# Corydoras



## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

I just wanted to start a thread about the wonderful little fish, corydoras. I personally own four corydoras agassizii (spotted) that share a tank with a small school of black neon tetras.

I have enjoyed watching my cories interact with the other fish in tank and watch as they play. Corydoras are wonderful little fish that get along with most other fish, are very social, and help keep the our substrate clean. ;-)

Anyone else share my love of Corydoras and if so which are your favorite(s)? I


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## Brian10962001 (Nov 1, 2011)

They remind me of puppy dogs!


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

They do! The way they love to play and that excited little wiggle they do. ^_^


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## Super Sly (Oct 19, 2011)

Cories are my second favorite fish...I have 3 spotted and one ecudorian cory(dont know what it actually is this is what the pet shop sold them as) The little ecudorian one i actually named puppy dog because he follows my betta around all the time instead of schooling with the spotted cories. All in all these are great fish very entertaining and active. 
Forgive me if anything is mispelled Im having grammar troubles today.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Super Sly said:


> Cories are my second favorite fish...I have 3 spotted and one ecudorian cory(dont know what it actually is this is what the pet shop sold them as) The little ecudorian one i actually named puppy dog because he follows my betta around all the time instead of schooling with the spotted cories. All in all these are great fish very entertaining and active.
> Forgive me if anything is mispelled Im having grammar troubles today.


Grammar troubles forgiven, I love English but I'm not super strict on it. I personally love the spotted cories and I think it's cute that you named one puppy dog. I never really thought of their behavior that way until I saw it mentioned a couple weeks back (I think) and also today. I definitely think the analogy fits pretty well as far as their playful behavior.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

I love my cories too, especially my spotted.  I think my favorite behavior is when they head-butt each other while racing. Sometimes one will nap and the other will be bored and head-butt the sleeper until he wakes to play. They are definitely the most interesting thing in the tank to watch.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

I've never seen mine headbutt before. I know I have seen a cory zip past a sleeping cory, pushing his slightly sideways in the process. The funny thing is the sleeping cory usually just falls back into sleeping position like nothing happened.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

I have 4 adult C. aeneus with my betta Horton. There's one albino, one bronze, and two greens with one being really light. My favorites are the albino and bronze that I got in New York and brought home with me to the midwest. We also have two juvies that were born and bred in that tank. They don't have names yet but my mom says their hers since she noticed them and cared for them while I was at college. Horton actually thinks he's a cory and raised the juvies. He would guard eggs that were laid near his usual bed and he put the little guys in this fake house after they hatched so they weren't eaten by the adults. He's very protective of his babies and spends his days swimming right over the babies. He's letting them interact more with the adults though instead of sitting between everyone. The babies primarily school together and they're quite playful. I have several fun baby cory stories if anyone is interested.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

That is so cool! I would love to learn about the breeding habits of corydoras. Please share your stories with us. I'm sure we would all love to hear some of the stories. I know I would. ^_^


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Bronze cories, and green cories of the same species, are actually really easy to breed. We weren't exactly trying to breed but once ours started they didn't seem to stop until one of the spawning partners passed away. Usually the eggs get eaten by the adults but Horton protected these eggs. He's been raising them and they always run to him for protection. Juvies are even more active than adults and always skittering around. I don't have any pictures of the babies because anytime I pull out the camera Horton starts flaring at it. I managed to get some fabulous pictures of Horton though. 

One time the little baby was sitting by himself which is unusual because he's always either near Horton or his bigger brother (they're from spawns about a week apart). He wasn't moving so my mom was really worried that he was dead. She tapped the glass near him and he swam as fast as he could to Horton and the other baby. Horton put him in his house and flared at my mom for at least 15 minutes. 

If anyone has specific breeding questions though I'd be happy to try and help.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I have one, currently. I hope to get 3 more so little Kia can get the friendship she needs!


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

O.O. I just now read your posts over and that is amazing that your betta has been raising the cories. I guess to him, eggs are eggs, and he is going to protect them and raise him.

I also have that "issue" with the "dead cory look." My oldest boy Creepy will sit motionless for forever. I just have to keep in mind that he is sitting motionless on the bottom of the tank and not floating upward.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Miah, remind me of what color your cory is. My memory has been kinda foggy lately. Too much studying. That's what it is. >>;


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Yeah cories aren't good parents but betta dads are fantastic parents. In the first spawn they ever had, which is the only one I personally witnessed, Horton actually went through and ate all the eggs that had fungus of the ones laid in his section. He also gladly shares his betta flakes with his babies. I think it's amazing that the cories actually few him as their dad/protector and not a threat since he's so big and colorful.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Rosso1011 said:


> I also have that "issue" with the "dead cory look." My oldest boy Creepy will sit motionless for forever. I just have to keep in mind that he is sitting motionless on the bottom of the tank and not floating upward.


