Should I Get Panda Cories?

[keri578]

I have been thinking about adding some Cory fish to my set up!!! I LOOOVE the cute panda ones I currently don't have any bottom dwelling fish so I thought adding some might be a good idea. Here is my set up:

-55 gallon/210 liter tank with Emperor 400 bio-wheel filtration
-pH of 8
-78 degrees F
-Silica sand substrate
-Partially planted with Java Fern, rest are artificial
-1 male Dalmatian Molly, 4 Platies and 1 male Dwarf Gourami.
-A little bit of salt added (1 tablespoon) during water changes once a week for my Molly.

Would Panda Cories be a good fit? I was thinking maybe 4 or 5 of them. Does the sex matter, are they likely to breed? Do they just eat stuff off the bottom or is there a special kind of food I should feed them? I currently use only a flake food. Are they relatively peaceful fish?

If not Panda Cories, any other recommendations?

Thank you!

 

[fish.mw.breeder]

I just decided to give cory fish a try with my breeding business! But right now, one of my cory fish isn't normal for some reason... I guess we'll find out in the next couple days... But cory fish are not aggressive. I have not tried it... But there are mixed sources that say yes and some that say no.. If I were you, I would play it safe without the panda cory fish so then you can get a type of fish that is more accostomed to salt water. I wouldn't want to risk loosing money by putting cory fish in a salt water environment...

Therefore, my final answer would be no... I would hate to see someone to get them and die... But, I am not you... So, you make the final decision.

Good Luck with whatever you decide!!! ~

 

[AnimalHouse36]

Cories are extremely intolerant of salt so no. Unless you make your tank 100% freshwater, I wouldn't get any cories.

 

[keri578]

Well my tank is not salt water, it's freshwater. Molly fish prefer a little salt added to their water. Some fish don't tolerate the salt well however, like Plecos so I just thought I'd ask and make sure. Thank you for your input! Do you know if different variations of the Cory fish will school together? Or do they have to be the same variety? Boyfriend wants the Pepper Cory and I want Panda! LOL

 

[elisew]

As already said, the corys are intolerant of salt.......any amount of salt, even a teaspoon....100% freshwater means no salt at all. Unless you stop using salt in your tank you can`t keep corys

 

[AnimalHouse36]

Well my tank is not salt water, it's freshwater. Molly fish prefer a little salt added to their water. Some fish don't tolerate the salt well however, like Plecos so I just thought I'd ask and make sure. Thank you for your input! Do you know if different variations of the Cory fish will school together? Or do they have to be the same variety? Boyfriend wants the Pepper Cory and I want Panda! LOL

Cories are extremely intolerant of salt however. Mollies don't need salt added to their tank, it's more of a personal preference. I wouldn't get cories unless you stop doing a brackish tank (fresh and saltwater).

Cory fish create shoals, which are like loose schools. I don't think that different types of cories will shoal however they do appreciate the comfort of other cories.

 

[keri578]

Ohh okay. I'm glad I asked!! I had no idea how intolerant they are. I will stop using it then. My goal is to get a large, community tank going and it doesn't make sense to use salt if only one fish appreciates it!

Thank you all for your input!!

 

[AnimalHouse36]

Ohh okay. I'm glad I asked!! I had no idea how intolerant they are. I will stop using it then. My goal is to get a large, community tank going and it doesn't make sense to use salt if only one fish appreciates it!

Thank you all for your input!!

Glad I could help! Make sure that you don't just do a 100% water change and get rid of all the salt. I'd start doing 10% water changes once or twice a week for awhile before adding the cories.

 

[Harlequins]

Has you're now aware not to add salt when keeping cories,so thats good

You could easily keep 8-10 pandas in your tank,pandas are very active and love their own company

How long has your tank been set up?

Cories will eat leftovers that fall to the bottom,but they also need a balanced diet has well,theres plenty of pellets and granules on the market for cories,also they love bloodworm etc

Cories are the most placid fish you could have in the tank

 

[keri578]

My 55 gallon has been set up for a little over a week now. I had my Molly and Platy in a 10 gallon before for awhile and just transferred the filter media. I have been testing every day and while pH is high (8) everything else is at 0 and I do about 25% water change every couple days. I definitely don't have any fish that hang around the bottom and I don't like Plecos so I thought Cory fish would be perfect! I am still waiting though until the salt has cycled through. I did a 50% water change the other day and will give it about another month of water changes before I add them. Does that sound safe enough? I appreciate everyone's input!

 

[Mowbz]

If your tank as only been set up for a week, even if you have transferred all the media, the filter isnt going to be ready to take the bio load of up to 10 Corys in one go. Thats not to say however that the tank isnt capable, its a perfect size tank for Corys.

I would recommend adding 5-6, and watching the water for a fortnight. Be prepared for lots of water changes once they're in. If all goes well for the first 2 weeks, go up to your max numbers you want (10ish?), and do the same again.

We'll be expecting pics when they're in

EDIT: If you want to get your pH down, get some bogwood in there. It'll start dropping off after a few days. Having said that, 8 isnt too bad. Could certainly be worse. Just try not to let it creep any higher!

 

[Harlequins]

A month sounds good,gives chance to get any salt out it will also give your tank chance to settle,although i've put corys into new set ups,but they did have a matured filter put in.

Some people find pandas hard to keep,dying soon after,i've never had problems(touch wood ),your ph is fine,mine is 8 and my pandas are quite happily breeding etc

Just remember to buy healthy stock with no red streaks especially around the gills/barbel/underside areas,also they have nice long barbels,not stumps,has they may have problems later on.
Its better for you to choose them rather then letting the lfs pick them out,even if it annoys them

Acclimatise them well and slowly and they should thrive

Most corys prefer lower temps 22-25, pandas around 24 degrees will be good,any higher than 26,then corys start to struggle and it becomes uncomfortable for them at higher temps leading to a shorter lifespan...sterbais are the ones that can handle higher temps of 28-30 degrees.

I hope this helps a little

 

[Tizer]

No reason why you cant do a few 90% water changes over the space of a couple of days to get rid of the salt. but i wouldnt like to say how much has soaked into your substrate, personally i would rip it all out and put in some play sand keeping it cheap or wash your current sand in tap water.

 

[Harlequins]

No reason why you cant do a few 90% water changes over the space of a couple of days to get rid of the salt. but i wouldnt like to say how much has soaked into your substrate, personally i would rip it all out and put in some play sand keeping it cheap or wash your current sand in tap water.

+1 good plan

 

[keri578]

My tank is at 76F now... so about 25 Celcius. Jeez when I joined this forum I didn't realize that it's mainly members from the UK and everything is in the metric system!!!! Oh USA. Glad you're the only country left that uses the standard system, thanks for preparing me for life

Anyways, I have pool sand in there now and taking it out to rinse it sounds problematic. It's about 50lbs worth of sand and took us 3.5 hours to rinse it and put it in! I could potentially just swish it around a few times a day while the filter is still running. I don't want to rip it all out due to having to move all my fish out of there into the 10 gallon again which I ripped down already...

I guess we will see what happens. I'll wait a month and make sure the water is still legitimate and go from there.

Pandas are always a little more expensive at my LFS than some of the other ones. They're anywhere from $8 to $14 depending on age/size. Boyfriend wants to get Pepper ones though. I know I asked this earlier but can I get 6 to start off with, 3 Pandas and 3 Peppers? Would they hang out together still and get along?