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Panda Cory tank size

aec34

aec34

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10 Oct 2020
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Gloucestershire
At some point soon-ish I’ll be setting up a 60p (60 x 30 x 36 high), so ballpark 60-65 litres tank, and I’m wondering about aiming to stock with a group of panda corys. The tank will be heavily planted, with a sandy patch.
Does anyone have experience of keeping these in a tank this size? Do they usually do ok, or should I stick to smaller fish?

Saw some in the flesh last week and am totally sold on them, but I’m worried they’d need more space.
 
aec34 said:
At some point soon-ish I’ll be setting up a 60p (60 x 30 x 36 high), so ballpark 60-65 litres tank, and I’m wondering about aiming to stock with group of panda corys. The tank will be heavily planted, with a sandy patch.
Does anyone have experience of keeping these in a tank this size? Do they usually do ok, or should I stick to smaller fish?

Saw some in the flesh last week and am totally sold on them, but I’m worried they’d need more space.
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They’re quite small for a corydoras, not dwarf Cory size but not as large as a lot of species. I think you’d be fine with a group of 6 in there.

Cheers
 
Thanks all - so for sand, would half the footprint be ok, or do I need to aim for the whole 60 x 30?
(I’m not after a particularly manicured tank, but would like some stuff planted in the substrate so was also planning some aqua soil.)
 
aec34 said:
Thanks all - so for sand, would half the footprint be ok, or do I need to aim for the whole 60 x 30?
Click to expand...
Your plan is to set up a planted tank, right? In that case, I would use aquasoil in the planted areas towards the back of the tank, and sand on the visible patches in the front. Don't mix sand with aquasoil as it will become a mess. Panda corydoras are rather small (will grow up to ~5cm) and a group of 6-8 should be happy in a 60cm tank.
 
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It depends on what plants you plan to have and how many. I’ve got just sand in both of my tanks by I’ve got mainly Moss and Anubias which are easy to grow.
 
I think about half sounds good, especially because you can still grow some plants in the sand as well if it's deep enough. In my tank where I have sand and aquasoil and bottom-dwelling fish, loads of bits of aquasoil get mixed in with the sand and it looks really ugly and it annoying to get rid of.

Another option would be to forgo the aquasoil/sand separation and do a nice layer of soil with a good 1inch+ layer of sand over the top. I grew a lot of plants successfully this way, particularly with a few root tabs under any very hungry plants. Then the cories will love it everywhere and you can still have all your plants.
 
Okie doke, thanks everyone. Still pondering exactly what the set up will be, so lots of things to think about here.
I’m very keen to keep any future fish happy but cannot get a bigger tank than this (no, really, I can’t), so I’m still wondering if they are too big to allow me flexibility in keeping any other fish with them in this size.
 
aec34 said:
Okie doke, thanks everyone. Still pondering exactly what the set up will be, so lots of things to think about here.
I’m very keen to keep any future fish happy but cannot get a bigger tank than this (no, really, I can’t), so I’m still wondering if they are too big to allow me flexibility in keeping any other fish with them in this size.
Click to expand...
The pandas grow to ~5cm. You can consider as alternative the smaller corydoras hastatus or corydoras pygmaeus since they would give you more flexibility going forward.
 
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