FAQs on Corydoras
Cats: Stocking/Selection
Related Articles: Callichthyid Catfishes, Summer loving: cats in the garden, kittens in
the kitchen by Neale Monks,
FAQs on: Corydoras Catfish 1,
FAQs on: Corydoras
Catfish Identification, Corydoras
Catfish Behavior, Corydoras Catfish
Compatibility, Corydoras Catfish
Systems, Corydoras Catfish
Feeding, Corydoras Catfish Health,
Corydoras Catfish Reproduction,
FAQs on: Panda
Corydoras, Pygmy Corydoras spp.,
FAQs on: Callichthyids
1, Callichthyids 2,
FAQs on: Callichthyid
Identification, Callichthyid
Behavior, Callichthyid
Compatibility, Callichthyid
Selection, Callichthyid
Systems, Callichthyid
Feeding, Callichthyid
Disease, Callichthyid
Reproduction, Catfish: Identification, Behavior, Compatibility, Selection, Systems, Feeding, Disease, Reproduction,
|
|
transporting Corys 6/28/16
Good morning WWM crew!
Thanks for your helpful website and advice.
<Welcome Steph!>
I'm plotting the introduction of some Cory Trilineatus to my tank and
have come across information about their ability to secrete poison
during stress. Apparently this can sometimes kill them during transport
to their new home? I will only need to take them a short distance so
they'll only be in the car for about 20 minutes, then of course the
floating/acclimation
period. Do you have any suggestions for minimizing the chances of this
sort of poisoning?
<Ah yes; the addition, blending of your system water in small amounts (a
quarter or so of the shipping volume) every ten minutes or so; then
discarding the mixed water, moving the cats (by hand if it were me/mine;
to prevent tangling pectoral and dorsal fin spines in a/the net>
Thanks!
SP
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Too many fish? Single Corys, stkg... wishing certain folks
would search and read 12/2/14
As suggested by Neal Monks, I got a bandit Cory catfish.
It will grow to about 2 inches. It requires a 10 gallon tank.
I have a tank rated for 29 gallons by the manufacturer. The tank
is 36" L x 12" W x 18" H. The ph is 8 and
nitrates and ammonia at 0. My filter is a sponge filter rated for 40
gallons. This tank contains 2 guppy females, 5 neon tetras, 10 platy
fish, and numerous bladder snails. According to internet aquarium
stocking sources I should have 36 inches worth of space for fish
stocking.
With the Cory I will add, will I be overstocking this
tank? Thank you.
<Nope; in fact I'd be adding some more Corydoras... live in
shoals. B>
re: Too many fish? 12/2/14
Thank you so much! :)
<Welcome. B>
Suggestion... Corydoras sel./stkg., substrate colour,
confusion by RMF 6/28/14
Hello to all of you. Hope all is well. I have a couple of questions
please. I am in the process (and have been for a while) of setting of a
Nuvo 38 gallon tank. As I am sure you are aware, the inside of
the tank is white. I have put black sand as by substrate so as to
enhance the colors of my freshwater fish. The first fish I want
to put in after cycling is complete is the Cory. I am going to
get at least 6. I have looked online at all the various species
and like so many kinds. But many of the ones I like have black in them
and will not show up well on a black substrate. I want one that will be
noticeable of course, and would like some suggestions please.
<Easy for me to state. I wouldn't use white gravel period. Too garish
for me aesthetically; fish don't like the too-bright reflection...>
Also, please tell me if red shrimp will coexist with Corys and what fish
I should keep them away from..I know I shouldn't have a goby with Corys
or shrimp, correct? And lastly, if I get a small algae eater what would
you recommend?
<This is all posted on WWM. Use the search tool, indices>
Thank you and all of your team for sharing your knowledge with others,
which in turn makes the hobby of fishkeeping easier and more enjoyable.
<Sure. Bob Fenner>
James Hall
Re: Suggestion 6/29/14
I am not using white gravel but black sand as substrate. thanks.
<Ahh! I see... a fave colour of mine... most any Corydoras will look
great against this... And you have a good number of individuals in mind
to stock. BobF>
James Hall
Re: Suggestion 6/29/14
Thanks, which ones would you personally think look best on black
substrate?
<Boy that is tough... I REALLY like Pandas and Sterba's... but can't
think of any members that I wouldn't keep.
