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i just got 3 new peppered corys, about 3/4 inch each. they came to my tank with a lot other fish, and they were all properly acclimated.

but the corys are not swimming in their group together, they all scattered around, is that suppose to happen?

i noticed them swimming funny too, one would swim and stop so it looks like hes dead and just floating in the current, then all of the sudden start to swim again. i know loaches fake dead on gravel, but do corys do something similar too? or did i hurt them?

I would wait till they settle in your tank & then see how they'll do. Mine also swim in mid water & they also stop & then start swimming again.


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well, its been a day, all the fish i purchased survived the initial shock i suppose. now still 1 cory still swimming near mid-top section of the tank alone, kinda weird, and i keep worrying about him, and i peeked at him when the lights went off, and he just sits there on the sand gravel in a corner... and theres a cave like 3 inches from it, and he wont even go in there... (cave is new built for them)

I think if you up the number of corys to 6, in a proper school you will see the behaviour improve greatly.
Probably they are exploring the confines of their new home, and will take a week or two to settle in properly.
Also, You mentioned they came home with a lot of other fish? How many other fish? Often adding a whole bunch of fish at once will cause ammonia to spike, and the fish could be stressed because of this.


Last edited by So_Very_Sneaky at 30-Sep-2005 17:35

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Don't worry much, as Corydoras are quite strange & do strange things.


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a lotta fish = 1 dwarf gouramis, 4 ottos, 3 corys (3/4 inch), rubberlip pleco (1 inch)... but these are to replace my 4 inch female angel, and 3 inch BN, so i think they are about equal size wise....


need 6 of them!!??!! thats a lot, i thought 3 would be fine... right now here are my fish in a med planted 29g...

1 - 4" male angel
5 - 1.25" rummy nose
1 - 1" rubber lip pleco
1 - 1.5" clown pleco
4 - 1" otos
3 - 0.75" peppered cory
1 - 2" yoyo loach
1 - 2" blue neon dwarf gouramis

should i replace the peppered cory with jullis? so i can keep maybe 4?!?!

Last edited by greenfootball at 30-Sep-2005 17:56

Last edited by greenfootball at 30-Sep-2005 23:24

corys do like to be in schools of 6-8 minimum, we have 7 peppered cories in our 70g and they dont really school together at all so i wouldnt woffy too much about them doing thier own thing, ours also swim midwater occasionally, usually after a water change.
our were about 3/4 inch when we got them 6 months ago and are now around 2" with that growth in mind your stocking may be a little heavy, but if you could find a more suitable bigger home for that angel you should be fine for a while.

Personally, I think you could sneak in 2 or 3 more pepper corys.
I know it might be pushing stocking a little, but i think if you keep up on water changes and gravel vacs you will be just fine!
;-)


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What you have to remember about Corydoras is this. The largest species are best described as 'moderately gregarious', which means that they do much prefer to be in a shoal, but once given a shoal, won't necessarily stay together all the time because they're comfortable with their surroundings and feel secure enough to go off exploring. On their own, they have a tendency to mope somewhat, while in a group of 6 or more they come alive quite nicely.

Smaller Corys, on the other hand (and Pandas are a BIG example of this) fall into the 'avowedly social' category. They NEED the security of several of their own kind to feel happy. And when given that security, will bounce about the aquarium frolicking like mad. You want to see my batch - I have 8 in the Panda Fun Palace™ and it's like the computer game Lemmings with fins at times

Put three more Peppered Corys in and they should settle together very nicely. Which, if you replace the Rubberlip Plec with 4-6 Otocinclus, won't overload your system (remember that Plecs grow to be big and produce a lot of waste, contributing significantly to the bioload all on their own).

Just noticed - you have TWO Plecs in there? That's going to cause some headaches further down the line in terms of bioload in a 29.


Last edited by Calilasseia at 01-Oct-2005 09:03

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Calli, I didnt know that the smaller corys were more gregarious than the bigger ones! great info to know!
Explains why my hasbrosus are always stuck together like they are glued at the fins!

I think what Calli is pointing out here, is that you have an excellent excuse to purchase another larger tank, or another tank period!


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S_O_S, you want to hear of some of Heidi's accounts of her habrosus population in her 125g (I think they're in a different home now though). Her habrosus are non-stop entertainment all the way - she has 10 of them - and engage in madcap frolics such as performing kamikaze bomber dives into bubble walls and other instances of loony hilarity

They also stick together, as you say,m as if glued together at the fins ... Heidi's posted LOTS of pics of her mad habrosus and they are truly delightful, as you've no doubt discovered, once given a home that is to their liking. Basically, give any Corydoras species an underwater playground of the kind I have in the Panda Fun Palace™, namely plant thickets, bogwoord arches and caves, and they will show their appreciation of being given a happy home of this kind by performing all kinds of pants-wettingly funny antics with little or no encouragement, often for the sheer fun of it. Corys have amazing comic timing at times, and habrosus are among the cutest and funniest in this regard - competition for my madcap Pandas even!

Plus, give a Cory a happy home with lots of nooks and crannies to explore, with several playmates, and the patter of tiny fins is quite likely to happen. Mata Hari and her suitors in the Panda Fun Palace™ are now up to spawning number 96 (yes, thats right, ninety-six spawnings!) and Lady Emma Hamilton and the gang in the other aquarium also spawned recently. A sign that your Corys are truly happy!


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yeah i was working on trimming my load, i think it is best to replace the 2 plecs with 2 more otos, and 3 more corys, but i am going replace the pepper corys with something smaller, probably julli, or dwarf (if i can find them) so then i'll have 6 otos and 6 corys and probably get a female dwarf gouramis