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

[Tizer]

lol @ an update when your fish move. I also have two pandas but they are pretty active little things, they mix with the other corys a fair bit. Thinking about picking up 10 of them this weekend coming my, lfs have got some new ones in that are a decent size.

 

[Harlequins]

Awe cute

Has you say once you add more they'll soon perk up,they look pretty healthy though and possibly both females?? the front one in several of the pics is quite chunky With mine its quite noticeable size wise between the 2 sexes

You may end up with some of this,heres my first panda fry (along with bronze juvi's)thats made it this far he/she is around 6 weeks old now i have younger ones which i hope keep going.And i'm hoping i can add to my 9 pandas i have.


Them plant you have in your pics i despise i had loads of them at one time,but they kept going yellow and i ended up having leaves & stems floating around the tank,done my head in

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Tizer,

It was more information to show that they were settling in more - by the end of the night, they had scoped out every bit of the tank.

Harlequins,

The plants I got were just for the tank to not look too bare. They were $3 a bunch, so I figured I'd get a few. They really do make it look better than it did before I added them. They have lost a bunch of leaves already - and I might need to get rid of them eventually. I don't have a lot of light on my tank - 18W over 56 gallons. Anacharis is supposed to grow in any conditions. I shall soon find out if that includes my extremely low light conditions.



Cories didn't find their shrimp pellets this morning. They swam all over them, went through the sand near by, but didn't touch the pellets... Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[Tizer]

Pandas seem to grow sooooooo slowly, ive had one in the tank for something like 3 months and i dont think its grown a single bit

 

[Inchworm]

Hi eaglesaquarium

Congratulations on your new corys. They look cute and perky.

It's not difficult to tell the sexes apart with mature pandas. There is a clear difference in size between the larger female and the smaller male.



One thing to keep in mind is that C. pandas like their water to be a little on the cooler side than many other tropical fish. With temperature requirements of 71 to 77 degrees F., they are usually fine in an unheated tank. They are not difficult to breed at the lower temperatures.

AquaBid is actually one of the best places to get interesting and unusual corys. The thing to do is look at the feedback and talk to the sellers before you buy. If anyone doesn't want to answer questions from a prospective buyer, they are not someone you want to have anything to do with. Also, I had a bad experience with Liveaquaria and would not recommend them to anyone.

BTW, what state do you live in?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Just my 2 cents ... I have green, albino, longfin pepper and peppered cories in one tank and they get along fine with each other.

I also have Anacharis (Elodea) in all my tanks because it grows so well and the fish seem to like it. Can't keep it for long in the crab tank, just because Dora likes to snack on it so much!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hi eaglesaquarium

Congratulations on your new corys. They look cute and perky.

It's not difficult to tell the sexes apart with mature pandas. There is a clear difference in size between the larger female and the smaller male.

One thing to keep in mind is that C. pandas like their water to be a little on the cooler side than many other tropical fish. With temperature requirements of 71 to 77 degrees F., they are usually fine in an unheated tank. They are not difficult to breed at the lower temperatures.

AquaBid is actually one of the best places to get interesting and unusual corys. The thing to do is look at the feedback and talk to the sellers before you buy. If anyone doesn't want to answer questions from a prospective buyer, they are not someone you want to have anything to do with. Also, I had a bad experience with Liveaquaria and would not recommend them to anyone.

BTW, what state do you live in?

Ok, so I think that I will drop the temp of my tank down to 73-74F (it's currently at 76F).


Also, I will consider your recommendation for Aquabid. I'm just not a fan of my fish being shipped though. To me, there is a big difference between the fish being shipped to the pet store and them having to deal with it, and me having them shipped directly and having to deal with it. I like to SEE what I am purchasing whenever possible. I don't like to pay for shipping. And I don't like the uncertainty of when the fish will arrive. I prefer having the fish come when I am ready for them, not when someone else is ready to send them.

(I will mention that I have a friend who has had nothing but great experiences from Live Aquaria and will only buy his saltwater fish from two sources - them and some other site (Saltwaterfish.com, I think). I guess it all comes down to personal experience.)

I live in PA - just south of Philadelphia (hence the name here. )

 

[Harlequins]

Pandas seem to grow sooooooo slowly, ive had one in the tank for something like 3 months and i dont think its grown a single bit

Some pandas do stay small,perhaps its a male

 

[Harlequins]

Cories didn't find their shrimp pellets this morning. They swam all over them, went through the sand near by, but didn't touch the pellets... Oh well, maybe next time.

It may take a while for them to settle in & eat readily,give them a few days if they still not touching the pellets try something different.I'm not sure if corys are fussy,are you feeding them what the previous owner did?(mine eat anything i put in )
They soon hunt out micro organisms in the tank if theres any there.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The previous owner was using vegetable flake (exclusively, I believe)... I am using TetraMin flake.


The cories didn't even look at the flakes I added, even though they circulated right past them. Like I said, I'm not overly concerned right now, but it is something to watch. One of the them did eat something yesterday off my anacharis (a bit of algae or perhaps some dying leaves). And both of them are sifting the sand through their gills pretty regularly. (They had lived on gravel in their previous home... but they still have nice long barbels - although you can't tell from the pics.)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi eaglesaquarium

I think they will be more comfortable in the lower temperature than at 76 F.

PA is such a beautiful state. I sometimes visit friends in DuBois, which is not too far from Pittsburgh. Driving across the state is such a pleasant trip no matter what season of the year it is. Anyway, there are at least five aquarium societies in PA. I hope one of them will be near you. One of the things they do is auction fish that are often unusual and/or impossible to get at an lfs. It's an inexpensive way to add a lot of enjoyment to the hobby.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/292232-local-aquarium-society-directory/

One food corys love is blackworms. If you can get some from the lfs, by all means, give them a try. Just make sure they are well cleaned. If not, frozen bloodworms is an adequate substitute.

 

[Harlequins]

Mine love mini granules and defrosted bloodworm above flakes,although they do have a very varied diet

I bet those pandas are loving that sand and its good they still have their barbels

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hi eaglesaquarium

I think they will be more comfortable in the lower temperature than at 76 F.

PA is such a beautiful state. I sometimes visit friends in DuBois, which is not too far from Pittsburgh. Driving across the state is such a pleasant trip no matter what season of the year it is. Anyway, there are at least five aquarium societies in PA. I hope one of them will be near you. One of the things they do is auction fish that are often unusual and/or impossible to get at an lfs. It's an inexpensive way to add a lot of enjoyment to the hobby.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/292232-local-aquarium-society-directory/

One food corys love is blackworms. If you can get some from the lfs, by all means, give them a try. Just make sure they are well cleaned. If not, frozen bloodworms is an adequate substitute.

The drive across the state is awesome... Starting in the lowlands area of the Southest and driving either north or west is just awesome. The difference in terrain is amazing. You start in the plains of the east, to the rolling hills of Lancaster and York county, before you hit the mountains of the west. (A buddy of mine went to Carnegie Mellon and has made his home in the Pittsburgh area - Cranberry - since college.)



I will look into the societies. Thanks!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Jus t got back from the "not so" LFS (4 hours roundtrip) - but I did pick up 4 more pandas ($$$), but I think it is worth it. At least I hope so. My son has quickly taken to the pands calling them his favorite fish. They are mine now as well, as they are the ones that have taken to the tank (and all of us) the quickest. The others hide off my themselves when I come by, but they don;'t even seem to notice us. They just keep doing their own thing. They will probably love their new tankmates. (I also picked up 6 more harlequins to match with the first 3.)

 

[Harlequins]

Congrats on your new additions

Theres just something about corys thats so captivating isn't there?