What colors, patterns suit you? BobF>
James Hall
Question about Silvertip Tetras and
Panda catfish, comp. 3/14/12
Hi,
I looked through your forum and Googled my question and nothing came up
about it, so I thought I'd try writing to you guys. We have a
10 gallon tank with 5 Silvertips, 1 Zebra Danio and two, small
Panda catfish. As you probably are well aware of, the
Silvertips can be very resourceful, mischievous little fish which can
be a double-edge sword. What's happened is that whenever we now
feed the catfish their small sinking food pellets, there is a male ST
that will try to nip the other fish and steal their food, and now the
more shy Panda won't eat. It also looks like there might be some
little "nip marks" on that particular Panda's tail, so
now it's become kind of a hassle/ordeal. Is there something I can
do to prevent this from happening--this situation only comes when
there's food around, the rest of the time everyone gets along fine,
but my main concern is about that particular Panda (who incidentally
has been hiding a lot more lately which is unusual for it). I was
thinking maybe there's some kind of a net/barrier thing that I
could put in the tank to keep everyone separated while I'm feeding
them? I'm really not quite sure what to do about this… what
initially started off as "cute" behavior has quickly become
pesky, and very high maintenance!
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have for me!
-Hallie
<Hello Hallie. For a start, your aquarium is too small for
these species, so that's one reason you're seeing
problems. The second reason may well be that the Silvertips are not
socialising properly; as you say, they're nippy fish at times, and
like all schooling fish, they can behave aberrantly when they
aren't kept in adequate numbers. There's no way to teach nippy
fish not to be nippy, and yes, Corydoras often fall victim because
they're too stupid to learn to avoid trouble. In an adequately
large aquarium for this/these species, you could keep sensible numbers
of both. Say, ten Silvertips and at least 5-6 Corydoras (any fewer just
isn't fair on these sociable, schooling catfish). In a biggish
tank, 25-30 gallons, you could add enough bogwood and plants to provide
shelter for the Corydoras, and the Silvertips would have enough space
to avoid (not notice!) the catfish and direct their energy towards one
another. What you're tying to do is, fundamentally, keep the wrong
numbers of fish in an environment that's too small for them, so no
surprises at all, they're behaving aberrantly. Don't think of
fish as "cute" or "mischievous" but for what they
are, animals, not miniature people, and structure their environment
around what it is that they're programmed by evolution to do.
Silvertips are hierarchical schooling fish that have a need to assert
their status in a pecking order. Keep too few of them, and that
"need" has to go somewhere, and more often than not, the
behaviour is expressed as bullying among their own kind or nipping at
other fishes. Understand that, and you won't have these sorts of
problems. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Question about Silvertip Tetras and Panda catfish
3/14/12
Neale,
Thanks for responding to my question, and yes, I think you're
right, we probably do a larger tank, but unfortunately, we don't
really have the room for it where we're living now. A larger tank
will probably be on the horizon for us, and then we'll add more,
and as you said, these problems will be avoided.
Thanks again!
<Real good. Glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>
Cory catfish, stkg.
3/14/12
I want to buy a "panda/bandit" Cory catfish (Corydoras
metae?),
<Mmm, the Panda is another sp.>
but with a 16 gallon I'd like just
one. I read they prefer groups, but is that mandatory? I don't want
the fish under too much stress.
Thank you!
<I'd go w/ three specimens here if it were up to me. Bob
Fenner>
Cory Stocking 3/3/12
Hello WWM Crew,
I am in the planning stages of a "Cory Only" aquarium, and
the WWM website has by far been my greatest asset. That being
said, it seems that either this idea is not particularly popular, or
that there is little information about it. I have tentatively
decided on a glass 30 Gallon Breeder tank (36Lx18Wx12T), as it seems
this is the largest (volume-wise) shortest (height-wise) tank
available, with the exception of a custom tank which will probably not
be a viable option for me.
