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Hi,

I had one of my local LFS order some Habrosus cories that I'm planning to put in my new tank. The LFS emailed me last week and said they were coming on Wednesday. When I went this past weekend to check them out (my tank is not ready yet, still cycling), I saw only 2 of them left (I ordered 6-10). When I asked one of the staff, he said "Oh, you don't want those guys. They came in a bunch on Wednesday and by Thursday most of them had died." Now this LFS is one of the better ones locally (and they carry quite a number of cories, from Panda to Sterbai), so they must have acclimated them normally. Not sure why the little guys died (I know the importer they got it from has had them in stock for at least a month or two).

So now I'm questioning whether it's really a good idea to get c. Habrosus for my new tank once it's cycled. Are they really that fragile compared to the other cories, or just particularly sensitive to changes in water condition (e.g. during transport)? I could have another LFS that's closer to me get them, but they will come from the same importer. If I do, I would definitely let the LFS keep them for at least a week just to see how they fare. The other alternative would be to go with hardier cories like c. Caudimaculatus instead.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

-P

habrasus is fragile alright...they r not the typical cory thats more hardy...they require pristine water....and most certainly...a well balanced tank...putting them while cycling is not a gud idea..they would certainly die (but ive heard someone who had them while cycling and survived...thats lots of luck, i say).

there r times when, no matter what u do, lfs gets bad batch...but that shouldnt discourage u to get them...they r fun and very social.

just wait for a few more months till ur tank stabilised...after that...u may introduce them in the tank.

Corydoras habrosus is known as hte Dainty Corydoras as an allusion to its small size, but this could also apply to its fussiness with regard to water conditions. Treat them as being like Pandas in this regard - mature, stable aquarium subject to a scrupulous water change and gravel vac régime is the order of the day. Also, exercise care when choosing a substrate, as this species seems more than usually sensitive to bad substrate choices, a feature of the species not only noted by Cory_Di here on the Board, but several textbook authors (most notably Lambourne in his source book on Corydoras catfishes). Rounded natural gravel with a particle size of 2-3 mm is probably the best way to go with this species.

I suspect that a veteran aquarist could cycle an aquarium with habrosus, but even to a veteran it would probably prove to be a challenge. I'd go for fishless cycling first, then stabilise the aquarium with a nice hardy fish species before introducing the habrosus. Also, plan the décor accordingly - areas of shade provided by floating plants, intricate pieces of hollow bogwood to provide caves and shelter, some Java Moss to add to the shelter growing on some of the bogwood, in effect, a set up not unlike my Panda Fun Palace™.

If you do decide to go with habrosus, bear in mind that they share with all of the smaller Corys a more ounced than usual need to be in a decent sized group of their own species (6 minimum, and the more the merrier), rather like my Pandas. However, if they are in a decent sized group, and in a setup furnished to their liking, they become entertaining and delightful aquarium occupants - Heidi's group of 10 are a bunch of maniacs .

Additional tips I'd offer are these: plan their purchase in advance, arrange a water change and gravel vac on the day of purchase before setting out to collect them, spend a good hour or more acclimatising them under subdued lighting, and feed them live foods after 'lights out' for the first 3-4 days as a means of boosting their health and resilience. Live food works wonders for virtually all fishes, but in the case of fishes such as Pandas and habrosus, it seems to work that extra magic.

Finally, check the provenance of your intended stock. Make sure they're coming from a reputable source, and that they are in good condition at the dealer's before picking them up. A good dealer will take them on as a special order (admittedly you'll pay more, but then the dealer will have more incentive to look after them!) and make sure they've acclimatised to the dealer aquarium setup before letting them move on. Alternatively, check out local aquarist societies, including any specialist catfish groups - you'd be surprised what you can pick up from them at surprisingly low cost if you're prepared to hunt, and especially if you have something to barter with (surplus filter kit etc!).

Hope this helps ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

From my experience yes, the Habrosus are very delicate and fragile...I haven't lost but 2 maybe 3 from my 15, but they are fragile, and need to have plenty of room to swim about ie, nice big tank is needed, thus more stable water quality is available to them, with less chance of any oops overnight, but so that you could catch them in time

If you do go and get some I'd suggest getting more than the 6 or so you originally thought about, try getting the 10-15 assuming you have the tank room...make sure to acclimate them carefully, and leave the lights off for the rest of that day and even into the next (thus helping to reduce the stress on the little guys). Be sure that your tank is fully cycled and isn't "almost" there...And for some real fun add an airstone for the little guys/gals to play in, they will appreciate it and love you for it, as you fall out of your chair laughing at their silly antics

Best of luck, and oh yes, I'd leave them at the lfs for a week before getting them myself...it will make it less stress all at once, and you never know it could have just been are really bad batch, though they are delicate

heidi




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Last edited by houston at 04-Jul-2005 16:35