Casper makes it worse by literally burying herself upside down in the sand. If you tap the glass she comes out and looks at you like "why would you do that I was having fun." My mom tries to fish her out of the tank at least once a week thinking she's dead.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Me thinks catfishes is CRAZY. LOL. I would have a mini heart attack if I saw that.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

She was labeled as a 'Green cory catfish' 

I have a picture of her, too.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Oh, okay. I have seen those, they are pretty. Just to let everyone know, If you feel like sharing a pic or two, that would be fine with me. Honestly, I don't have a good camera and if mine spot the camera, it's over. Over the gravel and into the skull, to hide from the camera we go... o.o;


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

I"m surprised you say that; my cories love the camera. They come up to see what the 'shiny thing' is before hogging the view. It's a problem if I'm trying to photograph anyone else in the tank.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

"Pick me! Pick meeee!"


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Misakitty said:


> I"m surprised you say that; my cories love the camera. They come up to see what the 'shiny thing' is before hogging the view. It's a problem if I'm trying to photograph anyone else in the tank.


How many cories do you have and are they all the same coloration?


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Yup! I also have a Cory Cat question- Can you house different color types together? Like Kia with a Panda and an albino and a spotted?


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)




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## Super Sly (Oct 19, 2011)

Heres some pics of my spotted cories. I couldn't get one of my ecudorian cory he just hides behind his favorite plant.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

BettaMiah said:


> Yup! I also have a Cory Cat question- Can you house different color types together? Like Kia with a Panda and an albino and a spotted?


Species matters over color type. Cories of the same species with school with each other over other species. They will only school with catfish of other species out of necessity like when kept in a tank when there is only one of each species. I have seen a large cory tank with peppereds, bronze and albino C. aeneus, and pandas. All the different species kept to themselves. C. aeneus of different colors will school together--I have 3 different colors in the tank that all school together and actually breed with each other. 

Miah--since Kia is a green cory she can be housed with bronze and albinos and they will still school with each other.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Cool- but no peppered or spotted or pandas? Always wanted those. Lol. 

Why is that? Do you know? Aren't they all just cory cats?


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

Rosso1011 said:


> How many cories do you have and are they all the same coloration?


I currently have 1 albino and 1 spotted. Until last week I had 2 albinos and 1 spotted. Whenever I try to have more than two, for some reason the others act left out and get sick. A buddy of mine has been schooling me on cories and said having one spotted was fine, that he would school with the albinos. So far it's true, they snuggle when they sleep and play together constantly.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

It's because they're all different species and they feel more comfortable with their own species. A panda cory is not the same as a bronze cory. If you wanted spotted or peppered cories you would have to buy 4 of that species in addition to the 3 you need for Kia.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Misakitty said:


> I currently have 1 albino and 1 spotted. Until last week I had 2 albinos and 1 spotted. Whenever I try to have more than two, for some reason the others act left out and get sick. A buddy of mine has been schooling me on cories and said having one spotted was fine, that he would school with the albinos. So far it's true, they snuggle when they sleep and play together constantly.


Generally in these cases it's because they are schooling out of necessity. If you had four albinos and four spotted cories the two buddies would likely stop interacting except at feeding time. Cories feel most comfortable with members of the same species but also with groups of four. When there's only 2 they school together to get the benefits of social interaction but they would prefer to be with members of their own species. I have seen large tanks filled with many 3 different species of cories and the three species stayed completely separate. Among the big schools little groups of same species cories broke off and played with each other.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Ah, I see. Like all bettas are bettas but there are wild types and the ones we can get at Petsmart. Lol.

Okay. Kia will be getting some friends! <3


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## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

I love the Panda Cories.  I will definitely be having a small group of them when the time is right.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Hedgehog, love the info on the cories. Definitely a good thing to know if you're thinking about keeping a more eclectic school of corydoras.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

The spotted is definitely more rambunctious than my albinos ever were, and after I added him the playing doubled in my tank. He does something funny that alarmed me the first time I saw it; he goes up to the albino and wiggles his whiskers across the other's body (it looked like he was eating Paul's fins). I initially was horrified thinking I'd managed to find the only killer spotted cory, but then the albino didn't seem the least bit alarmed. Turns out it's some display of affection which is just adorable. Mixing species definitely changed the behavior in my tank.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I love my corys! I have 4 bronze corys and I think I've had them about 2 years and some months now. They spawned once when I changed their water and used warmer water. They laid about a hundred eggs. They ate almost all of the eggs over a 24 hour period. I managed to save maybe 10? I even saw one hatch. But because my tank is a deep 16 gallon, none survived. I doubt they could get to the top for air like they needed to. I have either two girls and two boys or one girl and three boys. There's one I'm just not sure about. She's bigger then the smallest guys but nowhere near as big as the one I call Big Momma! 

