# Corydoras



## Aqua sobriquet (22 Mar 2020)

I was thinking of getting perhaps half a dozen smudge spot Corydoras if they still have them in the LFS but I’ve just seen more than one tank online where folks have had one each of many different species. What do you think, good idea or bad? It’ll be for a 60L cube so I guess I can only have about half a dozen fish.


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## Conort2 (22 Mar 2020)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I was thinking of getting perhaps half a dozen smudge spot Corydoras if they still have them in the LFS but I’ve just seen more than one tank online where folks have had one each of many different species. What do you think, good idea or bad? It’ll be for a 60L cube so I guess I can only have about half a dozen fish.


Bad idea, most species rarely shoal together. Would be better for the fish and lead to a more natural display if you stick to the one species. I have two species of corydoras in my tank and they behave completely differently to each other and don’t shoal together at all.

cheers

conor


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## Jayefc1 (22 Mar 2020)

I have 8 julli Cory's  in my tank and they play together all the time really nice peaceful fish but I would imagine that diffrent types wouldnt stick together


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## alto (23 Mar 2020)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I can only have about half a dozen fish.


I know people will often just buy different Corydoras sp in trios, but they really do prefer larger groups of same species 
- and they’re more likely to spawn etc


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## dw1305 (23 Mar 2020)

Hi all, 





Aqua sobriquet said:


> What do you think, good idea or bad?


Definitely go for one kind. If "Smudge spot" is either <"_Corydoras simils">_ or <"_C. caudimaculatus"> _they are both really nice fish and not always that readily available.

_Corydoras similis_ is more likely, they get a bit bigger than _C. caudimaculatus. _If it is for the cube tank? _C. similis_ are bit big. If you don't mind a "common" fish, <"_Corydoras panda">_ are a bit smaller, and still a smart looking fish when they are in good condition.

Older members will remember when <"_Corydoras panda">_ was new to the hobby and sold for very silly money.

cheers Darrel


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## dino21 (23 Mar 2020)

You could look at a smaller Cory such as the Pygmy and have more of them ?

For our 50 ltr tank we bought 6 young ones , about 10-15mm then, now a year later they are more or less full size at 25-30mm.
Seem to be widely available.

Its a pleasure seeing them grouping and playing togther


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## Aqua sobriquet (23 Mar 2020)

Asking on another forum it seems I may be able to have more than I first expected so I think half a dozen each of a couple of the smaller species may be possible. Yes, I like Panda’s Darrel when available for sensible money!


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## Conort2 (23 Mar 2020)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> Asking on another forum it seems I may be able to have more than I first expected so I think half a dozen each of a couple of the smaller species may be possible. Yes, I like Panda’s Darrel when available for sensible money!


A 60L cube doesn’t seem like a massive amount of space for corydoras, remember they’re bottom dwellers so care more about the area of floor space you have rather than actual volume. If by smaller species you mean the three true dwarves, hastatus, hasbrosus and pygmaeus then it is probably do able. But if you were thinking of any other species instead of those I would just go for the one group of 6. To be fair I think even that’s a push in a 60cm cube.

cheers

Conor


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## dw1305 (23 Mar 2020)

Hi all, 





Conort2 said:


> A 60L cube doesn’t seem like a massive amount of space for corydoras


Same for me, I'd only have a maximum of six larger fish, and I would want anything much over 50mm SL. I've got eight _Corydoras pygmaeus_ in 60 x 30 x 38cm tank with <"five _Copella callolepis"> _and that is all I'm going to have in that tank_._


Aqua sobriquet said:


> Yes, I like Panda’s Darrel when available for sensible money!


They breed pretty readily even in hard water, so you may well find that there are some for private sale in your area. 

What I don't know is where you would look for "private sale" locally. Someone else will know.

cheers Darrel


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## Aqua sobriquet (23 Mar 2020)

Conort2 said:


> A 60L cube doesn’t seem like a massive amount of space for corydoras, remember they’re bottom dwellers so care more about the area of floor space you have rather than actual volume.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Conor



I’m aware of that so I started this thread first:

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/open-area.60220/#post-591033

Sadly I’m getting conflicting advice on numbers. On here 6 is bordering on too many and on another catfish site they’re saying I can keep over a dozen. Unfortunately it’s a moot point now anyway though whilst we’re in lockdown!


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## Simon Cole (24 Mar 2020)

I'm breeding my corries in a pair of 60L cubes.




The pygmy varieties = you can probably go for about 8 but they are very touchy and I wouldn't even mix C. habrosus with C. pygmaeus.
Smaller varieties up to 5cm = you can probably keep 4. I'm not sure about mixing varieties, but when you watch the behavior of C. panda they tend to have a very close bond, and I'm not sure you would get the best from them.
Larger varieties 6cm plus = probably just a breeding pair.