<Hmm… do get the longest tank you can get, because surface area is
crucial. Depth is relatively unimportant, though Corydoras don't
always like very deep tanks, and some may have trouble swimming to the
top of the tank in very deep water. These fish come from very shallow
streams.>
Assuming very diligent maintenance, and more than adequate filtration
for the bio-load, how should I go about stocking this tank? The
only resource that I have located that has any specific information
regarding this is the Corydoras page at aqua-fish.net
http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=corydoras
<Not a bad web page, but does contain myriad errors. The comments on
water temperature are all wrong (most prefer cooler water than 25 C,
and some need very much cooler water, and only a handful are happy
above 25 C) and the list of tankmates is arguable, at best. Altum
Angels and Discus need warmer water than most species of Corydoras, and
it'd be a brave man who kept Corydoras with sexually mature Adonis
catfish!>
which seemingly suggests (about 1/3 the way down the page) that
Corydoras only require approximately 4 square inches of space each,
which I can't help but think is a horrible guideline for stocking
Corys (I'm imagining 50 Corys in a 10 gallon tank at the
moment). What would you suggest?
Thanks much,
Justin
<Allow a couple gallons per specimen, and see how things go. If the
water quality remains good, you might well be able to add a few more.
But given the average Corydoras is a couple inches long, the
gallon-per-inch rule works reasonably well with them (it becomes less
and less reliable the bigger the fish becomes). Cheers, Neale.>
Quick question about Corydoras catfish 5/11/10
Hello:
<Hello Judy,>
I was just wondering if it is harmful to keep just one Corydoras
catfish?
<"Harmful" is a difficult word to use here. Yes, these are
schooling catfish, and if kept singly the loner will be stressed and
therefore more likely to get sick.>
I have a 10 gallon tank with 6 Neons and one Corydoras. Is one alone
stressed out since they are so social??
<Yes. Get four more of the same species!>
Thank you!
Judy
<Cheers, Neale.>
Angelfish Mating/Cory Cats Schooling 8/20/09
Hello Crew, Hope all is going well. I have a question, please. I have a
75 gallon fw tank with 6 medium sized angelfish. I have read that if 2
pair off for mating they can get aggressive towards others in the
aquarium.
Does this mean that they have to be removed or is a 75 gallon tank
large enough so that the others can still live in peace?
< The pair will defend the eggs and fry. As the young become free
swimming and began to wander their territory will expand. I would let
them breed in the 75 gallon tank first and see how it goes.>
I also have a question about Corys. Right now I have 6 pandas. I have
read that the more there are the more they will school and the minimum
number should be 6. But if I purchased 3 or 4 of another type I know
they would not school with the pandas, but will usually stay with their
own kind.. But when there is less than 6 of a certain type of Cory can
they still be happy together in the smaller groups even though they
won't school? Thank you for your help. James
< If they want to school then they will form their own little group
regardless of the species. They will probably join the pandas if they
really feel threatened.-Chuck.>
Cory Catfish, sel., fdg. 2/7/09 I am thinking
about adding a couple Cory Catfish to my tank of livebearers. I was
wondering-do Cory Catfish eat fish waste? I know they eat leftover
food... Thanks a bunch! <Hello Hannah. Corydoras (and indeed catfish
generally) do NEITHER of the things you mention. No, they do not eat
fish waste. Why would they? Waste is removed by your filter, and
through water changes. Every additional fish you add INCREASES the
amount of ammonia and faeces in the tank, so your filtration will need
to be adequate to the task. Secondly, they DO NOT eat (just) leftovers.
Catfish should be given sinking pellets -- catfish food -- at least 3-4
nights per week. Corydoras are nocturnal fish by choice, and during the
night will eat the pellets without having to deal with competition from
day-active fish in the aquarium. Besides catfish food, they enjoy algae
wafers and frozen bloodworms. One last thing: Corydoras are SCHOOLING
fish, and are not happy in groups of less than 5 specimens. Adding
"a couple" is simply condemning these adorable little fish to
a nervous, unhappy existence in your care. Since tank-bred Corydoras
such as Peppered Corydoras and Bronze Corydoras cost very little,
there's really no excuse for not getting at least 5 specimens. If
your tank is so small (or so heavily stocked) you can't add 5
specimens, you probably should add 2 either. Five specimens will settle
just fine into a busy 20-gallon community tank without complaint.
Cheers, Neale.>
Freshwater Stocking Question, Corydoras and Platy Sel.
11/26/08
Hello W.W.M. Crew!
