Which Cory Catfish like cooler waters???

[anewbie]

I do like the looks of the hastatus, but it just seems I should be looking at non pigmy / dwarf Cory's just because of the size of the other fish

While they might be too small for you - i think you are missing what makes these guys unique - it isn't just about looks but how they school. They are one of the few species of cory that actually will form a school when traveling around the tank - of course - like tetra - the schooling behavior depends a lot on other fishes. My pygmy used to school with the kribs because they were terrified of the other fishes - my cardinals school because they are terrified of the discus - my rummy school because they are terrified of the geo - however in environments where their is no perceive threat the school behavior goes away - my hastatus are not very amused by the green neon and don't bother to school
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On the one hand watching schooling fishes is amazing - when i first got my rummy - 50 of them would swim back and forth the entire length of the aquarium for the first 3 weeks (8 feet); but then they stopped and didn't even bother to group up until i got the geo - they aren't that terrified of the geo - but at night they form a tight ball in plants.
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You really don't wnat your tetra to be terrified as that induce stress but the schooling behavior is still quite nice. Unfortunately my cardinals are truly terrified of my discus and that is something i can't really solve very easily.

 

[anewbie]

The natural long finned Corys have spines to support the fins.

This i did not know about the spines but it explains a lot.

 

[Magnum Man]

the reticulatus, are wild caught, so they may be better than out of control long fins...

 

[Magnum Man]

I really like these guys…

but on any links to them, I 'm not finding recommend temps... tried a few sites...

Breeding Corydoras sp C123 | Corydoras World

www.corydorasworld.com

PlanetCatfish.com - Gastrodermus sp. (C123) (Callichthyidae) Cat-eLog

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

 

[anewbie]

I really like these guys…

View attachment 351919


but on any links to them, I 'm not finding recommend temps... tried a few sites...

Breeding Corydoras sp C123 | Corydoras World

www.corydorasworld.com

PlanetCatfish.com - Gastrodermus sp. (C123) (Callichthyidae) Cat-eLog

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

Those are really expensive; they run around $10 each.

 

[anewbie]

If you want something truely unique you could try for cw173 or cw146....

 

[anewbie]

These are over-priced but Dan does have 5 for a small school:

https://dansfish.com/product.detail/6812/CW111-Vulcan-Cory-(Hoplisoma-sp.)

worse they are tank raised and not wc.

 

[CassCats]

I'd not put any small cories in with the fish you got, they'd be a bad lunch choice so don't even consider any of the "dwarf" species of cory. They should not be in tanks with tankmates larger than a black neon tetra outside of other cories and plecos. I've had a skirt tetra make an unfortunate choice of eating an adult pygmy cory and it ended very badly for both fish because of the cory fin spines.


Magnum, there are a lot of very good cory species that love cooler temperatures. I'd look at the larger growing more boisterous ones to compliment the large tankmates where they won't be startled by them.

Good candidates would be:

Hoplisoma paleatum (formerly corydoras paleatus, aka peppered cory)

Brochis splendens (aka emerald cory)

Osteogaster aenea (formerly corydoras aeneus, aka bronze cory)

Scleromystax barbatus (aka bearded cory. Note, only keep 1 male to a group--these guys are aggressive for corydoras and these grow a good size)




There are many others, but these would be the more available species and most of these will not break the bank. Personally, paleatum and splendens are fantastic. Splendens a bit timid, but grows massive over time and has a very beautiful green metallic shine. Paleatum I like a lot, they're "common" but I find them to be a very nice cory with their individually different spot patterns and in good light have a gorgeous blue shine. They thrive in colder water given that they're one of the few corydoras found as far down south as Paraguay and Argentina. And females can get really large over time. My past females, some neared 3 inches. The brochis splendens can reach a little over 4 inches.

These were my original paleatum, can see the size of one of the adult females in the Albino picture.

My current paleatum were bred from the original group, they're not a year old yet, but are growing really pretty.

And a couple of my brochis splendens. A male in the front with one of my home bred juveniles in the back.

Osteogaster eques is fantastic too, but yeah, they'll break the bank for a group, so if you want to avoid spending a small fortune, I'd skip them.

 

[Magnum Man]

I like the splendens, found them at one of my regulars... but only 2 in stock...

 

[CassCats]

I like the splendens, found them at one of my regulars... but only 2 in stock...

Ask the shop if they can get more, or how often they get them in! They can be relatively regularly stocked depending on your area. They're not uncommon for most areas. I have to order online where I live, because all my lfs closed during the pandemic, and all I've got is petsmart who doesn't carry them anymore here lol

 

[Magnum Man]

same here... mail order only

 

[anewbie]

Just remember the orange and green laser are both aenus.

 

[CassCats]

Just remember the orange and green laser are both aenus.

No, they're their own distinct species, separate from aenea. They've never been lumped under that as a synonym either.

And, they'll also cost an arm and leg too.

My old lfs had one of the lasers once, they were charging like $50 each

Very nice corydoras though, and worth the appreciation

 

[MaloK]

Fish are not that stupid ?

Who here can give witness of any kind of fish trying to swallow an adult pygmy corydoras ???

Raise you hand. They are exactly like mustard fishing hooks. And nothing in existence would try to swallow that.

One way they wont get in, the other... They might not get out. Killing them before eating them... You might get a lots of scratches before succeeding. Cory's with solid rays will poke holes in their assailant at every strike.

Even with smooth fins the rays are connected to the spine and that could make them tough to digest.

Any cat fish can easily overpower any opponent just by being what they are.

They are peaceful little battle tanks.

 

[CassCats]

Fish are not that stupid ?

Who here can give witness of any kind of fish trying to swallow an adult pygmy corydoras ???

Raise you hand. They are exactly like mustard fishing hooks. And nothing in existence would try to swallow that.

One way they wont get in, the other... They might not get out. Killing them before eating them... You might get a lots of scratches before succeeding. Cory's with solid rays will poke holes in their assailant at every strike.

Even with smooth fins the rays are connected to the spine and that could make them tough to digest.

Any cat fish can easily overpower any opponent just by being what they are.

They are peaceful little battle tanks.

I'm speaking from experience here.

Imagine my shock upon seeing it. The cory could not be removed since the spines lodged into the jaw of the skirt tetra. I lost both fish in one go. Moved all the the remaining pygmies after this.