Panda Cories and Tiger barbs compatibility?

[alireza]

Hi folks,
I am thinking to add 2-3 panda cories to my 20 gal tank currently with 6 tiger barbs and two apple snails. Do you guys think the cories and the barbs get along together? I am also wondering if I wiil be overstocking or not? I'll be glad to hear your opinions.
Thanks a lot in advance.

[shaunakadub]

I'm not 100% positive, but I think you should be OK. The corys would never have a problem with anything really, they just go about lookin' for food and what not, very very peaceful.

I've never had tiger barbs, but my brother does in his 55gallon and they seem to get along with everyone.

As for the stocking question, to me it seems your a little understocked if anything. Maybe you could go with a larger group of corys?

[alireza]

Thanks Shaunakadub for the advice. I'll give it a try and see what happens to the cories. They are not larger than the tiger barbs. And my concern was that the barbs will harras them.
With regard to your suggestion on adding more cories, that sound a good idea, however, a group of 3 cories must be happy (right?) and if I have room, I'd like to add other fish, like a red-tailed black shark, or couple of dwarf gouramis. What do you think?

[shaunakadub]

Yeap, 3 corys is usually a good group. I have 3 Albinos and 3 Greens, and they are all happy.

Now that I think of it, I have a Dwarf Gourami with my corys, who ocasionally will pester them, but nothing serious, and its fairly rare.

So, I think the gourami might be a little more aggressive than the tiger barbs, meaning you should have no problem at all.

You have a lot of different options for more fish. I would say that you still have a good amount of room in that tank to add more fish without worrying about over-stocking.

[alireza]

Thanks a lot for your advice! Very helpful!

[alireza]

So, I added three panda corys to the tank. Unfortunately, They were immediately picked on by the tiger barbs almost every 10 seconds. The six barbs sometimes surround them like a gang! The poor little guys now are hiding inside a fairly large fake decor almost all the time. The barbs are even interested in the algae tablets I drop for the corys so I have to feed them inside the decore. It's not easy! Now I don't know whether to separate them or they will get along together after some time. They have been together for a couple of days now. I am really worried about the corys. Any ideas? Thanks.

[TKOS]

I would give it some time. Tigers are aggressive but will eventually tire of the cories and go about picking on themselves. For now the cories will come out mostly at night so drop your algae tab or shrimp pellets in after lights out if possible.

[alireza]

Thanks TKOS for your reply. If that's the case, I am a bit relieved!
Do you think it's a good idea that I put a divider in the tank for a few days and remove it afterwards? Does this help them to get used to each other without the corys taking the heat?

[TKOS]

It probably couldn't hurt and would allow the cories to be a little less stressed.

[snakeskinner]

tiger barbs (and many other similar barbs) are very nippy and you never know who they might get along with and who will be a problem. I have a 36 gallon 1/4 cylinder that we've had various barbs and other inhabitants for awhile. We did some re-arranging of decorations in the tank a couple months ago and for some reason my banjo catfish was not going into any of the caves or pots to hide during the day and as a result, the barbs picked him to death.

Panda corydoras are one of the more delicate species, you'd probably be better off with an Aneus or some of the larger species and even then it's liable to be a problem. With a 20 gallon, there's not much room for the corydoras to run and hide in and the barbs are always within "range" to attack. Personally, I'd recommend stepping up to a larger tank that will give them more room to spread out.

On another note, corydoras are not algae eaters so the algae wafers would not be a good main food for them anyway. They'd do good with a little algae in their diet but they are mainly carnivore's. Kyle

[TKOS]

Actually the algae waffers are a great addition to their diet, just not the sole thing. Add some shrimp pellets or complete tabs as well. Mine have been eating algae waffers for years and love them and have successfully bred.

[alireza]

Thank you guys for your responses. Just to give you an update on the situation: I put a divider between the tiger barbs and the panda corys for couple of days. The barbs didn't like it at first (obviously, it reduced the size of their home quite a bit!). I removed the divider and changed the arrangement of the decoration the day before yesterday after a water change and surprizingly the barbs didn't even notice the presence of the corys. They are even very excited that their home grew 50% larger! Now they live together very happily. And BTW, the corys love the shrimp pellets and the green tablets I give them. They have thier specific eating habits though! they have also learned what to do in case a tiger barb decides to give them a visit! They are so funny!