<Jake>
I am trying to help some friends with their aquarium, and would
appreciate some stocking advice. Here is the setup: They have a 20
gallon aquarium, that is 24 inches long. It has ordinary
(non-calcareous) aquarium gravel, with plastic plants, and is filtered
by a Hagen AquaClear, that turns the water over 7 or 8 times per hour.
I have that filter stocked with Hagen's bio-ceramic media and
synthetic filter floss. These ladies follow proper procedures for
cleaning the filter and doing weekly, partial water changes.
They vacuum half the substrate each month.
<I'd do this every week or two>
They also know how to feed properly, without over-feeding. Their tap
water comes out of the faucet at ph 7.8, and is hard, but not VERY
hard.
(I can't recall the dh numbers right now.) They use Cycle on their
tap water, and allow it to sit for three days before placing it into
the tank.
This tank and filter are already "mature"/cycled, as it has
been up and running for a year, with some other fish. (Those fish will
NOT be in the tank, though, with the new fish.) After much
consideration, trying to agree on fish that would be interesting for
them, but appropriate for the water conditions and size of the tank, we
have agreed that they will stock with Corydoras and female platies. So
here are my questions: If they stock five Corydoras, then how many
platies would be the most that they should stock,
<A dozen or so... A comment re the all female selection. Very likely
some individuals here will reproduce... these and many other
livebearers are able to "store" sperm in their tracts... So,
unless isolated from males at a very small size...>
and are there varieties of Corydoras that should be avoided, because
they will not adapt, (as well as others), to the hard water?
<There are some that are better than others... you could do the LONG
read on fishbase.org re the genus' constituents known natural
ranges here... Or "just shoot for" tank-raised
species/specimens... as all these will "stretch" to this pH,
not too hard water>
Their water parameters will be kept at healthy levels, but I am
concerned about things such as "psychological space/crowding"
for the platies. Also please tell what you believe the IDEAL
temperature would be for this mix of
species. Thank you, so much, for what you do! Have a great, fishy
day!
Jake D. (Wisconsin)
<And you as well Jake. Bob Fenner>
Re: Freshwater Stocking Question 11/26/08
THANK YOU, Bob! And I would like to tell you, quickly, that it is
because of YOU and the W.W.M. website, (and the effect that it has had
upon how I keep fish), that I originally stepped forward to ASSIST
these ladies, when their tank looked like a failed chemistry
experiment, and they were about to leave the hobby. It has been a
privilege to be able to help them to succeed, and to remain in this
great hobby/pursuit. I continue to look for opportunities to assist
others in a similar way. THANK YOU, one hundred times, for all that you
do. Have a blessed Thanksgiving! Jake
<Ahh Jake, deeply gratifying. So glad to find ones efforts inspiring
others to help. Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Cory Cats, sel. 10/17/08 Hi, I know
that Cory catfish are schoolers, and I plan on buying about 10 of them
over time. Do they all have to be the same species or will they still
stay together if they are different? Thanks, James <A few species
are known to form mixed species schools in the wild. But in the
aquarium they don't school unless they're all the same species.
The main exception is the Albino Corydoras, which is (usually) the
Peppered Corydoras (C. paleatus) and consequently these two catfish
will school together. That said, Corydoras look best when it's a
big group of the same species. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Cory Cats 10/17/08 Thanks Neale, and do you feel
there is one particular one species that is the most attractive?
<Depends on the tank. If it's warmer than 26 C, then your best
bet is the excellent Corydoras sterbai. Otherwise at the 22-26 C most
Corys prefer, some of the best species include Corydoras julii,
Corydoras elegans, and Corydoras panda. In subtropical tanks, Corydoras
barbatus (properly, Scleromystax barbatus) is just stunning. Sadly it
cannot be kept in tropical tanks.> Also, if I do not get all of the
same species but mix them up, even though they will not school will
they still be happier together than if there were only one or two?
<Different species don't form schools, so if you must mix them,
get six of each species. But seriously, big schools of a single,
schooling species look really nice. I have nine Corydoras paleatus in
one community tank and eight Aspidoras pauciradiatus in another.
