of bogwood to hide under if they want.

Ben

 

[jflowers]

Forgive my newbieness bunjiweb, but does a khuli @ 3.5" count the same as say a keyhole @ 3.5"? not saying your advice is wrong, just asking out of personal interest.

Jon

 

[clutterydrawer]

did they say why they didnt recommend the kuhlis? i cant see why they would be inappropriate.

pygmies are average i think. i don't think they'd be any more/less likely to succumb that if you got pandas again. it would be nice to try work out what killed the pandas though.

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

bunjiweb - i test my water once a week and the nitrates are at about 5 and nitrites and ammonia both 0 so i dont think my water quality is bad. i also do a partial water change once a week without fail.

so i really dont know what caused my pandas to die. all my other fish are fine.


my lfs didnt recommened kuhlis because they said they would most likely end up on the floor. the lid on my tank has a smallish gap at the back so they would easily be able to get out. my mum also said that she had a kuhli when she was young and it ended up on the floor.

 

[bunjiweb]

In my experience khulies are'nt one for escaping.

How big is the tank you are planning to put either the corys or loaches in? and yes, a 3.5" fish is still a 3.5" whether its a bottom feeder or a middle swimmer...

Ben

 

[jflowers]

It wasnt where they feed that I was getting at. It was body mass and how much waste would be produced. A Khuli loach has a body mass of say a 2" keyhole whereas a 3.5" kehole has the mass of... well a 3.5" keyhole. Anyway, just interested.

Jon

 

[Inchworm]

Hi -cAtFiSh-

I just want to say a few words about your pandas. Don't feel too bad about losing them; there might well have been nothing you could do about it. Pandas are very sensitive and delicate fish that seem to be effected by conditions that don't bother any other fish.

I just lost over 20 more than half way grown fry, in a day's time, for some reason I can't figure out. They were being raised in a tank with similar sized albino aeneus fry and they were all fine. I didn't lose a single one of them, and none of the fish showed symptoms of anything. This is a tank that gets daily water changes too.

After this, and based on everything members have said about them, I will no longer recommend them without a warning.

 

[clutterydrawer]

Yeah, three of mine died recently too, for NO reason. they got fungus and finrot even though my water quality is perfect

*sigh*

better luck with your next ones -cAtFiSh-!

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

bunjiweb- i plan on putting the cories or loaches in my 24 gallon high (in my sig)

inchworm and clutterydrawer- its nice to hear i'm not the only one. thankyou