Setup for Corydoras Eques (species only)
- Thread starter NoodleCats
- Start date
that's goodBit red in the gills from the store conditions, that's clearing up by the day
Otherwise, very fat little ones, surprisingly taking pellets and flakes no problem. I expected a struggle lol
cories eating is so fun to watch
Added some pogostemon g a y i (have to put spaces in the word otherwise it censors it lol, but that's the actual plant name, I'm not making that up, I'm so sorry) in place of the cabomba that wasn't faring too well. Also less vals since they got moved to a larger tank.
Close up of the pogo. Pretty plant, native to South America, very happy with this option.
The otos like them too!
Ive got 8 otos now, and all doing well. One is super thin still but hes been pushing on very well and surprising me with how active he is. He's probably my favourite.
Embers good and chunky, they've been spawning off and on as they feel like it.
Pretty hydrocotyle leucocephala. Plant is a nitrate beast.
Ive added a mini powerhead since it's moving into their "rain season", so flow is increased. As season gets closer to October, I'll be increasing water changes and using some RO to further push that along. They're often playing in the flow, but no spawning yet. Males keep trying though. Three ladies in this photo.
Close up of the pogo. Pretty plant, native to South America, very happy with this option.
The otos like them too!
Ive got 8 otos now, and all doing well. One is super thin still but hes been pushing on very well and surprising me with how active he is. He's probably my favourite.
Embers good and chunky, they've been spawning off and on as they feel like it.
Pretty hydrocotyle leucocephala. Plant is a nitrate beast.
Ive added a mini powerhead since it's moving into their "rain season", so flow is increased. As season gets closer to October, I'll be increasing water changes and using some RO to further push that along. They're often playing in the flow, but no spawning yet. Males keep trying though. Three ladies in this photo.
Well otos haven't been thriving well, for whatever reason. Only 4 have made it out of the 11 total ive bought just trying to keep a group above 6. I moved the 4 survivors to my 55g which has more grazing surfaces for them and already the 4 seem to be getting fatter there, so hoping that stays good and if all 4 make it by next month I'll try 2 more new ones.
Fat chonker in their new tank.
But that left the 20g very empty activity wise. Gave my husband the choice if we should add more ember tetras or add something else.
He chose lemon tetras!
In bag on our way home from the lfs.
Waiting for them to colour up still. However, have to say, for their size, they might have the most impressive chompers on them compared to most fish their size.
Just a small group of 6 to go with the 10-11 ember tetras, see if it brings them more out in the open more. So far the embers are really liking their bigger buddies and group right with them. Hoping the yellow comes in well, I think it'll pair really well with the red-orange embers.
And the pogostemon g a y i is looking sharp!
And the tank.
Fat chonker in their new tank.
But that left the 20g very empty activity wise. Gave my husband the choice if we should add more ember tetras or add something else.
He chose lemon tetras!
In bag on our way home from the lfs.
Waiting for them to colour up still. However, have to say, for their size, they might have the most impressive chompers on them compared to most fish their size.
Just a small group of 6 to go with the 10-11 ember tetras, see if it brings them more out in the open more. So far the embers are really liking their bigger buddies and group right with them. Hoping the yellow comes in well, I think it'll pair really well with the red-orange embers.
And the pogostemon g a y i is looking sharp!
And the tank.
Wow, I love the cory close up above all else, including the pogo & embers. But they look great too!
I had lemons once fairly recently. Mine didn't look as awesome as yours! Must be your lighting & amazing camera skills. But I liked them a lot!
I had lemons once fairly recently. Mine didn't look as awesome as yours! Must be your lighting & amazing camera skills. But I liked them a lot!
I'm still waiting for them to fully colour up, the lemons. Were a very nice yellow in store. They're still young as well, so I expect more coloring will happen as they grow.
So far they've been really good tankmates to the embers. The embers seem to see them out in the open so they feel safer to come out too. The lemons like the open spot where the sag grass is, and it's definitely now where the embers want to be because of that. Tank doesn't look so empty during cory siesta times now lol
My husband chose the lemons because he thought the yellow colour was funny on them. Calls them the adult word for urine fish lol ? but the yellow pairs well with the oranges of the embers.
I know lots of people prefer just 1 group of schoolers, looks more organized and unified for scapes, but if you ever watch the underwater videos of Amazon fish, the tetra shoals all group together, never just 1 group solid usually. I find it looks more natural to replicate that in tanks as well. I do get the appeal of one huge group too, and it can make a big statement to see it, but there's also the more natural look I tend to aim for too.
I gave the husband a choice of fish options: more embers, lemons, pristellas, or kerris. He chose the lemons.
