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I really want to have pygmy corys in my 29 gallon tank, but they're not that common and I'm having trouble finding them. Buying them local isn't an option. Can anyone point me towards a reputable site?

Have you tried asking an LFS to special-order them for you? In almost all circumstances it's better to see the fish before you buy it, but on top of that, it will likely cost less as the fish store can get bulk-shipping rates.

I know that helps, but those reasons are good enough for me why I've never ordered from a website.

BTW, what country are you in? That'll affect what online stores we can recommend.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I'm in the North Georgia area in the US if that helps.

http://www.azgardens.com/c-75-cory-cat-aquarium-fish.aspx

Try the above address- itll take you straight to the cory page, theyve got a couple dwarf species of cory.

I bought from them regularly a few years back, and had no problems.I just put in a plant order tonite, and will be ordering my dwarf cories there. They have a 35.00 min order, but that covers fish, plants, food, equipment..... And actually on most things they are CHEAPER than my local chain stores that dont offer anything unusual, and wont special order.

Spansa, if you're in the US, you should definitely be able to find a good fish store that is willing to order in the fish you want. The store I've been dealing with is awesome. They've so far, ordered in about 90% of the fish I want, and usually within a week or two of asking. For example: I wanted Bolivian Rams, not German Blues (which they had) so they ordered the Bolivians in. I wanted Zipper Loaches and Kuhlii loaches (I'm currently waiting for excess food, etc. to build up so the Kuhliis have things to eat) and so they ordered in the Zipper Loaches (and reading about them and seeing pictures of them is WAY different than actually seeing them. I was so not prepared for their genetic makeup, but they are amazing and cute little fish!) and I picked them up the same day I picked up my Rams. I'm currently still waiting for my Goby, but they're ordering that for me and I should have that one by the weekend or some point next week.

Anyway, the point is, if it's a good fish store that is an independent fish store (as opposed to the big chains who are limited on what fish they carry because they are dictated to by the big chain corporate) then they should have no problem ordering in a fish if it's a common enough one to get (and by common, I mean non-endagered/rare, such as the Zebra Pleco that my fish guy told me is rare enough that he could order one in for someone and sell it for about $300.00... ). So just go in and ask them.

Er, which of the "Dwarf corys" do you have your eye on? Are you thinking of pygmaeus or hastatus?

Both have similar requirements, and both differ from other corys in being midwater swimmers most of the time. Oh, and in the case of pygmaeus, something amusing happens when you breed them - the female's eyes dilate during spawning, then return to normal once she's laid all her eggs. It's weird to watch!

These shouldn't be too difficult to order from a decent independent LFS. If you were thinking of something like habrosus, which is similarly small, they're probably a little harder to obtain, while cochui, which is actually the smallest of all the corys, is likely to be a serious rarity - at least it is here in the UK, though the US might prove to be different here.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002