They're super hardy. I've lost many fish in that 16 to mysterious illnesses and yet those corys are never affected. They just keep on swimming.

Here's a video of my babies and other fish in my 16!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxuabU5PtPQ


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

vaygirl said:


> I love my corys! I have 4 bronze corys and I think I've had them about 2 years and some months now. They spawned once when I changed their water and used warmer water. They laid about a hundred eggs. They ate almost all of the eggs over a 24 hour period. I managed to save maybe 10? I even saw one hatch. But because my tank is a deep 16 gallon, none survived. I doubt they could get to the top for air like they needed to. I have either two girls and two boys or one girl and three boys. There's one I'm just not sure about. She's bigger then the smallest guys but nowhere near as big as the one I call Big Momma!
> 
> They're super hardy. I've lost many fish in that 16 to mysterious illnesses and yet those corys are never affected. They just keep on swimming.
> 
> ...


Let me start by saying what a beautiful aquarium. Yikes @ the spawn happening. That can definitely be a bad thing if you aren't expecting it. I've never tried to breed corydoras, but it looks like it would be a very delicate process, so with the parents in, the eggs never stood a chance. I was having a hard time following the cories, but I definitely know that one of them was a female. She was big. It's easier to gender them when they're napping together.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

That's Biiiig Momma. She's the one who I'm reasonably sure spawned. I see the others chasing her around which leads me to believe she's the only girl.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

*I'm getting a betta and a mystery snail for Christmas! I love the look of cories and by the sounds of things that have a cute personality. How many would I be able to fit in with the snail and betta?*


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> *I'm getting a betta and a mystery snail for Christmas! I love the look of cories and by the sounds of things that have a cute personality. How many would I be able to fit in with the snail and betta?*


First off, let me say that in order to be able to do that you would need a tank over 5 gallons. If you get the right species, you're looking at roughly an 1 inch of fish, some of them get bigger, so research the species first. Anything that falls in the pygmy category is usually smaller. I would honestly say that I would be most comfortable with hearing you have anything bigger than 7.5 gallons to house the betta and cories, which should be kept in at least a group of 4. 

Pet shops should sell inexpensive 10 gal. kits. It would give everyone the space they need and you could house 2 more cories, which would be awesome since they prefer groups of 6.

Please forgive me if my grammar is off tonight. I'm apparently having an issue with it today. :-| 

Do you have any other questions about corydoras? If so, we'd be happy to help out.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Rosso1011 said:


> Pet shops should sell inexpensive 10 gal. kits. It would give everyone the space they need and you could house 2 more cories, which would be awesome since they prefer groups of 6.


I wouldn't keep cories in any thing under ten gallons. You can keep six cories in a ten gallon if it's a smaller species such as pygmy cories. If you are getting albino cories, bronze cories, or green cories it would be best to only put 4 in the 10 gallon. Also, cories shouldn't be added to tanks before they are cycled. They also prefer sand as a substrate. Gravel can damage their barbels which may increase their likelihood of infection.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> I wouldn't keep cories in any thing under ten gallons. You can keep six cories in a ten gallon if it's a smaller species such as pygmy cories. If you are getting albino cories, bronze cories, or green cories it would be best to only put 4 in the 10 gallon. Also, cories shouldn't be added to tanks before they are cycled. They also prefer sand as a substrate. Gravel can damage their barbels which may increase their likelihood of infection.


You're right, my math is off tonight. I'm not exactly having my best day today and I'm more used to schooling them with tetras, which are much smaller, lol.

About the cycling part, I hope you're talking to hedgehog and not me because I think I know about cycling a 10 gallon tank by now.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

I'm hedgehog lol. I was talking to the poster who wanted cories but I forgot to multiquote. They should know to cycle their tank before they get cories since they are highly sensitive to water conditions. Also the sand part was important.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

><!! My brain is completely fried tonight. I would just go to bed, but I'd be awake too early if I went now...


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

I couldn't resist yesterday and came home with another albino from petsmart since they were a dollar on sale. For just a dollar I didn't want to see the poor little guys looking sad in that tank. I'm always amused when you first bring one home when they had gravel or no substrate before; the first thing they do is bury their head in the sand and wiggle it around.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

If only I had the $ at this moment, I would set up a giant cory tank. I love those little guys to death.

Misa, always happy to hear that a cory has been rescued. They are hard to resist. I personally think they are worth much more, but hey, Corydoras for a dollar just means we can accumulate more of the cute little guys for ourselves, right?


