10 gal stocking idea-will it work?

[airdog44]

Hey guys, I just finished my 10 gal aquascape all the plants finally arrived yesterday. My original plan was to have ember tetras and cherry shrimp but the shrimp all died due to not acclimating them properly. I'm not sure if this will work so let me know:

10 ember tetras
6 Pygmy Corydoras

The tank is heavily planted and had been running for a little over a year now. Would this be overstocked? If so, any other ideas for bottom dwellers are welcome-my mind is kind of set on the embers. Thanks again!

 

[Dewclaw83]

That would work!
(I double checked before I said for sure, AQAdvisor agrees, and says it would be about 87% stocked, which is just about perfect)

I will say, if you don't already have any, I'll warn you a lot of times pygmy cories are wild caught and hard to get onto the foods we regularly use in the hobby. They also tend to be pretty sensitive to changes/parameters/stress.
But that's not to say don't do it! Just something to consider, if you weren't already aware

Editing to add:
If you did want other potential options, you could do some red racer nerites, those pop wonderfully in planted tanks. Or, a trio of kuhli loaches. Most sources say they're schooling fish, but they really act more like social fish than like schooling, so a trio is just fine. Six would also be too much for a 10

 

[airdog44]

That would work!
(I double checked before I said for sure, AQAdvisor agrees, and says it would be about 87% stocked, which is just about perfect)

I will say, if you don't already have any, I'll warn you a lot of times pygmy cories are wild caught and hard to get onto the foods we regularly use in the hobby. They also tend to be pretty sensitive to changes/parameters/stress.
But that's not to say don't do it! Just something to consider, if you weren't already aware

Thanks for the heads up! Any tips on getting them to transition better?

Also, I will be ordering them from aquahuna and if I get all 16 fish at the same time I save on shipping. Will adding all those fish at once cause an ammonia spike?

 

[PaprikaFish]

It really depends on how much beneficial bacteria is on your filter media. Most people test it out by seeing if the tank can process 2-3ppm of pure ammonia in 24 hours. If it passes the test, you should be good! maybe you can lightly feed for the first couple of days and throw in an extra water change and your aquarium should be fine.

edited to add: i'd definitely be cautious with this though. like dewclaw83 said, it can be done but extra water changes will be useful while the bacteria adjust. live plants (especially floaters) will suck up any excess ammonia

 

[Dewclaw83]

Thanks for the heads up! Any tips on getting them to transition better?

Also, I will be ordering them from aquahuna and if I get all 16 fish at the same time I save on shipping. Will adding all those fish at once cause an ammonia spike?

I, unfortunately, do not have any tips. I would poke around the forum a bit, I'm sure it's been discussed before. Or maybe someone else will answer your question here!

It is highly likely that adding so many fish would indeed cause an ammonia spike, though it does depend on how much ammonia you cycled your tank with to begin with (as that influences the amount of beneficial bacteria that have colonized your tank). I'd say just monitor your parameters for a while and be prepared with some prime, and to do wcs

 

[airdog44]

Alright, thanks for the help guys! I'll order them within the next couple of days and monitor the levels the first week or two to see if I need to do any extra water changes

Also, for feeding the corys could I feed them a mixture of Hikari Shrimp cuisine, Fluval bug bites, and new life spectrum?

 

[airdog44]

For future reference, if I try shrimp again could I have both types of fish and the shrimp? Or is that pushing it?

 

[ProudPapa]

. . . I will say, if you don't already have any, I'll warn you a lot of times pygmy cories are wild caught and hard to get onto the foods we regularly use in the hobby. They also tend to be pretty sensitive to changes/parameters/stress.
But that's not to say don't do it! Just something to consider, if you weren't already aware

Editing to add:
If you did want other potential options, you could do some red racer nerites, those pop wonderfully in planted tanks. Or, a trio of kuhli loaches. Most sources say they're schooling fish, but they really act more like social fish than like schooling, so a trio is just fine. Six would also be too much for a 10

I was not aware of that. Is it possible you're confusing them with otocinculus? Because all that is true for them.

 

[Dewclaw83]

I was not aware of that. Is it possible you're confusing them with otocinculus? Because all that is true for them.

It's true for both!

 

[ProudPapa]

It's true for both!

Then maybe I've just been lucky. I've bought Corydoras pygmaeus several different times at at least two different stores and never had a problem.

 

[airdog44]

I don’t even know if I’ll get them, it all depends on if the shrimp survive. I’ll either go with shrimp and Pygmy or shrimp and Ember. Leaning toward Pygmy rn though, they’re adorable! And my local Petsmart sells them for cheap