FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hello I' am new to this forum and I have a question. I have 6 panda cories. Is this a ok size group? Or should I add more, less? any help would be very grateful!

Welcome to FP

That size group will be fine, but you will see much better schooling behavior if you got a couple more. What size tank do you have these guys in?

Ok thanks. They are in a 15 gallon with a few of my platys. They may be moving though to a bigger tnak in a few months. Im not sure though. Is this an ok size tank for them?

That size tank should be fine, in fact, you could probably add 2 or 3 more panda cories.

Ok that sounds good thank you so much for your help!

Lol actaully I just used the calculator and apparently my tank is 17 gallons lol. Thanks again.

You will get a LOT more out of your Pandas if you increase the numbers. Trust me on this one - I've had them for 3 years and raised 3 generations of baby ones.

Pandas, like all the small Corydoras species, are more avowedly social than the larger species, which are better described as 'moderately gregarious'. With 6, you're starting off on the right foot, but 8 is a better number. If you have space for 12, even better still. I put 12 in my main aquarium, and their non stop frolicking and slapstick comedy antics are a joy to behold - Pandas really seem to take off and turn into finned versions of the Lemmings from the computer game when they're in larger numbers.

Oh, as for the 12 I have, there were 12, but they've been spawning like mad and I now have 14. Chances are if I put them in the other aquarium and let them spawn where I could raise another batch of fry, I'd end up with another 15 or so in that aquarium. Mine spawn on average once per week, and sometimes decide that they're going to spawn twice per week ... if I had the capital to set up a dozen nursery aquaria, I could raise Pandas on an industrial scale!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thank you so much! How many pandas do you think I fit in my 17 gallon? Mine dont seem to be interested in breeding. Do your babies survive on thier own or do you rear them yourself? I cant really tell the sex in mine at all can you help me? thanks again!

Assuming that you have 3-5 platies, I would imagine that you could fit around 12 in there, just as long as you keep up with weekly water changes. What is the ph/hardness of the water? If im not mistaken, cories need at least somewhat soft water to breed. Also, doing a 20% water change with slightly colder water followed by the feeding of livefoods is said to induce spawning, so you may want to try that as well. Without a seperate breeding tank, i doubt that more than a couple cory fry will survive on their own. Cories are near-impossible to sex to the untrained eye, but with 6 or more cories, you have a pretty good chance of having at least 1 male or female.

Yea I am pretty sure I at least have a few females because soem are larger and fatter than others. I never miss my water changes just cause I know thats best for my fish Now about my pH and hardness. pH is around 7.0 and hardness is 2 Is this ok

Water parameters sound OK to me. A pH of 7.0 should keep then nice and happy. Likewise, low hardness.

If you can run with 12, do so. You have the space, and if you also give them some 'toys' to play with (as in aquarium furnishings that form caves and such - bogwood ones are especially appreciated if mine are anything to go by) then chances are your Pandas might start spawning pretty soon.

You'll know if they're gearing up for this. First, they start surfing powerhead bubbles or swimming against filter currents seemingly for the fun of it. Then, they start swimming up and down the glass - if you look closely, the smaller ones (the males) will rub their bellies against the glass as if trying to clean it. This display is basically for show. It's done to impress the females - the ones that can keep up the display the longest and put the most vigour into it are generally chosen preferentially by the females when the females are ready to mate. Once the female ARE ready to mate, the fishes will engage in a positively lunatic warp-speed dash around the aquarium, with several males embroiled in a 'rugby scrum' around the female. Eventually, she'll pick one and adopt the T position.

Babies can survive in a community aquarium if nothing gets to eat the egg or the fry while it's vulnerable and still tied to the eggshell. Once Panda fry are free swimming, they find places to hide from the other fishes while they sneak out to feed at night. Eventually, they put in a daytime appearance.

If you ever try to spawn them intentionally, obtain large quantities of Java Moss as a spawning medium for the females to bury the eggs in. This will make life a LOT easier for you AND the fishes. First, the fishes will have a spawning medium that they love, and second, you will be able to remove the egg-laden Java Moss clumps into a nursery aquarium with more ease than removing the fishes. All good fun.

While live infusoria is the best food for the babies, they will grow nicely on Liquifry or a similar fry food. Trick here is to make sure the food reaches their hiding places. Best also to feed them close to 'lights out' for the first couple of weeks, then migrate them to daytime feeding once they start making daytime appearances in the aquarium. Once that happens, you can start feeding them newly hatched Brine Shrimp and finely powedered flakes. Adult colouration is achieved in 10-12 weeks, during which the babies develop the black patches, then go through a phase of having the body covered in fine black 'pepper dots' before those dots disappear.