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

Exactly, I don't really have a whole lot of extra money to pay full price for one.  I definitely plan to turn a 75 gal into a catfish tank, either pictus or striped raphael. Not corys I know, but still fun and friendly fish.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Breeding bronze cories is easy? How? Do they need live foods, the babies I mean?


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

bettafish15 said:


> Breeding bronze cories is easy? How? Do they need live foods, the babies I mean?


I personally think its easy because I couldn't get mine to stop. I never tried to get them to breed either it was just an accident. The first time two of my cories spawned was because I did a huge water change (80%) and wasn't careful with the water temp so it ended up being much colder than usual in the tank. That's the general way to get cories to spawn is to pour cold water into their tank so it mimics the rainy season which is when they breed in the wild. It may have also helped that they had been fasting themselves by choice for about a week before since they didn't like the replacement food we got and about two days before they spawned they got their favorite food which is high in protein and my mom overfed to make up for the not eating. After they spawned the first time they spawned again pretty much everytime the temperature in the tank dropped low enough for them. The tank is in front of a window and it would get drafty so they spawned every week from the middle of August until the middle of October when the female died. 

If you want the cory babies to survive don't spawn in the community tank or take the eggs out after they are laid. The adult cories are major fans of eggs and will eat all of them. The best method would be to place the adults in a separate tank, barebottom or with sand, with lower water levels then pour cold water over them. I would do this at night and then take them out in the morning if they spawned. You should add a drop of methylene blue to prevent fungus. The eggs will hatch in 3-4 days depending on the temp of the water. The tank should have a heater and an air stone. Most breeders recommend feeding live foods. In theory you can feed them crushed up pellets but live food or at the least frozen food is the way to go. 

Our babies are different since we didn't know they were there. They survived in the community tank because our betta took care of them. He carried them in his mouth after they hatched and put them in a place they could get into and out of but the adult cories couldn't. He also always sat between the adults and the babies so they wouldn't try to eat them when they could still easily fit in a cory's mouth. Since we didn't notice them until about 3 weeks after they had hatched they obviously survived on crushed pellets left over from the adults. After we found them we fed them frozen BBS and still crushed wafers. Now they exclusively eat crushed wafers and try to steal some of daddy's betta flakes.


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## Super Sly (Oct 19, 2011)

I often think about breeding cories and other fish but my problem is the room factor theres no room to do it here. Another thing that i was wondering is if there was a certain size the cories had to be before they could spawn.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Super Sly said:


> I often think about breeding cories and other fish but my problem is the room factor theres no room to do it here. Another thing that i was wondering is if there was a certain size the cories had to be before they could spawn.


Both our male and female were about 2 inches. The male was about 1.5 years old and the female was probable 8 months old (guessing based on how long we had her and the size she was when we bought her from Petsmart). I don't know the actual size they need to be though. My younger male was purchased at the same time as the female shows no interest in breeding yet. In my experience males grow slower than females as well which may factor in to breeding.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Rosso1011 said:


> First off, let me say that in order to be able to do that you would need a tank over 5 gallons. If you get the right species, you're looking at roughly an 1 inch of fish, some of them get bigger, so research the species first. Anything that falls in the pygmy category is usually smaller. I would honestly say that I would be most comfortable with hearing you have anything bigger than 7.5 gallons to house the betta and cories, which should be kept in at least a group of 4.
> 
> Pet shops should sell inexpensive 10 gal. kits. It would give everyone the space they need and you could house 2 more cories, which would be awesome since they prefer groups of 6.
> 
> ...


*Thanks! My Mum has already bought the 10 Gallon Kit! lol So, I could have 6 Corydoras!! I really like them. Your grammar seems perfectly fine to me. lol I do have one question, what food would I feed them? Would there be a special sinking food I should get? Also, could I mix different kinds or them, like Albino, Spotted, ect?*


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> *Thanks! My Mum has already bought the 10 Gallon Kit! lol So, I could have 6 Corydoras!! I really like them. Your grammar seems perfectly fine to me. lol I do have one question, what food would I feed them? Would there be a special sinking food I should get? Also, could I mix different kinds or them, like Albino, Spotted, ect?*


In a ten gallon you can really only have 4 of the more common species such as albino and bronze or peppered cories. 5 max but that's really overdoing it. Keep in mind that cories need to be kept in groups of at least four or else they get stressed. In a tank that size you can't mix different species of cories because you won't be able to form proper schools. Cories school together based on species. If you keep different species together they will school but only out of necessity and they would be more stressed than if you just bought 4 of the same species. Stress makes the fish more prone to illness. Make sure to keep the cories in a tank with sand too because gravel damages their barbels (whiskers) which makes them more prone to secondary infection.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> *Thanks! My Mum has already bought the 10 Gallon Kit! lol So, I could have 6 Corydoras!! I really like them. Your grammar seems perfectly fine to me. lol I do have one question, what food would I feed them? Would there be a special sinking food I should get? Also, could I mix different kinds or them, like Albino, Spotted, ect?*


