Poor corydoras :(

[Born4spd]

I must have bad luck with them, they lose their barbels really easily.

Could it be that i don't vacuum the tank enough?

I have plain ole brown gravel from petsmart. So i don't think that's the problem.

I want some more corydora, we just got a new shipment in at the store i work at and they are nice plump active little fellows :)

I really want to get good with cories so i can breed them.

Which species do you reccomend?

And whats the max # of cories i can keep in a 20H tank? (would i be able to keep more in a 20long?

[DAVIDFBT]

First of all, what are your water paramaters? How long has the tank been set up? How small are the cories? I think the problem is your gravel, cories like sand better than gravel because it is easier on their snouts.

[Hooked Newbie]

Cories prefer finer substrate than the typical gravel. Sand is good. The easiest starter cories would be those commonly seen at the chains. Peppereds, Aneus, Spotted, etc. A 20L would be better due to the longer footprint. Will anything else be in the tank? If not, you could do 10-12 of one of the above species IMO.

[Hooked Newbie]

First of all, what are your water paramaters? How long has the tank been set up? How small are the cories? I think the problem is your gravel, cories like sand better than gravel because it is easier on their snouts.

Very good questions.

[msjinkzd]

I would also be curious as to your maintenance routine and what you are feeding them.

[Sarge_857]

my cories have been thru alot in the past, a mean jack dempsey, my new firemouth which is a pain in the rear, poor water conditions (due to my idiotic i dont need a test kit thoughts...) and none have ever lost a barbel. they just swim around the bottom lookin for snacks, and they now try to come to the surface for flakes, tho the firemouth keeps em away.

[Born4spd]

Tank is cycled, been setup for about a year now.

I have a baby longear in the tank with the cories
Oh and BTW i stopped and looked at one of my cories and i thought one of its rear fins had fell off, but it just using them as hands and was holding 3-4 eggs!

As soon as it layed them on the gravel the longear ate them :/

Im about to buy my little brothers 20L and my friends 10 , then i plan on buying a 29 gallon starter kit from petsmart.

Im thinking about putting the longear in the 20L and putting a nice sized gourami in the 20H with 6-7 corydora aeunus.

The 10 gallon is full of guppies. lol

The 29 is probably going to be 6-7 spotted corydora and i have no clue what else.

[Born4spd]

i feed em wardley shrimp pellets and Hikari sinking wafers and sometimes they get flake.

I saved some of the eggs!

i just saved 22 eggs! Anyone know how long until they hatch?

[Icom]

i feed em wardley shrimp pellets and Hikari sinking wafers and sometimes they get flake.

I saved some of the eggs!

i just saved 22 eggs! Anyone know how long until they hatch?


:headbang2: about7-10 days I think. I got one of the breeding nets that hang on the tank,and just put the eggs in that.I have around 15 babies swimming in there right now,and just put another dz eggs in yesterday.
I put a chunk of Java Moss in the net and the babies are always swimming around in it picking away at whatever;I drop a few flakes in and smash up a shrimp pellet every day for 'em.A couple are getting rather large,around 1/4" or so

[tennesseemom]

You can good, cheap sand at Lowes or Home Depot, it's called "pool filter sand". Not the playsand, that is too fine, though lots of people use it. $5 for a 25lb bag or 50lbs, forgot how heavy the bag was. Easy to rinse and my corys are fine on it.

[Born4spd]

i would use sand except, A. I like my plants :) B. I think sand is harder to clean. (my lil bro had it in his 20L it was a PITA)

Im so excited about these baby cories :) i put them in a large net and set it in the tank i think i will add java moss as suggested.


Kinda quick question..... do the eggs come "out" fertilized?

[OldMan47]

I have plain ole brown gravel from petsmart. So i don't think that's the problem.

I am guessing that your problem may be the plain old gravel. Take a hard look at the individual pieces of gravel that make up your substrate. Maybe even use a magnifying glass to examine it. Although it may be chemically OK for tropical fish in general, not many fish are as particular about their surfaces as a cory. For a cory, the gravel needs to have a rounded shape with no sharp edges. If the gravel was made the right size for your tank by the vendor crushing larger gravel down to size, it may well have sharp edges to it. Anything from pea gravel to sand will work fine with cories as long as it's not sharp. Some of the sand used for building is intentionally sharp although it is quite small. It makes better concrete and mortar if it's sharp so don't blame the store for carrying the right stuff for their normal customers.
Good luck figuring it out but my first suspect is the gravel.

[Starálfur]

Sorry to ask a question in your thread -

Is regular Flourite okay for cories?