You could keep a dozen. It's just that many people will be turned off because it will look unnatural. On the other hand, I appreciate what you are trying to do. Those mixed cory tanks look amazing. I suspect that the maintenance is quite arduous because they are heavy feeders. Why don't you just re-home all the blind and deformed corries from your LFS. They won't mind being mixed in because nobody wants to buy them anyway. They just need a loving home.


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## Conort2 (24 Mar 2020)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I’m aware of that so I started this thread first:
> 
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/open-area.60220/#post-591033
> 
> Sadly I’m getting conflicting advice on numbers. On here 6 is bordering on too many and on another catfish site they’re saying I can keep over a dozen. Unfortunately it’s a moot point now anyway though whilst we’re in lockdown!


I mean if it was a standard sized aquarium I think it may just about be do able but it’s a cube so you’re down on space already. Anyway Chances are if you go for the one species they will breed and numbers should hopefully expand naturally which is pretty cool. I used to keep corydoras metae and the odd baby always managed to hide and survive I ended up with quite a nice colony. 

Like you said anyway you’ll Have plenty of time to think about it over the next few weeks/months unfortunately.

keep well, cheers.

conor


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## Aqua sobriquet (24 Mar 2020)

This tank is far too bare for my liking but I like the look of so many different types of Corydoras all swimming together:


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## mort (24 Mar 2020)

I've got a 60x30cm bottom area tank that's 60l and if you imagine the scape as just wood set out like a bird of preys talons,  so the wood arches over the sand bed but it just touches the sand in a few places. That tank basically has a completely open sand bed apart from some leaf litter and moss (it's a blackwater setup so can't really get a picture of it) and my cories are the only fish in there apart from a solitary eques pencilfish who out lived his friends. 
I have 6 panda cories at the moment but I think a couple more wouldn't make much difference but only because the bottom area is so open and there isn't anything else. I had adolfoi in there before as a breeding trio and moved them out when their numbers took off, to a bigger tank. 
Could you pack more in? Probably but I would still say 6 of the smaller, non pygmy is a good number. Could you mix the species? Yes again but it's so much more rewarding to see a family group interacting imo.

The one thing I would also mention is a lot of the vids that show multiple species of cories are often filmed just after they have been fed so you get a lot of activity making them look really fun and inviting. If you want that look then it will again look great every time you feed but you won't get as much interaction between the fish when food is not in play.


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## Conort2 (24 Mar 2020)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> This tank is far too bare for my liking but I like the look of so many different types of Corydoras all swimming together:



I think if there was more cover in that tank they wouldn’t be swimming near each other. They’re just all crammed in there together with no cover so don’t have much choice but to swim near other. The two species I have are duplicareus and sp gold laser. The duplicareus are out the front all day together in a group whilst the gold laser I only see at feeding time undercover. 

I think the recommendation of pandas by everyone is a great suggestion, they don’t get too big, are easy to get hold of and quite easy to breed. 

Also you have to remember you’re dealing with what’s essentially a 1 foot cube rather than an aquarium of that size, again limiting your choices. I wouldn’t recommend nearly any of the species shown in that video due to your tank size.


cheers

conor


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## Aqua sobriquet (24 Mar 2020)

Conort2 said:


> Also you have to remember you’re dealing with what’s essentially a 1 foot cube rather than an aquarium of that size, again limiting your choices.
> 
> 
> cheers
> ...



As I said earlier I’ve ordered a 60 Litre “cube”.

https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/aquariums/225-dennerle-nano-cube-60l-aquarium-4001615058611.html

Which is considerably bigger than a 1 foot cube?!


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## alto (24 Mar 2020)

Cubes are always deceptive - until you see it at home and imagine particular fish swimming about

The Dennerle 60 has the “wrong” dimensions - obviously an opinion not shared by many tank manufacturers   - with the tank surface area (38 x 38cm) being smaller than the glass wall surface (38 x 43cm high) 
Unfortunately most fish swim back and forth, not up and down (well they do go up and down as well, but it’s a less natural behaviour - we encourage it by feeding from the top)
While a 60cm x 30cm footprint (1800) aquarium doesn’t seem much bigger than a 38cm x 38cm footprint (1444), if you watch how fish navigate the two spaces ... 

Somehow when reading your post I kept imagining a 60 cm cube and wondered why posters were being so conservative in fish estimates  


Chris Lukhaup did a fantastic job of scaping this Dennerle cube for shrimp - lots of surface area (but obviously less water volume)


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