Hey, hate to tell you, I guess you didn't see the other messages... I made a math error. When it comes down to it... it's safer to do this with only 4 cories. ::scratches head:: Really sorry about that, I was thinking about my aquarium and calculating another aquarium and the wrong number got subbed in and I didn't catch it in time. I would listen to the advice below and get 4 of one species. Pick a favorite and stick with it. All my cories are spotted (I have 4). The sand is good advice. Do you know anything about cycling aquariums? 



hedgehog said:


> In a ten gallon you can really only have 4 of the more common species such as albino and bronze or peppered cories. 5 max but that's really overdoing it. Keep in mind that cories need to be kept in groups of at least four or else they get stressed. In a tank that size you can't mix different species of cories because you won't be able to form proper schools. Cories school together based on species. If you keep different species together they will school but only out of necessity and they would be more stressed than if you just bought 4 of the same species. Stress makes the fish more prone to illness. Make sure to keep the cories in a tank with sand too because gravel damages their barbels (whiskers) which makes them more prone to secondary infection.


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## ManInBlack2010 (Sep 7, 2011)

so for those of us that have corries in with their bettas, have any of you had problems with your betta stealing the corries' food? i give my corries sinking tablets and place them in with long reptile tweezers. they eat great but of course it takes them a bit of time. My female betta that lives with them is fed first so she's a little more content while they're eating but she will still go down and steal a whole tablet! that are as big as her head, mind you, lol. I'll often times lightly poke her with the tweazers and she'll drop it so i can give it back to them, but she does it every time, lol, the corries don't seem to mind though... they definately are not afriad of her, i've seen them chase her off, lol


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

ManInBlack2010 said:


> so for those of us that have corries in with their bettas, have any of you had problems with your betta stealing the corries' food? i give my corries sinking tablets and place them in with long reptile tweezers. they eat great but of course it takes them a bit of time. My female betta that lives with them is fed first so she's a little more content while they're eating but she will still go down and steal a whole tablet! that are as big as her head, mind you, lol. I'll often times lightly poke her with the tweazers and she'll drop it so i can give it back to them, but she does it every time, lol, the corries don't seem to mind though... they definately are not afriad of her, i've seen them chase her off, lol


I don't house my betta with my cories but I would expect there to be a food fight if I did. I give my little guys (the cories, mind you) Aqueon Shrimp Pellets. A lot of the ingredients in the pellets are ingredients that other fish like, too. My tetras will try to catch bites of the pellets as they sink, if they can get to it on time. Glad to hear that your cories are sticking up for their food. Just keep in mind that cories generally tend to enjoy the same ingredients in their food that bettas do...plus maybe a little bit of algae on the side.;-)


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

ManInBlack2010 said:


> so for those of us that have corries in with their bettas, have any of you had problems with your betta stealing the corries' food? i give my corries sinking tablets and place them in with long reptile tweezers. they eat great but of course it takes them a bit of time. My female betta that lives with them is fed first so she's a little more content while they're eating but she will still go down and steal a whole tablet! that are as big as her head, mind you, lol. I'll often times lightly poke her with the tweazers and she'll drop it so i can give it back to them, but she does it every time, lol, the corries don't seem to mind though... they definately are not afriad of her, i've seen them chase her off, lol


Horton is a very well mannered betta and never steals food. Okay that's sort of a lie :-D. I feed the Omega One sinking algae wafers and occasionally Aqueon shrimp pellets which none of the adults will actually eat and Horton's not a fan. Since his babies hatched though Horton's been making sure they eat before he does and even lets the cory babies steal his food. We've having a bigger problem with them jumping up and eating his flakes then we are with Horton eating the catfish food.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> Horton is a very well mannered betta and never steals food. Okay that's sort of a lie :-D. I feed the Omega One sinking algae wafers and occasionally Aqueon shrimp pellets which none of the adults will actually eat and Horton's not a fan. Since his babies hatched though Horton's been making sure they eat before he does and even lets the cory babies steal his food. We've having a bigger problem with them jumping up and eating his flakes then we are with Horton eating the catfish food.


Wow, I guess to each his own. The first time I introduced the Aqueon Pellets to my corydoras, they went nuts! They still do to this day. I've caught two of them trying to share the same pellet before. :-?


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Rosso1011 said:


> Wow, I guess to each his own. The first time I introduced the Aqueon Pellets to my corydoras, they went nuts! They still do to this day. I've caught two of them trying to share the same pellet before. :-?


