Corydoras - impressive or not?

RyJ

RyJ

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Feb 2, 2003
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If everyone could...voice your opionion on this question...

Which kind of Cory do you think is the best schooler?

I'm looking for a species that really sticks together and not being at all corners of the aqaurium, seperated. I have kept Albinos before, however found that they don't depend on each other comfort.
 
Cory behavior doesn't seem to vary much from variety to variety, in my experience. I've kept a couple different types, and they've all been about the same (spastic)....

Maybe the secret is keeping them in larger schools, at least 5 or 6. My mother's tank currently has 4, and they tend to stay pretty close together, but they're full-grown (and fat), so they don't move around nearly as much as little ones do.
 
Mine hardly ever stay together. With a group of 6, its always 3 together, and the rest spread around. Schooling is a protective strategy and once the fish realize nothings out there to eat them they'll stop schooling.
 
I differ from those thoughts but only through my experience. I have a few peppered cories that seem to stay scattered throughout my tank while I have 4 adolfo's cories that are always sticking together....wherever one goes, the rest seem to stick close behind.....
 
From what I have read, it seems that schooling behavior is best in the Cories that are closest to the wild (lower "F-number"). That may explain why Adolfois would stick together while Paleatus and Aeneus won't.

From what I've read as well, the best schoolers are the dwarf midwater swimmers (C. gracilis, etc.) Those don't really exhibit classic Cory behavior, they are more like Tetras, but they school the best.

I suppose that if you want schooling, you are going to have to pony up some money for wild-caught ones (F0) or ones with numbers such as F1, F2 or for the mid-water swimmers, or just hope and pray that you get lucky with the old standard $1.99 Aeneus, Paleatus, Julii, Panda, or Ambiacus!
 
I've had julies that don't care if they're alone or not, yet right now I have 7 pandas that never leave each others side. At worst, they split up into two groups and then reform when feedings over.
 
you could try to add a slightly larger but peaceful fish into the tank to try to create a 'threat' so that they school to protect themselves. this works with tetras and mid swimmers but i'm unsure if it would work with bottom dwellers like corys.

one option would be the snakeskin gourami which is a medium-sized but peaceful fish. they are difficult to find though. (this is only practical if you have a large enough tank to accomodate)
 
I posted about my Corydoras napoensis on another thread. My guys hang together all the time. I have five of them and one C. trilineatus in my tank. I had three of the trilineatus before and they didn't stick together nearly as much as the napoensis.

I bought these guys under the name C. agassizi, but I'm pretty sure about them actually being napoensis. There's a link for a picture of C. napoensis on the other thread if you're interested.
 
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