Which of the cory species stay small (less than 3 inches), cute to children's eyes, and hardy? 
(or am I asking too much?)
(or am I asking too much?)Albino Cory vs Panda Cory
- Thread starter yhbae
- Start date
I'd suggest going to the "Cat-elog" at www.planetcatfish.com for assistance on this one. I know that a lot of good-looking Cories can stay close to that small, but I don't know which ones off the top of my head. Planet Catfish can help you find that. Remember that the cories can be found in the family Callichthyidae, and have fun searching!
Skunk cory
My skunk cory was part of the first tropicals I bought a year ago. This one lived through a cycle from hell (multiple mistakes with a new tank) he made it though temperature shocks that killed the serpae tetras and through an outbreak of ich in his tank (he never got it).
He has lived as a single cory for a year now, the 3 metae(?) cories died soon after adding them to his tank. The serpaes picking on him a lot in the 10 gallon but now in the 20 they try to bother the cardinals instead.
Although he lost his barbels to the cycling and new tank problems, they grew back on one side.
My local Petsmart has the skunk cory on availability lists now and I've ordered them for the last two weeks. After not getting them twice, the store is trying to order a lot of them, 24 is more likely to come in than 6.
This one is about 1 1/2 inches long and seem to be full grown.
My skunk cory was part of the first tropicals I bought a year ago. This one lived through a cycle from hell (multiple mistakes with a new tank) he made it though temperature shocks that killed the serpae tetras and through an outbreak of ich in his tank (he never got it).
He has lived as a single cory for a year now, the 3 metae(?) cories died soon after adding them to his tank. The serpaes picking on him a lot in the 10 gallon but now in the 20 they try to bother the cardinals instead.
Although he lost his barbels to the cycling and new tank problems, they grew back on one side.
My local Petsmart has the skunk cory on availability lists now and I've ordered them for the last two weeks. After not getting them twice, the store is trying to order a lot of them, 24 is more likely to come in than 6.
This one is about 1 1/2 inches long and seem to be full grown.
Barbel re-growth
I'm very interested in this notion of barbel regeneration; my little Leopard Cory has no barbels, and I'm not certain he had any when I brought him as a little tyke a month or two ago. He seems to swim about and find food at the top edge of the tank ok, but I'm hoping for his sake that the barbels aren't gone forever. A pair of older, bigger Peppereds in the same tank have fine sets of barbels, so it can't be simply my substrate, unless of course the L. is more tender than the P. Did you notice how long it took for the barbels to grow?
I'm very interested in this notion of barbel regeneration; my little Leopard Cory has no barbels, and I'm not certain he had any when I brought him as a little tyke a month or two ago. He seems to swim about and find food at the top edge of the tank ok, but I'm hoping for his sake that the barbels aren't gone forever. A pair of older, bigger Peppereds in the same tank have fine sets of barbels, so it can't be simply my substrate, unless of course the L. is more tender than the P. Did you notice how long it took for the barbels to grow?
I have 5 albino cory and they seem very hardy to me.
Very active and excellent at cleaning the bottom of the tank of food.
i've had them a little over a year and have moved them to different tanks to be the little helpers..haha
they are doing well
Very active and excellent at cleaning the bottom of the tank of food.
i've had them a little over a year and have moved them to different tanks to be the little helpers..haha
they are doing well
I have 1 of each of a peppered, albino and bronze and all have been doing great from the beginning and are over 6 months old now. The albino is obviously much bigger than the peppered kind and looks much more like a bronze. He also has no eyes at all (born that way) and has never had trouble functioning in my community tank. He is generally the first to the food. Thos elittle cory eyes can't be great for much anyway.
As for size the peppered seem to stay much smaller than the bronze and albinos I have seen. But generally all the dwarf varieties I have seen in the petstores near me are under 3 inches.
As for size the peppered seem to stay much smaller than the bronze and albinos I have seen. But generally all the dwarf varieties I have seen in the petstores near me are under 3 inches.
Originally posted by yhbae
Which of the cory species stay small (less than 3 inches), cute to children's eyes, and hardy?
There's the pygmy cory, but I think they're rather delicate. I bought 4 for my planted tank about 2 months ago and they didn't last more than a month. Whereas I've got almost 4 species of delicate corys in the tank and they've never even shown signs of being sick. I just bought 3 (one turned out to be an oto) for my 7g planted tank and they appear to be doing fine.
Re: Barbel re-growth
I read a study about barbel regeneration, and what causes barbel to diminish in the first place. They used glass fragment for the substrate (ouch!) and guess what -- the barbels were fine. The barbels disapear due to poor water quality, according to the research. I found this on the web, but unfortunately it may no longer be posted. Barbels will regenerate if the water quality is acceptable. SOme cory's are probably more sensitive than others.
I read a study about barbel regeneration, and what causes barbel to diminish in the first place. They used glass fragment for the substrate (ouch!) and guess what -- the barbels were fine. The barbels disapear due to poor water quality, according to the research. I found this on the web, but unfortunately it may no longer be posted. Barbels will regenerate if the water quality is acceptable. SOme cory's are probably more sensitive than others.
Fascinating!
My water is good: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate between 5 and 10. No telling what water he was in at the store, and I truly can't say that he had barbels when I bought him. Sure I should have checked, but he was the last C. trilin in the tank, and he was an afterthought. Only after he was in my tank did I look at him in comparison with the Peppereds, and realize that the 'face' looked different.
No discernible regrowth yet; my water is hard and alkaline, but again, the Peppereds have been in there longer than the Leopard, and they're doing fine with it. He does have a reddish spot under his chin which looks rather like a sore. Any clues there?
My water is good: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate between 5 and 10. No telling what water he was in at the store, and I truly can't say that he had barbels when I bought him. Sure I should have checked, but he was the last C. trilin in the tank, and he was an afterthought. Only after he was in my tank did I look at him in comparison with the Peppereds, and realize that the 'face' looked different.
No discernible regrowth yet; my water is hard and alkaline, but again, the Peppereds have been in there longer than the Leopard, and they're doing fine with it. He does have a reddish spot under his chin which looks rather like a sore. Any clues there?
I have a relatively new Panda cory who had no barbels when I got him...his grew back over a three week period. I have a Jullii Cory with barbels on only one side which has been that way for two months. I have 2 paleatus cories...one with perfect barbels, the other lost most about 6 weeks ago and have not regrown. Tank is stable with perfect water parameters. Water is a little warm ( 79-81) but tough to do better in South Florida summer. Anyway, I have no clue about the barbel differences. THe fish all seem happy, healthy and eating equally well.