I lied they actually get Aquarian Shrimp pellets. They love the Omega One veggie rounds though. We ran out of their food once and they actually stopped eating for a week even though we gave them shrimp pellets and a different brand of algae wafers. I think I'm going to try feeding them Omega One Shrimp rounds since they seem to like the brand so much.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> I lied they actually get Aquarian Shrimp pellets. They love the Omega One veggie rounds though. We ran out of their food once and they actually stopped eating for a week even though we gave them shrimp pellets and a different brand of algae wafers. I think I'm going to try feeding them Omega One Shrimp rounds since they seem to like the brand so much.


Omega One seems to be a really good brand. I have not tried using their shrimp pellets yet, but my betta, Rosso, gets the Omega One Betta Buffet pellets and he's loved them since day 1.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> In a ten gallon you can really only have 4 of the more common species such as albino and bronze or peppered cories. 5 max but that's really overdoing it. Keep in mind that cories need to be kept in groups of at least four or else they get stressed. In a tank that size you can't mix different species of cories because you won't be able to form proper schools. Cories school together based on species. If you keep different species together they will school but only out of necessity and they would be more stressed than if you just bought 4 of the same species. Stress makes the fish more prone to illness. Make sure to keep the cories in a tank with sand too because gravel damages their barbels (whiskers) which makes them more prone to secondary infection.





Rosso1011 said:


> Hey, hate to tell you, I guess you didn't see the other messages... I made a math error. When it comes down to it... it's safer to do this with only 4 cories. ::scratches head:: Really sorry about that, I was thinking about my aquarium and calculating another aquarium and the wrong number got subbed in and I didn't catch it in time. I would listen to the advice below and get 4 of one species. Pick a favorite and stick with it. All my cories are spotted (I have 4). The sand is good advice. Do you know anything about cycling aquariums?


OK! I was thinking that 6 was a lot. haha Um, my Mom has already bought all of the gravel, though! Is there any way you can use gravel? Could I use a combo? I'd be OK to stick with one kind. How many pygmy cories could I have in there? I'm a little confused about cycling! Could you explain the process? The only fish I've had were 2 goldfish at age 3! hehe


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> OK! I was thinking that 6 was a lot. haha Um, my Mom has already bought all of the gravel, though! Is there any way you can use gravel? Could I use a combo? I'd be OK to stick with one kind. How many pygmy cories could I have in there? I'm a little confused about cycling! Could you explain the process? The only fish I've had were 2 goldfish at age 3! hehe


In a ten gallon tank you could do 5 or 6 pygmy cories but they may be harder to find. Gravel damages the barbels. Basically cories swim across the gravel with their whiskers on it and the rough edges cause the barbels to erode. This makes them more prone to infection. If the gravel is smooth then it could be used safely but most common gravels aren't. Its better for the cories to be kept on sand especially since they like shoving their heads in it. Cycling is hard for me to explain but it's essential. You can't add cories safely until the aquarium is cycled since they are sensitive to water parameters. Here's a sticky on cycling. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> In a ten gallon tank you could do 5 or 6 pygmy cories but they may be harder to find. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838


That is what I was trying to get at the first time, but epically failed on the translation. My brain is so fried from this past semester. 4 of either bronze, albino, or spotted, or 6 pygmys. 

If you haven't already started to set up your gravel, I would just do a return and get sand. It is supposed to be easier to clean, trust me, I've been there with gravel and the last thing you want is for the gravel to start getting dirty. Just be careful when siphoning to not hit the sand real hard and you should also set up plants first so that you can get rid of the dust cloud.

And yes, I know I completely failed on the multiquote. My brain is feeling all fuzzy since I'm changing my diet.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

I had a really fun time tonight with my cories when I had to rearrange some plants and objects in my tank. They like to swim into my hand or brush up against my fingers when they swim by. It really is the cutest thing.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> In a ten gallon tank you could do 5 or 6 pygmy cories but they may be harder to find. Gravel damages the barbels. Basically cories swim across the gravel with their whiskers on it and the rough edges cause the barbels to erode. This makes them more prone to infection. If the gravel is smooth then it could be used safely but most common gravels aren't. Its better for the cories to be kept on sand especially since they like shoving their heads in it. Cycling is hard for me to explain but it's essential. You can't add cories safely until the aquarium is cycled since they are sensitive to water parameters. Here's a sticky on cycling. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838





Rosso1011 said:


> That is what I was trying to get at the first time, but epically failed on the translation. My brain is so fried from this past semester. 4 of either bronze, albino, or spotted, or 6 pygmys.
> 
> If you haven't already started to set up your gravel, I would just do a return and get sand. It is supposed to be easier to clean, trust me, I've been there with gravel and the last thing you want is for the gravel to start getting dirty. Just be careful when siphoning to not hit the sand real hard and you should also set up plants first so that you can get rid of the dust cloud.
> 
> And yes, I know I completely failed on the multiquote. My brain is feeling all fuzzy since I'm changing my diet.