Oh, and if you ship Panda juveniles to a pet store, wait until they're 20 weeks old minimum before shipping them. Pandas that are shipped too early are less able to withstand the change in water chemistry between your nursery and the dealer aquarium. At 20 weeks, they're a LOT more robust.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Gotta agree with Cali...the more corries the merrier I'm at the point I lay in bed each night and just bust up laughing at my panda's attics...it's really great when they get over rambuncious (can't spell) and try to spawn with the guppies or a bristle nose I began off with 6, and now without doing a whole lot of anything have 11 they are just *happy* little guys and gals in there. good luck

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

OK, so I have seen one of mine(that I think is male) doing the " glass cleaning" as spoken of. Well I will either by up to three more and see if I get fry or I will just wait to see if the six I already have reproduce DO they spawn more during the day or night? If during the day I probably miss it cause I am at work and the platies probably got to the eggs. I just hope that isnt the case. Thanks for the help.

add some driftwood and java moss...this will give the little guys a place to drop/deposit the eggs, and a place for the soon to be fry to hide I think mine mainly spawn at night, but then again, that is the only time I'm home...it could be they are going at it 24/7

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

In my experience, Pandas are most likely to spawn during the late afternoon or evening. However, once they start, their spawning antics persist for quite some time - mine have been known to continue spawning for five hours at a stretch. So if you have Pandas that start spawning at 5pm, they could still be spawning at 10pm if the female has been conditioned with a lot of live food beforehand.

Some picture links:

Pandas Spawning - Female Clasping Egg In Pelvic Fins

Female Searching For Egg Deposition Site

T Position Assumed During Mating

8 To 10 Day Old Fry (Squint Hard, He's There!)

Panda Fry At The "Pepper Dots" Stage

Another Fry Pic 2004 This Time)

Fry Grown Up A Bit, Approaching "Pepper Dots" Stage

Panda Eggs

Panda Babies February 2006

You too can enjoy this in your own home ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks you those pics were very helpful Lol I guess I will just wait to see what mine do...mine may be a little young (and small) to be spawning. So how big and old do they need to be to be spawing? Do males get any distinct coloration when spawning? Thanks.

Colours don't change. As for when they are likely to start spawning, in my experience they become sexually mature and able to spawn at about 9 months of age. If your dealer did the right thing, and obtained his stock (i.e., the fishes you bought) after 20 weeks of age (i.e., 5 months), then you have approximately 4 months to wait until they become mature. Extend this timeline if you suspect your original stock were younger than 20 weeks old when you bought them.

My adults are a mixture - some 3+ year old fishes from 2003, some 1+ year old fishes from 2005, and a couple of fry that grew up in there.

Size may not be a reliable indicator of age. If the juveniles had lots of space to grow out in, they could be large at 16 weeks, while others could be a smaller size at 20 weeks because they had a smaller nursery. One aspect of growth that does tend to be reliable, however, is that females tend to grow larger than males. My females are at least 50% bigger than the males, and in the case of some of my males, the females are almost twice as big. Females will have noticeably rounder, chunkier bodies, while males will be slender in comparison.

If they are in a community aquarium, they could spawn in that with ease if conditions are suitable. Which mine do on a regular basis. In the past, when I had Lemon Tetras, I used to witness some amazing comedy moments when male Pandas that were completely out of their minds on their own testosterone would sometimes try and engage in a T position with a Lemon Tetra.

Needless to say, I had some very confused Lemon Tetras in there.

A big group of Pandas provides entertainment like few other fishes I've seen. Once you see what they're capable of in the right setting, they'll grow on you and charm your socks off. You'll begin to ponder the possibility that your fishkeeping life from that point on will always include at least one aquarium with Pandas in it.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

LOL Yes I have realized now that I will definately always have pandas no matter what. Ok so I am having a hard time sexing mine. Females can get 2 inches?!? If this is so then either mine are young or I have got all males because none of mine are over an inch!. Mine dont seem to school to much (probably one of the drags of only having 6) sooo I will plan on getting 3 more in the near future! About waht you were saying about the dealers only being able to ship at 20 weeks I got a little one at petsmart that was about ------- that big (its name is wasabi) Do you think this one was too young? It is probably about like this now ----------. My biggest (and the one I think is female is about like this long
-------------. And she is quite chubby.

It's possible you got some 'early shipped' ones that somehow survived without an appalling attrition rate. However, if they're holding together in your aquarium and showing signs of prospering, keep up the good work with whatever maintenance regime you're using, and just to give them that little extra boost, drop in some live Bloodworm. If you want to see a Cory smile, live Bloodworm does the trick every time.

Oh, if you find live Bloodworm bagged for sale anywhere, do NOT just open the bag and toss them in! Rinse them under the tap for a while in a net, because the icky pond water they're shipped in will NOT be a good addition to your precious Panda aquarium!

The fullness of a ripe female Panda Cory is actually best viewed from above - that's the angle at which it shows. However, once you've seen a ripe female for the first time, and see her spawning, you'll know what to look for next without having to go to the trouble of trying to squint through the water surface.

Speaking of spawning antics, guess what? Mine are spawning RIGHT NOW as I type this.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Lol thanks for the compliment Yea the little one overcame a big protazoan infection that covered his whole body and now he is one of the most lively ones but I must say he is my favorite one. Well I guess I will nkow when I have a ripe female then! I have been mostly feeding mine algea wafers (thier favorite) tropical flake food, and tubifex worms (the tubifex worms are originally for my ADF, but they seem to enjoy them!) Is my feeding ok? I knwo that I should be feeding them live foods if I want spawning to occur but my lfs is far away and I go there on special occasions (so most of my stuff is from petsmart).