Watching them swarm about, with the males flirting in front of the
females, is great.> Thanks again <Cheers, Neale.>
|
6 Cory Cats, comp./sel. 4/13/08 Hello WWM
crew, Thank you for your wonderful site and service to the
community. We have a "community" 125 gallon tank
working fine. Our tank has a total of 9 Corys: 2 albinos, 5
bronze, 1 peppered, 1 c. metae, along with the usual swords,
mollies, and platys. Specific question on the usual advice to
have 6 or more Cory cats. I use six as an example only. Please
clarify whether this means they must all six be the same type
(say, 6 emerald or 6 peppered); or does it mean 6 of any type
Cory, as we have? <While a few Corydoras species will mix in
the wild, for all practical purposes they should all be treated
as different things when it comes to forming schools. So six
bronze Corydoras, six peppered Corydoras, and so on. While they
may all look the same to us, to one another they are completely
different things. The sole exception is the Albino Corydoras,
which is (usually) Corydoras paleatus, i.e., the peppered
Corydoras though sometimes it is alternatively the bronze
Corydoras, Corydoras aeneus.> We ask because none of the Corys
(including the 5 emerald cats) hang out together as a
"shoal" like the photos on www sites. <Precisely so.
You need a reasonable number, generally six or more.> Ours are
all independent critters. Is this normal or is it due to our
large tank (5' long, 18" wide) ? <Bit of both.
Corydoras don't normally swim as a single group all the time.
They often cleave off into subgroups, often a couple of males
escorting a mature female. Mine do this all the time, and
periodically you'll find eggs laid on the glass as evidence.
Remove the eggs, rear the fry (comparatively easy) and add them
to your group of Corydoras!> One observation is that the new
(this week) C. metae immediately paired off with the 1 peppered
Cory; but neither of these "hang" with the albinos or
emeralds, and the albinos do not associate much with the
emeralds. Does this mean we have stocked wrongly?
<"Wrong" is perhaps too strong a word, but perhaps
not "ideally". It's a lot of fun to watch Corydoras
doing the social thing, and if you feel you have space in your
community tank, I'd heartily recommend bumping up the
numbers. In 125 gallons, you could easily keep ten of each and
not have problems.> We want to do the right thing by these
very nice fish. <Indeed so!> Many thanks, Rosemary
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: 6 Cory Cats 04/14/2008 Neal,
brilliant reply in concise terms. Off to the LFS Monday for some
albino and bronze Corys! Many, many thanks! Rosemary <Happy to
help. In theory at least, Peppered and Albino catfish should
school together; if they don't, then the chances are you have
Albino Bronze catfish rather than the more common Albino Peppered
catfish. Enjoy your fishkeeping! Cheers, Neale.>
|
Cory Help... sel., hlth. 2/1/08 Hi! I have recently
bought one albino Cory for my 20 gallon aquarium. Along side the Cory
in the tank are 3 marble mollies, a balloon molly, 2 white fin tetras,
and a zebra tetra. <No such thing as a "zebra tetra" -- do
you mean a Zebra Danio? Small minnow with longitudinal gold and purple
stripes.> My problem is my Cory is acting extremely weird. He swims
up and down radically and never stays in one spot too long. Sometimes
he just frantically swims around and around in the aquarium. I feed him
using fish flakes and sinking pellets. But it seems as though he
doesn't eat this food. I have had him for 4 days now. Could he be
acting strange due to the presence of the other fish? Or is there
something else that could be a contributing factor to this?
<He's lonely, scared, and miserable -- and likely wondering why
he was bought by someone who doesn't research their fish first,
usually an omen of doom for unfortunate fish. Corydoras are *schooling*
fish, and have to be kept in groups. Four is the minimum really, and
you need six or more to see them at their best. So go to your retailer
and buy some more. Albino Corydoras are usually Corydoras paleatus, so
you can mix them with regular Corydoras paleatus (known as
"peppered Corydoras" in the trade).> Sincerely, Michael
<Cheers, Neale.> <<Well done Neale. RMF>>
Corydoras... sel. 10/27/07 I'm trying
to decide how many Corydoras (trilineatus) I could put in a 55 gallon
tank. It will have only a 6" passive female Severum in there
besides the Corydoras. The Severum has been living with 6 Cory Cats for
quite some time now and they do excellent together in a 45 gal tank. I
really want more Cory's (such gentle & sweet little fish!). I
do daily partial water changes and the 55 gal will have 2 Emperor 400
Bio-wheels on it, my water quality is great. Would I be over-crowding
'space-wise' if I had a total of 20 Corydoras in this 55 gal
along with the Severum? I value the opinion of all your volunteers very
much but am scared enough of crowding them that I'd love to have
your opinion. Thank you so much for your time and efforts. Mitzi
<Mitzi, what you propose should be fine. The thing to do is add them
a batch at a time though, so the filter can adjust. Maybe 5 at each go,
wait a few days, and then add 5 more. While you're waiting, check
the nitrite level to make sure the filter has adjusted, and if
necessary, wait for nitrite to reach zero before adding any more.