OK, so 4 normal cories or 6 pygmys? I might find them because my town has multiple pet stores that sell fish. . .
So sand is easier to clean? I already have a dog to walk and a hamster cage to clean, so the less cleaning the better!:lol:
How would you clean the gravel and sand, and how often? Does the sand look nice?


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Maisy, you use a siphon with both. You just have to be careful when siphoning sand because you don't want to disturb it too much and create a dust cloud. It's hard to explain but you would siphon sand differently than you would gravel. The gravel is more likely to get food stuck between it.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Siphoning sand is much easier because you just put the siphon a little above the sand where there is left over food. The food gets sucked up but the sand doesn't. With gravel you actually have to stir the siphon in through the gravel to suck up food.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Do you have gravel or sand?


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Regarding food stealing, I used to put Tango in a breeders trap at feeding time. I fed him in there too, so he would associate it with food. I used Lee's three way, which is super clear and floats right in the tank. It was easier to scoop him into it cause he couldn't see it as well as, say, a mesh one.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

I went on a pet-shop spree today and in the Petsmart they had a ton of panda cories and in another shop there was 1 panda all on his own! D: Could you combine cories from different shops? I also saw a* beautiful * betta! He was a white halfmoon with red blotches! I wonder if by boxing day he'll be there! (I do hope he isn't in that small cup for another week, though . . .)


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> I went on a pet-shop spree today and in the Petsmart they had a ton of panda cories and in another shop there was 1 panda all on his own! D: Could you combine cories from different shops? I also saw a* beautiful * betta! He was a white halfmoon with red blotches! I wonder if by boxing day he'll be there! (I do hope he isn't in that small cup for another week, though . . .)


Maisy, I would think that you could, however, I would quarantine the one guy if you decide to go that route. It's never easy to tell whether or not the fish are actually healthy. It would be easiest just to buy all the cories from the same pet shop so you know that they shared the same water and can diagnose illness a lot better. That's just my personal opinion. I know you've probably already heard this, but make sure you float your fish for at least 15 mins to let them adapt.

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I think you're supposed to establish the corydoras first when putting them in with bettas. I really don't know if it's true, so hopefully someone who has a similar aquarium can help...


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## abdullah79 (Dec 16, 2011)

*Corydoras are so beautiful to have in tank*

One of the most beautiful fish in this world are Corydoras. Corydoras are so beautiful to have in tank.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Some one was selling a lot of 3 cories at the local aquarium society Christmas meeting last night - an albino, a peppered and a bronze. One of my pandas died not long ago so I got those three as friends for the remaining two. I know I should have bought another two pandas instead, but my favourite LFS has now stopped stocking fish, and I don't want to give anyone else here my custom (they just aren't that good). I get all of my fish now from the meetings. 
Hopefully when I get a big tank I will have a school of each. I thought the albino would freak me out, but I've actually fallen in love with him.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Cool! I thought having different kind of cories together isn't good? I love the pandas! <3


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

It's not bad, but it is much better to have a group of all the same species together. I think the bronze and albino are the same species. Hopefully I'll be getting a bigger tank this summer and I'll be able to boost the schools of all the species.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Had to share this adorable moment. My aquarium has a giant air stone and a filter, and the filter will push some of the bubbles across the aquarium. My oldest cory, Creepy, went up to the top for air, and somehow managed to get his mouth (or front of his head) caught in a bubble. In an attempt to free himself, he was circulated around the tank before managing to get himself loose. Creepy is now sitting at the bottom of the aquarium with this look that just says "that was so humiliating." Poor little guy.


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## Mavi (Dec 28, 2011)

@hedgehog, did you name your betta Horton because of how he protected the corie eggs like Horton the elephant protected the bird's egg in the doctor Seuss book or was that just a coincidence?


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## Darth Corydoras (Dec 31, 2011)

Cories are my favorite fish. I love the peppered cory the most.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Mavi said:


> @hedgehog, did you name your betta Horton because of how he protected the corie eggs like Horton the elephant protected the bird's egg in the doctor Seuss book or was that just a coincidence?


It was just a coincidence. My bettas have literary themed names and the cories all had really silly names so the betta going in their tank needed a goofy name too. It's nice that he lives up to it.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

OK. So for some reason my eldest cory has been spazzing out. Hope he's going to be OK.


