Planning 20 gallon tank. Cory-only?

D

dest

AC Members
Jul 3, 2005
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Hello!
I was thinking about getting aquarium a lot, and i came to idea of about 20 gallon tank. It was hard for me to decide about fishes, and i had two variants:

First one to go with Bronze corys and Guppies with 20 gallon tall aquarium, but i was worried about corys. I want to give them enough space to live and swim, and also i was concerned about Guppies as they breed very fast and i would have problems with their fry (i mean i wouldnt know what to do with it).

So there's my idea. Probably its not something unusual, but i'm new to this hobby and dont really know much about it. What if i went with 20 gallon long tank (70x30x30 cm) (28'' x 12'' x 12'') and had ONLY bronze corys there? Would corys be ok with it? Are corys happy alone in tank? If they're alone, do they stick to the bottom or swim in middle of aquarium too?

Would there be any problems with plants (i want planted aquarium) and 12'' height? And finally - are corys ok if most of the ground area is covered with small plants, for example java moss? Or is it neccesery for them to have plain ground?

Thanks for answers! Any suggestions would be highly appreciated! :bowing:
 
The cories would be happy, and with them the only species in the tank they'll be happy. And the 20 long is shallow, so you'll see them dart to the surface a lot--mine do that in the 55g which is more of a dart. I find the corys do use more then just the bottom, but the are bottom dwellers, so any trips into the higher levels are temporary.
 
Hi, jm1212, thanks for reply.

Well since tank height would be only 12'' (30 cm) i dont think it would be big problem.

Also, i've read that corys need 6,5 to 7 pH but im afraid my pH is a little higher (im just not sure how much higher). Is a bit higher pH harmful for corys? Should i take them off my plans? Cause they look like nice fishes, would be a pitty. But if i have to i will.

P.S. I don't want to chemically mess with water parameters, just to let you know.

Any offers or comments are appreciated :)
 
jm1212, yay! :) That means i have probably decided about my fauna at last! :bday: hehe i hope they will be ok in my tank :)

What about flora? What would be most suitable types for my aqua? I have few candidates. If you dont mind ill give link to the list of them:
http://djc.tts.lt/setup.html

Dont look at fish list, that was list i made a week ago :) Now i chose corys, and have to choose plants. You can see them with pictures at the bottom of page. Which ones would be most suitable? I definately want to get java moss, java fern and probably Vallisneria spiralis (Tiger) somewhere in the edges of aquarium.
Any suggestions or comments?

Also, do cories like when there's java moss growing on the ground or should i leave them some space to dig around?
 
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Corys like to dig about in the substrate, but they like plants and covered areas. Mine will filter through the substrate and then go find a nice shaded spot to lay for a while, then dart around. But they are much more happy when they have spots to hide--though when they are first getting used to the tank they may spend more time there then you'd like. Corys are amazing fun, but they can be skittish at first.
 
Thanks you very much jm1212 and sarcare for information!

I am thinking about how much corys there should be. 6-7 maybe? I dont want to overcrowd the tank, but i will add them gradually so i will see as it goes.

How much of them would you add to tank to start nitrogen cycle? 1 or 2? And after that, how do pioneer corys react to new added corys? Are they friendly towards them or should i add new corys in groups of 2 for them to feel safer?

Also, a word on filtration. Next week i should get my JBL ProCristal 100 filter. Its for aquaria up to 100liters (40 gallons) and its max is 340 l/h. I just want to ask to be sure if it will be enough for my tank :) But i guess there shouldnt be any problems. Here's some info on that filter:

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/cgi-bin/neu/webshop.pl?f=NR&c=126501&t=temartic_e

When i will buy my cories (about 2 weeks to wait hehe) what male/female ratio should i pick? Do males pick on females or not?
 
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You could still have your guppies! Just get all males, much more colorful and you wont have to worry about dealing with fry. You could also do some various tetras to give a little more flavor to the top of the tank.

Corys are hard to sex, so dont worry about that :) If they wanna breed, they'll figure it out on their own. As for your water, ask what the water is like at your LFS, odds are its similar, so all their fish are probably acclimated to the local pH. Besides, as long as you're not dealing with wild caught corys, properly treated tap water will be fine.
 
If by saying "treat your water" you mean chlorine remove, i dont think i'll have to do this.

Lots of aquariumists in my country do not add anything to their tap water, and since we do not have chlorine in our tap water, it should be ok :) I dont know many people who have aquariums in my town (its very small), but as far as i know, they do not use anything to prepare their water. Maybe they just let it sit for a day before water change.

I will consider getting guppies after i get my corys! thanks. Now i have to decide about flora :)
 
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