Rescuing Pandas ... How Does That Impact My Stocking Plan

[eaglesaquarium]

On Wednesday, I am going to be getting 3 rescued panda corys. Long range, I was planning to add salt and pepper (habrosus) corys. Do I need to increase the panda shoal to 6, and then get a smaller number of habrosus or should I just get all pandas instead? Do the pandas mix with other shoals?


Cost is a big concern for me here... pandas cost almost 4-7x as much as habrosus for me.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi eaglesaquarium

What do you mean when you say you will be "rescuing" pandas? Are they coming from a poor environment? What is their health like? These are somewhat delicate fish and I would not recommend taking a chance of spreading disease in your tank by adding them unless they are in excellent health.

Here's a pic of some C. pandas and C. pygmaeus that I used to have. They got along find and I expect that C. habrosus would too.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

First, I have no other fish at the time. They are coming from a fairly nice tank, but the person keeping them no longer wants to keep fish. It's a colleague of mine's mother-in-law, and he is tired of going to her house to care for the fish (he's a marine guy, so he's not looking to add a freshwater tank to his fish room). He wants the tank, but not the fish. So, any way, the pandas are several years old, and are in fine health, they are just unwanted now. I figure they will fit in nicely with my planned community.


Do I need to increase my panda numbers to 6? Or will they shoal together?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi eaglesaquarium

Sounds like a good deal to me. I would suggest adding more pandas to your tank, provided you have the room. They do benefit by having greater numbers. The smaller corys will be fine with them but it is not the same as having an increased school of their own kind.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ok. Thanks.

(BTW, I have the room! 55 gallons with zero fish currently. I will be getting 9 on Wednesday and purchasing a few more on Thursday.)

 

[Harlequins]

You'll love the pandas,especially in bigger numbers has inchworm suggested.

My pandas are so active and do mingle with my pygmys and habrosus has well has the other corys

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I have no doubt that I will enjoy the pandas, but at $7 a piece compared to the habrosus at $1 a piece, I thought the decision to go with habrosus was an easy one. Not to mention that the habrosus have all the same behvaiors (I think) and I can actually keep a few more of them given their smaller size.


If the price was closer, I'd probably end up going with all pandas (I like them a lot too), but for a tiny fraction of the price the difference between pandas and habrosus just didn't seem worth it to me.

 

[Harlequins]

Its surprising how different place charge,By me habrosus (£4.50) are more expensive the pandas(£3.75)

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Maybe it's just different in the UK than the US. If the price difference was that small, I really don't think I'd worry about it. But a seven fold increase makes me think harder about it.


15 dwarfs would cost me about $15.
10 pandas would cost me about $70.

 

[Inchworm]

I've never seen anything like that kind of difference in price. In New York, it's nearly impossible to find any of the mineature corys in an lfs. Whenever I bought them, I've had to buy them online. At that price, get all of them you can.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, the ironic part is that the stotre has taken them off their stocking list now as they can't get them from the breeders. It possible that the store just hadn't updated their website in a while. I emailed them and had to correct them on the picture they had for the Trigonostigma espei. They had mistakenly used a T. hengeli picture. After my email, the fish not in stock were removed from the website, which includes the C. habrosus. Who knows what the price will be when they come back in stock (but at that price you can see why they wouldn't stay in stock). I think I am going to inquire soon about the price when they come back in, and get myself on a waiting list or something. Maybe the pandas are cheaper than I think too... I don't know. Live Aquaria lists the pandas at $4.69, so maybe the price is lower than I think. I shall find out Thursday.

 

[Harlequins]

Have you tried aquabid?? lots of corys available at cheaper prices incl pandas & habrosus I wish i lived in the us sometimes...

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I've thought about it, but I'm not sure about the reliability of the sellers on there. More importantly, I'm concerned with the shipping costs. I don't mind driving a couple hours each way to buy fish in person. First, I see them before I make a decision. Buying online doesn't give you that security, no matter who the seller is. Second, I don't have to pay for shipping. Third, I don't have to wait around for them to arrive before I can begin to enjoy them. And finally, the fish don't have to go through the stress of multiple days in transit. They have to go through a 2 hour drive and an acclimation period... That's got to be far less stressful for them.


Thank you for the suggestion though. If it comes to that, I will certainly consider it.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Turns out I got the number wrong - its TWO panda corys!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They look a little sad just sitting there together right next to each other but not doing much... I'm going to have to get some more pandas... price doesn't matter - I want them to be happy!

I'll definitely be getting 4 more on Thursday, and maybe I'll add some more down the road.


These two have instantly taken to the sand though! The one started digging around in it about 2 minutes after he got into my tank.

These two really haven't moved away from this one spot the entire time. They need some company, for sure.



UPDATE: They have just moved to a new spot. The slate cave in the center of the tank...