Too cold for cardinals in this tank, neons are jerks in my experience with them, and many others more common around me also get too large or ive already got them in other tanks. Had to stick with fish comfortable in the 72-78F range. Many options I looked at surprisingly liked it 75-82F haha... no good for the "rain season" cold temps for this tank.
So that's how I narrowed down my list, and I was undecided which i liked best, so I let my husband pick from them using pictures off Google.
It's not often he gets enthusiastic over a fish choice, even if its for an immature reason lol
I like a mix of 2 schoolers in some cases too. As you've seen, it can help more shy fish feel safe enough to be out & about, bottom feeders too. But often it's a case of aggressive vs shy without careful selections & decor. You've done very well, I like the combo.
My lemons were a gift rehome from a club friend. He had 3 generations but they didn't breed successfully for me & gradually died out.
Since my strong interest is in bottom feeders I sometimes take other's schoolers that fit with my favorites or existing groups. I was waiting for my gift leopard danios to (finally) die off in my hillstream loach tank...& just a few rummynose tetras in a different tank. I'd like to choose the next fish I get, lol. I'm thinking of Vietnamese whiteclouds again in the river tank (a clubber breeds them or used to) & roseline sharks somewhere, we loved them!
I try too, to "let" my husband have a choice of next fish. Problem is we have a LOT of favorites from over the years, his tend to be CA cichlids that don't work with my ideas. I'll try your "pick 1 of 4" species, that's a good plan!
My lemons were a gift rehome from a club friend. He had 3 generations but they didn't breed successfully for me & gradually died out.
Since my strong interest is in bottom feeders I sometimes take other's schoolers that fit with my favorites or existing groups. I was waiting for my gift leopard danios to (finally) die off in my hillstream loach tank...& just a few rummynose tetras in a different tank. I'd like to choose the next fish I get, lol. I'm thinking of Vietnamese whiteclouds again in the river tank (a clubber breeds them or used to) & roseline sharks somewhere, we loved them!
I try too, to "let" my husband have a choice of next fish. Problem is we have a LOT of favorites from over the years, his tend to be CA cichlids that don't work with my ideas. I'll try your "pick 1 of 4" species, that's a good plan!
Vietnamese white clouds are beautiful!
Yeah nipping factor is something I do look into when looking at fish. If it's noted on multiple sources that the fish is prone to being a problem with tankmates, I'm very wary on it.
In this case, I was looking for a tetra up to 2 inches or smaller, south american origin is a must, temp range must match the current inhabitants, and meet my GH, pH, and tank size. And of course be available to me here in Canada either locally or online.
I have heard some talk on forums that sometimes lemons can be nippy, but most sources and owners claim they're pretty mellow. And thus far they've proven to be really good tankmates.
Mind you, when it comes to most tetras, I also take the nipping complaints with a grain of salt. I look at sources and if a personal account I try to see why it may happen.
And is it true physical damage nipping or is it just chasing and charging? What do people consider "nipping" in these complaints?
Lots of people find skirt tetras to be aggressive. They can be--when improperly kept. Mine are feisty, but most of it is bluffing, they don't usually resort to physical violence. And it's kept among themselves. But the 7 I have are kept in a 4 foot tank with a large group of black neon tetras too. They have space to move and aren't cramped in each other's faces. As such, theyre pretty content and not a nuisance at all.
My emperors in my other 55 are more aggressive than the skirts. I keep them with a small shoal of cherry barbs, and no drama there either. The tetras do bicker among themselves, a lot of active chasing and if they could catch one another I'm sure they'd take a bit of fins lol but they have space. They're not one id suggest putting into a small tank, for one, or with a species that is easily intimidated.
I do have to say though, the aggression factor is why I turned down serpae tetras in the 20g. There's too many sources backing up the statement, lots of personal accounts. I don't think they'd be good tankmate options for embers in a smaller space.
Id love a pair of apistos but tbh in a 20g long footprint, I don't think it'd work out with a herd of corydoras. And if I attempted it and it went south, I don't have a tank to move the apistos to either. Too small of a tank as well for a pleco due to bioload, and wouldn't benefit the ember tetras at all either.
Hatchets would be neat, but open top aquarium, so that'd be a disaster with them.
I dont know. I have always been someone to do a lot of digging when looking into something, I have tendencies to be impulsive at times thanks to adhd, so I try really hard to counteract that by putting a lot of thought into things.
Been burned in the past with some fish. Looking at my experience with neon tetras. They've ruined me from ever wanting them again. They were so bad they fought each other all the time, nipped other fish, ate the fans off my bamboo shrimp, and even ate one of their own's face right off and he healed with a gnarly twisted up face. They can stay far, far away lol meanest fish I ever owned! No idea why either, they were housed in a 3 foot tank with tons of plants and in a large group of them. They were just so so mean. That experience has definitely made me carefully look at tetra choices. Generally now I actually turn away from that whole family of tetras.
