JstJake

I'm planning on getting 3 pandas, as the final addition to my tank, they will be joined by zebra danios, and 3 guppies


The question I have is, I'm not entierly sure what kind of 'tank-bottom' they would prefer, I mean Lots of caves or open space, also is aqua-grip gravel good? I've got two live plants but will invest in a few more as well.

How about some air stones to get some bubbles..Does that sound like fun for a panda corrie??

Thanks for help, I'm sure the little fella's will apreciate your assistance to!

Jake

ShaynaB

Lots of caves and hiding spaces. As funny as this sounds, the more hiding spaces you give them, the more you're going to see them. I have a rock thing and a cave that I made with half of a large PVC pipe, aquarium silicone, and the rocks that I used for the substrate.

I have regular aquarium gravel and I'm not sure what aqua-grip gravel is but they like to bury their snouts in the gravel to find food, so as long as it's smooth and not too large it should be ok. No sharp pointy bits!

Watch the zebra danios for fin nipping. I had zebras that nipped one of my cory cat's tails all the way down to the nub before I found out. He never really recovered from it... My best guess is that they thought he was one of them and tried to play tag with him like they do with each other.

I love my pandas. They're great little fish and I'm sure you'll love them too!

aecw

I have 4 pandas and besides some plants - I have these two little Chinese lantern towers that are hollow and provide the perfect little cave for my fish - I often find at least 3 of them huddled together in there (they can also swim up and out the top which they love to do) As for gravel - I have the regular stuff you buy at the pet store but I also pushed a bunch of smooth rocks into the gravel to give them smooth places to rest. Just to let you know even the small smooth type of gravel can be a little hard on their barbels (whiskers) - I'm actually thinking of adding some sand to get rid of some of the crevices where the food gets down into as two of my little guys seem to have worn their barbels down.
Great fish to have tho - they are very cute and playful - they love to play leapfrog with each other just be careful and integrate them into your tank slowly - they can be very sensitive!

Laelanna

I have 5 False julii's (there's another name trili something but I never remember it), 6 aeneus, and 1 peppered (who joined the rest today). Before we introduced the aeneus cory's the False Julii's ran the tank and played in the bubble wall constantly. They LOVE the bubble wall. After we added the aeneus cory's, the false julii's more stayed to the back of the tank and the aeneus ran the front. The julii's are slowly becoming more adventurous with the aeneus. I never saw the julii's digging into the sand much, but the aeneus do it constantly, and it cracks me up. They do everything they can to try to get into and under the roots of the plants and everything else in the tank. And boy are they some hungry little guys. The Julii's were never as 'piggish' as the aeneus cory's are. You can drop 6 sinking wafers in the tank and all of them will gang up on one and move from that to the next. I say all this to say, they all have different personalities. As Shayna said I would provide plenty of things for them to hide in, under, or behind. Plants, driftwood, caves etc. and definetly add the airstone even my oto's love to play in the bubbles.

Dino

While using caves with cories, make sure the caves are large enough for the cories to be able to turn around in.
The best way to do this is for the cave to be 4-5 times wider than your largest cory is long.
This would only apply to caves that have only one opening,

Cories can back up/move backwards, only with great difficulty.

JstJake

Thanks for that, I'll try and sort them a few caves out, do you just make these using 3 rocks? or is it possible to get 'premade' ones...Maybe plant pots would be a good idea?? Or part of a hamster maze, although that would go against the rest of my decor, oh well lol, Ill try a few local petshops to find some cool 'cave-materials'

aecw

Here's a pic of my little towers ( I got them at Pet Smart for about $7)
And Shayna's right - if there's plenty of space to hide for they feel more secure and tend to hang out where you can see them. Perfect example - my pepper cory sunning himself on the rocks (he's notoriously anti-social!)

Attached Images

amys1 001.jpg (410.9 KB, 25 views)

JstJake

I'd like to get something similar to that, thanks for the picture!

I'll post a picture of what I get!