Realistically though, mature filters adjust to extra fish within a day
or two. You also want to optimise each filter; i.e., remove pointless
stuff like carbon and Zeolite, and make sure you're using the best
quality biological media available. One problem you will have is
feeding this number of catfish without the tank getting over-polluted.
Check the nitrate level every week or so for the first month or two, so
get an idea of how quickly the nitrate level rises and how often you
need to do water changes. While Corydoras are fairly indifferent to
nitrate, Severums, like all other cichlids, are very sensitive to
nitrate over the long term, developing things like Hole-in-the-Head.
Good luck, Neale>
Re: Corydoras, sel. 10/28/07 Neale, <Mitzi,> Thank you
for your opinion and (as always!) good suggestions. I'll do as you
suggested. One of the Emperor 400 Bio-wheels is already cycled so that
should help a lot. <Indeed. A mature filter will mature an immature
one connected to the tank very quickly, especially if you divide out
the mature filter media between the two of them.> It's funny you
mentioned carbon as being "pointless". Carbon in filters is
one of my personal 'pet peeves' and I never use it. I slit the
blue 'carbon' cartridges that come with the filters and fill
them with those little rough stones they sell for filter media.
<Sounds ideal. The cartridges are basically a marketing ploy, like
razor blades, to make you spend more for something cheap purely because
it "fits" the device you have. In reality, practically any
filter can be fiddled around with to accept generic media, be it
ceramic hoops, filter floss, crushed coral or whatever.> My water
stays crystal clear. <Water quality has very little to do with
carbon. Water changes will dilute the organic acids that stain the
water, while water changes and careful siphoning will remove solid
wastes and silt. No fuss, no muss. Water changes really are the KEY to
fishkeeping, hence my argument that fiddling about with softened water
and the like if you live in a hard water area is pointless if it means
you can't afford to do large, regular water changes.> It's
so much easier to cycle a new tank by just taking a cartridges out of
one of the filters on a cycled tank and putting it in the new one.
<Indeed. It's called "cloning a filter" and works very
well. Once you have one mature aquarium, you never need to cycle any of
the new ones you buy afterwards.> I've been feeding the current
Corydoras those sinking carnivore pellets plus they eat the crayfish
chunks, bloodworms and the variety of food the Severum gets. I
couldn't ever get the Severum to eat her 'greens' until I
put the Corys in there. Since then she shoots right over there and
snatches veggies up like she thinks the Corys are going to eat it :-)
<Sounds like typical Cichlid behaviour. Cichlids are like children:
they want whatever is on someone else's plate, on the assumption
it's better than what they have on theirs! I think its this sort of
quirky behaviour than makes cichlids so popular with aquarists.> The
Cory's will pick at veggies every once in awhile but I seriously
doubt the Severum has anything to worry about. <Corydoras, in the
wild at least, actually eat substantial amounts of algae and decaying
vegetation. It's certainly a good idea to use vegetarian flake and
pellets periodically. Both the Corys and the Severum will benefit from
this.> Thank you! I'll be looking forward to my little
"Cory Community". Mitzi <Sounds good. Enjoy.
Neale>
My poor catfish!! Corydoras dis.,
use 8/22/07 Good morning, we are fairly new
aquarium owners, we have 2 gravel cleaner Corydoras and one of them has
a very swollen belly, we thought it might be pregnant but today it is
finding it very difficult to swim and keeps going to the surface.