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

Hi,

Thanks for the responses and tips.
I certainly wasn't planning on using the cories to cycle the tank (wouldn't do that to *any* fish), but I did plan on putting them in once the new tank has fully (fishless) cycled (since the tank was supposed to host only Habrosus, maybe 10 or so). based on your advices, I'll probably need to put another hardy fish first before adding the cories. Maybe something easy to catch so I can easily move it out later! (I hate netting fish)

Here's a pic of the 24"x12"x12" tank I was planning to put them in:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/witje/Fish/2ft_planted.jpg
Do you think there's enough hiding place for the habrosus? The foreground is a bit sparse of plants (just the 2 crypts). I did put the flexible airstone following a previous suggestion, but the bubbles are now mostly hidden behind the background plants!

In any case, I do plan on rescuing the 2 cories that were left behind by their friends at the other LFS if they're still around. Felt so bad for those poor little guys!

Last edited by upikabu at 04-Jul-2005 18:50

-P

IMO the smaller the Corydoras are, the more fragile they are.



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thats a beauty...there r plenty of hiding spaces for ur habrosus tank...gudluck

Just took a look at your aquarium photo.

Looks like a nice home for 10 or 12 habrosus once it's cycled and stable. Is that small-size rounded gravel you've got in there? If it is, bingo, job done. Especially if all those plants are live. Even if a proportion of them are artificial, there's still plenty of playground opportunities for habrosus in that setup. In fact, put in a piece of intricate bogwood with lots of holes in it, and drape some Jave Moss over it, and you'll have your very own version of my Panda Fun Palace™ in which my infamous frolicking Pandas have been spawning like mad for two years. In which case, should you decide to get habrosus, you could be looking at the patter of tiny fins in a year's time, especially if you follow my directions on feeding and give them regular live food banquets.

I've got Pandas beavering away in a setup not that dissimilar from yours as I type this


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yup, I'm using 1mm smooth gravel in that tank. The LFS I got it from uses it for their cory tanks, and their cories go nuts digging in them it's great fun to watch!
And yes, those are live plants too - my first attempt at using live plants, I might add. I would love to see a pic of your Panda Fun Place - sounds awesome! I won't get my hopes up about getting the Habrosus to spawn, need to focus on keeping them alive and happy first.

What types of live food do you feed your cories? There isn't a lot of variety of live food available to me locally, just black worms and the occasional baby brine shrimp. I reckon the black worms might be too long for the tiny Habrosus' mouths? I'll certainly give them frozen foods (blood worms, daphnia, brine shrimp).

Oh BTW, I just found out today that our local importer now carries c. Hastatus! Now I'm seriously thinking about mixing a school of them with the Habrosus in the same tank (maybe 8 Habrosus and 8 Hastatus).

-P

First of all, one Panda Fun Palace™ pic coming up ...

Panda Fun Palace™

Select "Next Picture" from that one to see 3 detail shots of the interior.

Second, since hastatus and habrosus are both small Cory species, you could go with 10 of each. The hastatus are actually unusual among Corys (and share this trait with the similarly small pygmaeus) in that they're midwater swimmers. So you'd have a more or less perfect setup with midwater fishes and bottom feeders (although the hastatus would still take a fair amount of food from the bottom). If you use an undergravel filter driven by a powerhead, that should make things tick over nicely (that's the filtration system in use in my Panda Fun Palace&#8482.

As for feeding, well, this is what my Pandas get:

[1] Live food 'smorgasbord' - Daphnia and Bloodworm all mixed together in the net, along with live Brine Shrimp when my LFS can get it;

[2] Intermittent Hikari algae wafers (if you check the ingredients, they contain fish and krill meal as well as spirulina algae, which is why my Pandas go nuts for them) - these are broken into small pieces, then scattered about the aquarium at strategic locations to give the Otocinclus a chance to share in the bounty!

[3] Flake foods - I have standard TetraMin flake, TetraRuby ColorPride, Tetra Pro original, Tetra Pro Colour and Tetra Pro Vegetable, and I try and make my selection as random as possible;

[4] Occasional freeze dried Tubifex - I'm still on the lookout for a feeding bell such as the one featured in the old Innes book, but in 29 years of looking I've yet to see any here in the UK!

Basically, variety is the spice of life with any fish, but Corys seem to thrive particularly well if treated like honoured banquetting guests and fed specifically with prime fresh foods, instead of being asked to eat other fishes' leftovers. Of course, in a Cory only tank they will be practically by definition, but it's worth the effort required to make sure that Corys get their fair share of the prime cuts, so to speak. And of course, feed them live foods and they perk up enormously.

Wait till you see a bunch of hungry Corys munching on live Bloodworm - oh yes, you'll be able to see them smile! When my Pandas chow down on the 'red spaghetti', you can practically hear them whooping with delight


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002