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## Kitty Whiskers (Sep 28, 2009)

I just got 2 albino Cory Cats not long ago. They cycled my 10 gallon tank when I first started it. I love Cory cats a lot! I'm not sure what to name them yet, I can't tell them appart from each other yet LOL! Not sure if they are male or female either, they are still small and young. I love to watch them search for food on the bottom of the aquarium  Too bad my 3 year old Betta Greg died today  I set up this tank special for him to live in. I just completed the cycle of the tank and was going to add him to the 10 gallon tank tomorrow.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

Kitty Whiskers said:


> I just got 2 albino Cory Cats not long ago. They cycled my 10 gallon tank when I first started it. I love Cory cats a lot! I'm not sure what to name them yet, I can't tell them appart from each other yet LOL! Not sure if they are male or female either, they are still small and young. I love to watch them search for food on the bottom of the aquarium  Too bad my 3 year old Betta Greg died today  I set up this tank special for him to live in. I just completed the cycle of the tank and was going to add him to the 10 gallon tank tomorrow.


Can always add a couple more albino cories to the tank or maybe get some tetras or some other schooling fish if you're not quite ready for another betta. Sorry about your loss.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Rosso1011 said:


> Can always add a couple more albino cories to the tank or maybe get some tetras or some other schooling fish if you're not quite ready for another betta. Sorry about your loss.


I agree with Rosso. You really should add at least two more albino/bronze/green cories so you can make a small shoal. Cories are happiest and least stressed when they are kept in larger groups. I would recommend 4 cories for a ten gallon. There really is a change in behavior for the better when you keep more cories together. 

You should add cories of the same species but it doesn't necessarily need to be albino. If the albinos are C. aeneus you can add green or bronzes and they will school with the albinos. If they are C. paleatus you can add peppered cories. Albinos from Petsmart are C. aeneus I don't know about other stores.


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## xco (Jan 10, 2012)

*corydoras*

Hi there I just joined today,hello to you all and a very happy new year and I would like to share my tank details with you all.

My wife and I have a 6 gall Fluval edge tank and have kept 11 neon tetras and 4 Habrosus dainty cories in it for almost a year now and they are getting along fine.Today we added 5 endlers guppies and they are all getting along great.

Does anybody know if they will cross breed .The 5 endlers guppies are all males


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Do you mean will the different species reproduce with each other? That answer is no. In theory the cories or the neon tetras could mate within their species. In that tank it's unlikely though. I don't have any knowledge of breeding tetras but I know that cories prefer specific conditions to breed and that it requires effort to get many of the corydora species to breed. 

I would like to point out that your tank is overstocked though. It would be in the fish's best interest to upgrade their tank size. The smaller species of cory tend to be less hardy than the larger species so it often better to keep them in larger groups (6-8) to reduce stress.


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## xco (Jan 10, 2012)

Hi hedgehog thanks for reply .Yes I did mean will they cross breed species wise and I do know corys like certain conditions.

We are in the process of upgrading to a bigger tank but cant decide which one to have .
I know about the rule of thumb 1" of fish to 6"of water and the overstock is very temporary(we only bought the guppies today and they are little more than fry at the moment,and the guy at the fish suppliers we use says that the filter on the fluval edge we have is more than capable to support the extra fish on a temp basis).They seem to have settled in tonight and are not at all stressed.I will keep a careful watch on the water quality as well as I always do so thankyou for your concern but it is only very temporary as I say.
Perhaps you could help us decide on the tank choice.If this is in another thread pm me please and we can chat.
Thanks again for your reply
We had 6 dainty corys but have lost 2 over a year and have not been able to find another supplier to replace them.
I agree that they are happier in shoals of 6 or more


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Okay I just wanted to make sure you were aware that it was overstocked. Some people just throw fish together because they look cool and don't care about the needs of the fish. That doesn't seem to be the case here though since you did get proper schools . I can understand that getting certain species of cories can be hard. I've only managed to find two where I live. I'm not that great with stocking since I only keep cories with bettas so haven't really worked out the differentiation between bottom and midlevel swimmers. Tropicalfishkeeping recommends at least a 15 gallon for the tetras. I would think a 15-20 gallon would work out with the fish you listed. If you feel comfortable with aquabid may have dainty cories for sale. I don't know how well they would do when shipped though.


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## xco (Jan 10, 2012)

Hi hedgehog I dont know whats going on but this thread is also on Betafish (apparently at 7.20 in the morning )do you know anything about this??


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

Hmm...I was actually accessing it through the betta fish forum and wasn't sure where to find it on TFK. I'm also not certain how to change the time. Maybe it says somewhere under the User CP at the top of the forum. Sorry you think I would have figured it out in the year and a half I've been on this.


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