[noodles62]

I have plants in my tank w/ pool filter sand. They are growing just fine. My cories love it! And it is not hard to clean at all. All the food crumbs/poo, etc do not go down into crevices like it does w/ gravel. It just stays on top and either gets eaten or vac'd up when I do a water change. I will never use gravel again! The last tank I had it in was impossible to keep clean.....

[Born4spd]

noodles, i hate to bother you but do you have any pics of your tank?
You have made me curious.

[Icom]

I have plants in my tank w/ pool filter sand. They are growing just fine. My cories love it! And it is not hard to clean at all. All the food crumbs/poo, etc do not go down into crevices like it does w/ gravel. It just stays on top and either gets eaten or vac'd up when I do a water change. I will never use gravel again! The last tank I had it in was impossible to keep clean.....

same here..no more gravel for me..I'm even going to take the eco complete out of a 20L and put in pool filter sand. plants grow just fine in it,the cories love digging/rooting around it,way easier to clean;just hover the vac over it.

[noodles62]

noodles, i hate to bother you but do you have any pics of your tank?
You have made me curious.

yea, but it is a crappy pic. My camera is smarter than me! I will be changing my tank out next weekend for a 45 but will have the same basic set up; move things around a bit, hope to find more driftwood.......
pool filter sand is a whole diff animal than play sand. Try it - I promise you will LOVE it! and your cories will thank you for it! :grinyes:

[tennesseemom]

This is my 55 gallon with pool filter sand:

http://www.tennessee-mom.com/wp-content/gallery/2008/tank1.jpg


And this is my little 2.5 gallon:

http://www.tennessee-mom.com/wp-content/gallery/2008/tank2.jpg


It really is easier then gravel. Its a heavier texture then the sand you find in fish stores, that stuff is like dust.

[Born4spd]

i actually have some regular aquarium sand...its my lil brothers old sand , he replaced it with gravel.

I just setup the 20L in my room omg.. little brothers + aquarium = YUCK after the sloshing around from traveling upstairs to my room... the entire tank had a layer of detritus over the gravel :( guess how he has it stocked lol you guys are gonna hate this.

He has an oscar and like 10 platys in it. :(

now i need to think up some ideas for stocking.

Thank god for pet store associate discounts :)

[Born4spd]

Noodles, is that an eclipse system?

[noodles62]

Noodles, is that an eclipse system?

no an Aqueon (allglass) tank w/ glass hood and perfecto light strip....

[DAVIDFBT]

I would just buy brand new clean sand for you new tank. Better peace of mind for you.

Here's a picture of my planted, SAND bottom 20G:
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/9875/powerheadco2020cz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

[noodles62]

Nice tank david fbt!

[Born4spd]

david... what kind of sand is that?

It almost looks like tiny little gravel.

(how much was your light fixture?) if you dont mind me asking.

[DAVIDFBT]

That is play sand that I have in the tank, not tiny gravel. :)

The light fixture only cost me 14 dollars. Just go to walmart and go to the lighting section, and in the flourescent strip light area, there are 24 inch light with 17 watts of output for 7 dollars each. I bought 2 of them and attached them together with silicone and tape. I also made a reflector out of aaluminum foil.

I eventually upgraded to 20 watt lights for an extra 10 dollars. I get 2 WPG with that. It look a lot better now after the Ludwigia grew in, except that the Anacharis melted and now I have to buy some more.

[Born4spd]

you sir, are a genius!

i now have a tank to model my 20H after, its amazing looking.

Good Job!

[Born4spd]

:/ what do you do if a tank isnt level?

[DAVIDFBT]

^ Thanks a lot! It's always nice to be the model for someone else.

You should see the plan for lighting my 55. The 4' flourescent light fixture is 10 dollars with each 40 Watt light also 10 dollars. The light fixture holds 2 lights, so 30 dollars will give me 80 watts over 55 gallons! That's the only thing in that walmart has helped me with, cheap and powerful lighting.

[Lupin]

:/ what do you do if a tank isnt level?
Adjust the stand until it is leveled. Place a stack of coins under legs.

[Born4spd]

im kinda poor, its on the floor, and yes i rhyme all the time ;)

basically my house is crooked on that wall... i live in a room that used to be the attic , but i converted it, so things arent completely square.

[DAVIDFBT]

You could also set it on top of a piece of styrofoam so the tank's weight squishes it down so the tank is level.

[Lupin]

You could also set it on top of a piece of styrofoam so the tank's weight squishes it down so the tank is level.
:iagree: