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What would be a good bottom feeder for a 12g? I was planning on using Pygmy Cories but my local LFS isn't planning on getting anymore of them in anytime soon. This is a newly cycled tank and I only have 4 White Clouds in the tank right now. Are there any other Cories that would fit the bill? My local LFS seems to have a good selection of other Cories.

The only other cories that would easily fit the bill are Corydoras habrosus, as they grow to about the same size as C. pygmaeus. All of the other cories that I can think of grow to at least two inches or so, a shoal of which would be a gamble in your tank. You could conceivably have six C. panda or C. rabauti, though you'd have to maintain high water quality. I don't want to scare you away from cories (all of which are awesome fish), but I don't want you to buy cories that die.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

C. rabauti? The one that I had was huge.

IME, they grow to about the size of a C. aeneus.

Pandas are an excellent substitute for pygmy corys, however, as they do not grow much larger.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Geez, all the literature I've read stated that C. rabauti was one of the smaller Corydoras. I even have a book that calls it a dwarf cory! I guess there's no substitute for personal experience. Thanks for setting me straight.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

This is what the Lambourne book says about Corydoras rabauti - it's a bit of a lengthy read:

C. rabauti La Monte 1941

First collected by A. Rabaut 1940. Named in honour of the collector, A. Rabaut.

Synonyms: C. myersi P. de Miranda Ribiero 1942.

Distribution: Brazil: Amazonas - Rio Javari (border river between Brazil and Peru); Colombia: Rio Amacayacu tributary of the Rio Amazonas; Peru: Loreto - Rio Yavari, Rio Ucayali drainage, forest creeks at left bank of Rio Carahuayte.

Max SL 55mm.

C. rabauti and C. zygatus share the same colour pattern when adult, but the juveniles are completely different. In adult specimens, the body stripe is slightly broader and darker in C. rabauti (and in C. zygatus is bordered below with a green/gold sheen). In some specimens of C. rabauti, a faint dark blotch across the eyes is visible (this is absent in C. zygatus). C. rabauti does not grow to be as large as C. zygatus. C. rabauti was described by La Monte in 1941 from a juvenile fish of 13.7mm SL. C. myersi was described by P. de Miranda Ribiero in 1942 from a fish that must have developed its adult colouration. However, the juvenile colouration of C. rabauti is vastly different from that of C. zygatus: juvenile C. rabauti at 4 weeks are divided into three different colour zones, an orange head, a black body and white tail, the black extending from the operculum to a little way behind the posterior edge of the dorsal fin (which itself is orange), while C. zygatus has a uniform body colour with variable spotting, most prominent along the lateral junction of the body scutes, with two prominent blotches between the top of the head and the dorsal fin, a smaller blotch visible at the posterior base of the dorsal fin, and another smaller blotch at the anterior base of the adipose fin.

Breeding: Detailed Account: 2 males, 38mm, 2 females, 45mm, all specimens wild caught, breeding aquarium 25x20x20cm, furnished with 1.5 cm layer of fine, well-washed river sand, 1 box filter, 2 nylon spawning mops and a small portion of Java Moss, water chemistry pH 7.6, 14°GH, temperature 22°C, depth 15 cm (tap water aged for 2 weeks). Spawning took place after 20% cold water change which reduced the temperature from 22°C to 19°C. At time of spawning, temperature had again risen to 22°C. Typical T formation adopted, 100 eggs laid, egg dia 1.75 mm, deposited in clusters of 3-6 on the aquarium sides, in the spawning mops and in the Java Moss somewhat indiscriminately. Hatching time 4 days, fry free-swimming 2 days later.

Measurement of SL during development: 4.5mm (7 days old), 6mm (2 weeks old), 8.5mm (1 month old), 10mm (6 weeks old), 15mm (2 months old).

NOTE : the difference in the colour pattern between juvenile C. rabauti and C. zygatus has already been covered above, but it remains to state that photographs illustrate this very well: at 4 weeks, C. rabauti fry are very strikingly patterned. Adult colouration attained in 8-10 weeks.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for all the info!

I picked up three little panda cories tonight. I'll keep an eye on the bioload for a few days and maybe add one more if everything goes well.