Sometimes it falls back down to the bottom like its dead but then will
swim back up. Not keeping it's balance very well. The other one
looks fine and is sat on the bottom as normal. Please could you give me
some advice on what to do. I can't seem to get a clear enough
picture but will try if you really need one. They are a grey colour
with a pinkish tone, about 2 inches long. Thank you so much Sharon
<Hello Sharon. Corydoras aren't "gravel cleaners" --
that's your job. Indeed, forcing catfish of any kind to root about
dirty gravel causes infections to set in, typically associated with
eroded barbels (whiskers) and, in serious cases, reddish sores on the
belly. A photograph will help, but my assumption without one is that
your catfish are suffering from poor water quality. In a new aquarium
the ammonia and nitrite levels quickly reach toxic levels. Catfish will
try and mitigate the problems by gulping air, which is the dash to the
surface your catfish are doing, but eventually the ammonia and nitrite
cause damage to the fish, which is the odd behaviour. Even in the short
term, prolonged exposure to nitrite and ammonia will kill them. Using
your test kits (which I hope you have!) ensure the ammonia is 0 and the
nitrite is 0. If this is not the case, do a 50% water change. Repeat
the water test and, if required, 50% water change every single day
until you get 0 ammonia and nitrite for two or three days on the trot.
At that point, you can scale things back to 50% water changes per week.
Cheers, Neale>
Re: my poor catfish!! 8/22/07 Thanks for the reply, the
poorly one has got a red sore on his belly. The other one is fine,
sorry about the gravel cleaner thing, that's what we were told at
the shop we bought them in and we certainly don't force them to
feed from the bottom and we clean the gravel with a suction thing
(haven't quite got the hang of that task properly yet!!) Can't
get a decent photo as he is laying on his back at the back of the tank
but is still moving. Water test levels are as follows ammonia and
nitrite are at 0ppm ph levels are slightly high at 7.4 and nitrate is
in between 0 and 5 ppm. Tank is about 3 months old now and we have a
variety of fish including mollies, tetras, a Betta, Plecos, silver
shark, clown loaches and one of our guppies has just given birth to 18
fry ( which are in a nursery tank) all other fish are fine we have only
lost two Tetras (one zebra tailed and one gold) since we started.
Thanks Sharon <Water chemistry/quality sounds fine. pH 7.4 is
perfect for Corydoras. Your selection of fish is a bit random though,
and likely to cause problems in the long term. I personally don't
like keeping Corydoras in tanks with gravel; they are much happier in
tanks with sand. But clean gravel shouldn't cause Corydoras to die.
Do check the water quality once or twice more today. Ammonia and
nitrite can "spike" after feeding, while dropping down to
zero a few hours later. Also check the other fish for signs of
problems. If they're all healthy, I'd be tempted to just sit
back for a month and not add anything new to the aquarium. Leave things
be. Only afterwards, once you're happy the sick Corydoras was
"just one of those things" consider adding more fish. Cheers,
Neale>
Re: my poor catfish!! 8/22/07 Hi again, I think the
poor little thing has finally given up the ghost and has passed away, I
have read these are social fish so should I go and get another partner
in case the one left gets lonely!! Any other advice would be greatly
received. Thanks again for all you help so far Sharon <Corydoras do
indeed need to be kept in groups, but I personally wouldn't add
anything else to your tank for another month. Let things stabilise, and
get a sense of how the tank is working out (or not, as the case may
be). Ultimately, keep at least four Corydoras, preferably six. Ideally
all one species, but they do often mix quite well, so you could get
three of one kind and three of another. Cheers, Neale>
Unsure of fish choices - 4/7/07 Hey everyone!
<Hello!> I love the website and it has been very beneficial in
helping me set up my 45 gallon tank... thanks for all the info! I have
a few questions I was hoping you could answer for me. <Okay...>
First off, I understand the importance of a quarantine tank but does it
have to be a tank or can it just be a bowl? <No; really. A
quarantine tank has to be a reasonably healthy environment. If it makes
the fish more stressed and more sickly, it isn't really doing its
job.> See, I'm back to college and inherited the tank after my
grandparents moved (it's a fairly new tank) and can't really
afford to go out and purchase a large tank. Would a quarantine bowl be
sufficient or no? <Fair enough. Lots of people are stuck with using
just one tank. It's not optimal, but its workable. Just choose
stock carefully, don't take risks, look out for the first signs of
sickness or aggression, and be prepared to implement a "Plan
B" if things go wrong, i.e., have some anti-Whitespot remedy to
hand, and check with your retailer if you can return aggressive
fish.> Secondly... <Yes...?> My tank has been running for a
few weeks now and I have slowly been adding fish. <Define "few
weeks" and define "slowly".> Currently, I have 5
zebra Danios and 4 sunburst Mickey mouse platys. <A pretty safe
combo.> I would like to add more but am unsure about what fish to
add. <I tend to go with one inch (or centimetre, if you're
metric) of fishes that live at the top to every two inches of midwater
swimmers to every one inch of bottom dwellers. This gets a nice balance
of activity at all levels of the tank without making things to crowded.
