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Well, after reading all of the posts for the last 2 years on this site about Corydoras Panda, I finally purchased my first school today.

When I was at the LFS today picking up some other items I noticed that they had 6 small (around 1/2" pandas, and as I was deciding what to add to a fairly empty (of fish) well established and planted tank I thought if these fish are half as entertaining as Cali says they are then let's give them a try, so I purchased all 6.

Anyways, they are now settling into their new home, so wish me some luck with them.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Congrats Old Timer!

Cali does make them sound interesting and fun! i also finally spotted some at my LFS and wished i had a tank for them!

enjoy your lil pandas!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I love Corydoras Catfish, they are so active and come in so many different varieties, I have heard some say they have had certain species for 25 years or more.

17 years experience with freshwater.

In a group of 6 you might find them a bit sedate.

As I tell anyone who will listen ad nauseam (), Corydoras panda is, like the other small Corydoras species, one of the 'avowedly social' members of the Genus. You should be aiming to boost the numbers to a minimum of 8, and if you have space, go for 12. The fun and frolics I see in my aquarium with 13 of them is quite something to witness ...

Also, give them as stimulating an environment as you can. Intricate, tangled bogwood pieces with holes in that they can use as underwater "Wendy Houses" are de rigeur. Be careful when using such pieces though, and try and make sure that there are no places a Panda can become trapped - I was caught by surprise once when a bogwood piece I've had for 12 years proved to have a hitherto unsuspected trap in it and I ended up hastily remodelling the bogwood with a screwdriver to remove the offending trap. However, the benefits usually outweigh the dangers by a large margin where Pandas are concerned, they're usually agile enough not to get caught out in obvious traps, and usually have enough sense to avoid them.

Once you have a group of 8, they'll start exhibiting their liveliness. Get a group of 12, and enjoy the roller coaster ride.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I do plan on increasing the numbers over the next month or so, however the day I purchased these 6 they were all that the store had in at the moment. I was hoping as you say to eventually get a group of 12.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

If you've got space for even more (16 or upwards) then go for it ... your life will never be the same!

If you put them in an aquarium with a powerhead driving an UGF, watch them surf the current. Endless hours of fun for all concerned.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Good luck! They are undoubtedly adorable. I love pandas, but have sadly gone through quite a few before finding some hardy ones... and in the most unlikely place.

I found my first few attempts in a good quality LFS, but the pandas were always tiny, and initially active, but for whatever reason would die after a few months.

I found my current group of pandas in one of the least appealing chain pet stores around here (read as, I would never ordinarily buy fish there). They have lived through one very hasty move and another move in short order and still look lively. It's been over six months.

Whatever it is about pandas, they are definitely the most amusing cories in my motley cory crew.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Well Kitten, it looks like my luck is going along as yours did. Out of the 6 initial purchased, I'm down to 3. However, the 3 that died, did so within the first 48 hours of purchase.

Water parameters are all good and the panda's were placed into a well established and moderately planted tank with the only other occupant an older betta is has seen better days.

Hopefully the remaining 3 will prove to be tougher than the others and make it. They are all eating well and active so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Eventually these little guys, and I'm hoping to add another 12 to 15 to the total are going to go into a 45 gallon tank that I just set up this weekend. It will be a heavily planted, albeit low light tank with quite a bit of driftwood so it should make a great home for them.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I love pandas I have a school of 11!!!!
They are so fun. They hang out alot around the driftwood, sleeping under it and scavenging and playing on top o fit. They are so hilarious. One will be sitting on the DW while another will sneak up behind and unintentionally will scare it. They are great fun.
Sorry to hear about your loss, what is the temp? they seem to like cool waters and warmer waters will make them shed mucus and quickly die. I lost one to this and 2 others were having this problem but I saved them in time.
Good luck and dont let your early deaths discourage you! Once you find a good healthy fun group you will just want to get more and more.

Oh, I'm not going to give up. I really like cory's of all types as they have been one of my favorite species since I started keeping fish some 35 years ago. These are just the first panda's I've had.

My tank temperature is currently 78 degrees. Is this too high? If so I'll start to slowly lower it to something more suitable. What is the recommended range?

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I usually aim my temperature nearer to 70. Cali would really be the best person to talk to on pandas, though. I think cories in general like the temp to be a bit cooler.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I don't have much luck with the C.panda & so i've stopped buying them. I don't know why, but they seem to die off easily. I would like to keep them & try out once again, but now i am trying to get some C.adolfoi & C.reticulatus, so the C.panda have to wait.........

Good Luck Jim & hope you'll get more of these buggers......

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Ideally, for maintenance, you should be looking at around 73 or 74 degrees F as a target temperature. I've discovered that while Pandas can live at 78, they're a LOT happier at 74. While it may seem paradoxical, given that they are, like all fishes, poikilothermic (and therefore activity should nominally be governed by temperature) they exhibit more activity at 74 than at 78 in my aquarium. Don't forget that a temperature decrease is a spawning stimulus for many Corydoras species (along with a large water change of course) and that Pandas will spawn vigorously if given a large water change, gravel vac and a 2 degree temperature drop. They don't actually need the temperature drop as much as some other Corydoras do (notably the long snouted hillstream species) and indeed, I've even had them spawn after a 2 degree Celsius rise in the past as well as after a temperature drop (the BIG stimulus with Pandas appears to be a large influx of nice new fresh clean water) but a temperature drop accompanying the water change definitely stirs them into action.

Adults can go as high as 82 degrees F for relatively modest periods of time (say around 12 hours during the day) so long as they get to cool off sometime (e.g., during the night). Panda fry, on the other hand, will die if they go above 80, and the fry can live for extended periods of time at temperatures as low as 16 degrees Celsius. I've had them survive short periods at 12 degrees Celsius with no harm done, a consequence of the fact that their native rivers are fed on a fairly frequent basis by Andean meltwaters that are pretty cool when they arrive. Plus, when it rains on their rivers, the rains that fall are, courtesy of the geographical location right next door to the Andes in Peru, the coldest of the South American rains, which means that when the rainy season starts, they experience a temperature drop that is somewhat larger than the drop experienced by Corydoras living in the downstream reaches of the Brazilian Amazon, for example, where the rains have had chance to warm up a little because the clouds carrying them have been able to descend from their climb above the Andes (to clear the Andes, the moisture laden air that forms the rain clouds has to climb to around 23,000 feet above sea level, and at that altitude, it's COLD).

Breeding wise, they'll breed at more or less any temperature from 66 to 75 F, but seem to be more productive if they're breeding at around 72-73.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for the information, Cali. I'll begin to slowly adjust the temperature of their tank and bring it down to a more comfortable range for them. The 3 survivors are still doing good and looks like they'll make it. I'll make sure that the temperature in their future home is appropriate as well as the tank mates. Thanks again.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain