View Full Version : how many cories can i put in a 55g?
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-15-2003, 2:11 PM
im gonna get an AC 500, but for now it only has 2 of the 30$ filters from, walmart rated 30-60 gallon.... it will have more fish like neons and other small fish, but i want to have a lot of cories...
pinballqueen
03-15-2003, 3:59 PM
it just depends on exactly how many other of these "little fish" like neons you're planning on keeping.
The average full size of a cory is 3-4 inches, and since they are a catfish, they add quite a bit to the bioload of the tank (most catfish species are kind of messy... at least cories are at the low end of the spectrum as far as that goes...)
If you had NOTHING BUT cory cats, you could probably manage 10 with no problem if you had adequate filtration. With other fish in the tank, and not knowing exactly how effective your current filter system is, I couldn't tell you for sure exactly how many would be okay. Keep in mind, though, that these are schooling fish, and would really like to be in groups of at least 3 or 4 individuals of each species, so my recommendation would be having only one species of cory, rather than having one specimen of each species (i.e., one albino, one panda, and one green, etc.)
I know how you feel about the little guys, they're really cute!
Good luck, and hope this helps.
ROLLIN
03-15-2003, 5:12 PM
Pinballqueen, are you sure youre thinking of cories? Not many of them get 3 - 4 inches, about 2 - 2.5 seems average. You could have alot more than only 10 cories in a 55 gallon.
*Edit - some like the corydoras barbatus get pretty big, but Im not sure theyre actually a "real" cory....
fishbrain
03-15-2003, 5:18 PM
Originally posted by ROLLIN
Pinballqueen, are you sure youre thinking of cories? Not many of them get 3 - 4 inches, about 2 - 2.5 seems average. You could have alot more than only 10 cories in a 55 gallon.
*Edit - some like the corydoras barbatus get pretty big, but Im not sure theyre actually a "real" cory.... agreed,most corrys are between 2-3 inches ,but a lot more than 10 might be too much with other fish in the tank.
pinballqueen
03-15-2003, 5:53 PM
i suppose I've just had some monsters. All of mine have gotten up to at least 3 inches, but I guess I may just be lucky.... I stand corrected.
Steve B
03-15-2003, 6:02 PM
Some of the cories in my 55gal tank are at least 5yrs old (dated from the time I got them) and none of them are over 2". I agree with the above posters the biggest they get are 2"-2.5" (Baensch also confirms this).
That said I have had as many as 10 pairs in my tank with a total fish population of 27.
I have 3 cories in my 10 gallon tank that are all different species (well an albino and bronze are the same I guess) and they all get along great and shoal together sometimes then head off there separate ways as well. I would love more but that is as much as I would put in a small tank. MIne aren't any bigger than 1.5 - 2 inches.