In this case, I'd recommend Corydoras catfish as being about the
right size to fit in nicely with your fish as well as being easy to
obtain and coming in a variety of colours. Peppered and bronze
Corydoras are "old reliables", but you might go with
something a little more elite like Panda Corydoras or Leopard Corydoras
if funds allow. There's a nice intro here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/callichthyids.htm
and you will find any number of books and web sites about
"Corys" if you look for them. Corydoras vary in ease of
maintenance, but most are pretty robust and all are peaceful and happy
to eat dried foods. Some species will spawn in aquaria, and if you
remove the eggs and place in another tank (or even a breeding net)
rearing the fry isn't all that hard but extremely rewarding. Baby
catfish -- "kittens" -- are truly adorable. Keep in groups,
ideally at least 3, but preferably six or more. They don't like
deep tanks: no more than 30 cm/12", because they are air-breathers
and cannot swim up too high. Keep the sand/gravel clean because dirty
conditions at the bottom of the tank can cause problems such as eroding
whiskers. One last thing: contrary to popular belief, these fish
won't live on leftovers, they need their own food. Ask your
retailer for catfish food, and use according to the label.> It seems
like every fish comes with a problem... either too aggressive or too
high reproductive rates. I don't want to end up with a tank full of
60+ guppies! What fish should I purchase from here? <Corydoras are
about as problem-free as any aquarium fish can be. Small (most are
around 4-6 cm in length), utterly benign towards other fishes, and
generally resistant to disease, they even wink at you! Personally,
I'd recommend peppered Corydoras if you've never kept catfish
before. Peppers are usually cheap and easy to find, and probably the
most forgiving of all Corydoras in terms of water quality and other
problems.> -Victoria <Cheers, Neale>
Cycling, timing, and Endler's Dear WWMites, <<Kewl.
I'm an official Mite!!>> Well, thanks to the rest of your
site (and I thought I'd read nearly everything before), I've
answered my own questions. Wow, y'all have a lot of
stuff for us to read! I backed out to the home page and
found more links to more info a bit farther
down. Unfortunately, the intense absorption of so much info
knocked most of the third grade out of my head to make
room. Ah, well, third grade was a bust
anyway... To recap: We'll get the Otos much later in the
process rather than earlier, and our earlier decision on five (one per
ten gallons) is apparently a good population. Also, my bride
and I decided we're going to replace several of the silk plants
with live plants, both for the beauty and the Otos. <<Excellent
idea :)>> We'll stick with making larger batches of tweaked
water, and go get a cheapy air pump to aerate it (at least overnight)
before we use it. We're also talking about increasing
the water changes to 20% a week rather than every two weeks, especially
after reading about the sensitivity of Otos and Corys to nasties in the
water. <<It would be a good idea to vacuum your substrate
regularly, Corys are prone to bacterial infections of the barbels.
Nasty stuff can accumulate in gravel beds, and Corys are always
sticking their noses into...it. :P>> We're going to have to
decide which Corydoras to get, since they prefer being with their
own. I'd had the impression that it wouldn't quite
do to mix based on genus rather than species. (Now if I can
just convince my wife to go with the paleatus...) <<My favorite
Corys are melanistius melanistius and adolfoi. You can check out pics
of any species of Cory cat at www.planetcatfish.com/ Maybe you will
both see something inspiring there that you agree on :)>> As I
said in an earlier message, the little speed demon is, indeed, an
Endler's. He's started getting a stronger hint of
green on his caudal fin, and a more definite green tinge on his rear
half. We're looking forward to getting a group of them
after New Year's. <<Nice fish. Easy to keep and not a royal
pain like so many livebearers can be...Belonesox spring to
mind.>> Again, thanks for the wonderful site, and I hope I
haven't chewed up too much of your time. Glen <<You are most
welcome. Happy Fishing. LOL. -Gwen>>
