Room for Cories?

[Wolfdog]

Ive got a 10gal with 6 very small neons and 2 full grown. 8 total

I was wondering if there was room to add a few cories. And of what kind.
Another thing i was wondering about was the gravel i have in that tank. It is mixed with small gravel and larger gravel. And do i need a lot of hiding places in the tank? Cause theres two small rock formations, and one plant in there now, so its pretty open.

Thanx in Advance!
Wolf

 

[Erised]

You'd be ok getting a shoal of small staying corydoras. I'd recommend either 3x Panda corydoras, 5x corydoras habrosus or 5x corydoras pygmaeus. These species stay a lot smaller than most average sized corydoras you see and will do better in the tank you have.

The gravel is not a good thing, specially the bigger ones. Corydoras prefer sand bottoms, because gravel tends to rub down their whiskers, which can lead to infection. Very small gravel can be ok, but bigger gravel is a definate no. I recommend getting sand to get them happiest.

When it comes to hiding places, I think you're alright. In a 10 gallon, some rock formations & a plant tend to be quite a lot already. Seeing as their only other tankmates are neons (I'm right here?) I'd say you're definatly fine. Ofcourse, once you've got the corydoras and you think there's not enough places for them to hide, you can always add some more plants, rocks or wood.

 

[Wolfdog]

Hmm... well ill think about it. Most all the gravel is small anyway, so i dont think that should be much of a prob.

Ill sleep on it

thanx!
Wolf

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Wolfdog

If you have good filtration and do regular water changes and bottom vacuumings, I think you could keep 3 corys in there with your neons. The neons are small and it's not really necessary to stick to the 1" of fish per gallon rule with them.

I'd be more concerned about the gravel though. You will have to use your judgment about the size of it. Part of the problem with large pieces is that the corys cannot move them around to find bits of food that fall to the bottom and this feeds bacteria that could be harmful to corys.