Cory Suggestions

[morpheus]

i wanted to get some suggestions on types of corys that are the most hardy. everyone i have ever spoken to says corys are hardy, but for some odd reaosn, i have never had luck with them. i want to try them again, but dont want to spend if they just never make it.

i cant say what my water parameters were in past tanks, but i have not housed cories for at least 4 years. i dont know if it was habitat or water chemistry that caused the bad luck. i always put them with peaceful tankmates. bought them in maybe sets of 4. i usually bought bronze or emerald cories, but they usually were gone in a span on a month and i never lost other fish in the tanks.

i have three tank options right now, and i assume they will be compatible with all the fish in them. pH are approximate and last tested maybe 2 weeks ago, but are always stable. KH for all tanks was in the 4-5 range.

Any suggestions on what tank might be best, things i could improve for cories, or type of cory to try are appreciated.

29 gal: pH 7.6
opaline gourami - 1
gold gourami - 1
beunos aries tetras - 4
black skirt tetras - 5
lamp eye tetras - 4
harlequin rasboras - 2
assassin snails - 2
->its a male and female, have seen mating multiple times but never noticed eggs yet
plastic plants mainly, few live

10 gal: pH ~8.0
dalmation mollies - 4 (one male, three female)
giant danios - 3
zebra nerites - 2
all plastic plants

10 gal: pH ~7.8
planted tank
RCS - started with 10. cant ever see all 10 at a time, but havent seen shrimplets yet
zebra nerites - 3

[mnemenoi]

I'd go with the 29 gallon (10 gallon has a higher Ph and mollies might eventually appreciate salt while the corydoras do not, the other 10 has RCS and they will eat the shrimplets) My first choice would be peppered corydoras, the easiest cory in my opinion and my actual first success story with them when I was younger. They are easy about water, temp, and can even be maintained outside in a small pond if it has a heater in winter. Also very easy to breed and does get sizable for Corydoras. Some albinos are peppered, but not all are. I personally would get 4-6 (Houston Aquatics has them for cheap) and they should do well. Another option are the Bronze that Tim has that have been bred in Houston tap water, so they should fare well. The biggest issue I have seen with them is Nitrates. They hate them and are far more sensitive to water parameters then many other staple fish in the hobby. With higher levels they just get listless and sort of waste away, just kind of die off eventually one by one. So if you ever see them acting strange just test to be sure and avoid anything above a 30ppm and you'll be golden and they should actually breed for you. Good Luck!

[morpheus]

Thanks for the comments Roy. they did just seem to die off slowly, but who knows why it was so long ago. i did see Tim had local bred bronze in his inventory and was thinking that as an option. never been to houston aquatics, so maybe give them a look too. i do like the peppered cories

[mistahoo]

Honestly all cories are much finicky than what people say. Of anything happens in the tank, they'll be the first to show unless you have inverts

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[morpheus]

Honestly all cories are much finicky than what people say. Of anything happens in the tank, they'll be the first to show unless you have inverts

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yes i am tending to more so think they are much more sensitive than many let on...all the tanks i mentioned have inverts that are doing fine so maybe give them a try again

[Roshan8768]

+ 1 on the peppered cory's, they're the only one's I've had before, but they did really well for me. Had a big group for 4-5 years which has now dwindled out to the sole survivor . Just get at least 6-8 when you get them, feed food that sinks so that they get their fair share, also they love to root around in sand, so if you ever change out your substrate think about getting them. Oh and they like cooler water for the most part, my tank is unheated so around 68-76 for most of the year and they seemed pretty happy

[mistahoo]

Not all Corys like cooler water.

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[Roshan8768]

Not all Corys like cooler water.

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Good point, should have been more specific. I was referring to the peppered Cory cats

[DoubleDutch]

Agree with peppered. No Corys in 10G to my believe. Even no dwarfs!