Coradee
- #1
Corys are one of the most misunderstood fish kept in aquariums & there are often lots of questions about them so I thought I'd try & answer a couple of the most frequently asked ones.
Q. How many corys should I have & will different ones stay together?
A. Corys are a shoaling fish & as such should be kept in groups of 6+ of their own kind. It might seem like a good idea to have 2 albino, 2 Panda, 2 peppered etc but it's really not, yes they may seem happy to stick together but that is only because they have no choice.
You wouldn't keep a group of 2 neons, 2 Rummynose, 2 ember tetra etc & expect them to school happily together just because they're all tetras.
Keeping them in proper sized groups of their own kind you will see much more natural behaviour & isn't that what we all want to see in our tanks?
Q. What do I feed them?
A. They're often thought of as being part of the clean up crew & will be ok on any scraps that fall to the bottom or that they're algae eaters. They get little to no nutrition from algae or veg as their digestive systems are not set up to process it efficiently.
Yes they will eat any food that hits the bottom but corys need their own diet which should consist of frozen or live bloodworm if you can get it, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc and catfish pellets or wafers.
Q. What substrate should I keep them on?
A. Corys are sand sifters, they take a mouthful & sift it through their gills retaining the food & letting the sand fall through.
Have a look at this video, not mine but shows how the sand is expelled through the gills.
They can be kept on gravel but use a fine grade & make sure it's smooth with no sharp edges. If you've looked at the video I hope you'll choose sand for them there's nothing nicer than seeing your corys head first in the sand looking for morsels of food.
Q. What tank size do corys need?
A. There are several species of smaller corys the most commonly seen are C. Pygmaeus, C. Habrosus, & occasionally C.Hastatus, a group of 6 could be comfortably kept in a 15 US gallon.
Pygmys & Hastatus tend to spend a lot of their time in the middle levels so that should be taken into account when choosing tankmates.
Other small species not often, if ever seen are C.Gracilis, C.Cochui, if you see these snap them up!
There are currently around 400 species of corys (new ones are still being found) most don't exceed 3", the larger species I'd suggest a 20US gallon (75 litre) some of the smaller species could be kept in a 15US gallon (60litre) of course bigger is always better.
For more information on various species size have a look on Planet Catfish
Just a word on temperature requirements, most corys are happy in the mid range, around 24C whilst peppered require much cooler temperature 20-22C. SterbaI like warmer temperatures 26C+ & are often kept with Discus for that reason.
Some other species that have wider ranges & can handle higher temperature are C.adolfoi, C. Splendens (emerald brochis), C.duplicareus, C.haraldschultzi, C.gossei, C.suessi, C.oiapoquensis & C.aenus
There are of course other species for warmer & cooler water, I've just mentioned a few.
As you've probably guessed they're my favourite fish & I want to help them live long (15-20+years) & happy lives in everyone's tanks.
Some cory myths debunked by Ian Fuller
The legend of the Cory
Q. How many corys should I have & will different ones stay together?
A. Corys are a shoaling fish & as such should be kept in groups of 6+ of their own kind. It might seem like a good idea to have 2 albino, 2 Panda, 2 peppered etc but it's really not, yes they may seem happy to stick together but that is only because they have no choice.
You wouldn't keep a group of 2 neons, 2 Rummynose, 2 ember tetra etc & expect them to school happily together just because they're all tetras.
Keeping them in proper sized groups of their own kind you will see much more natural behaviour & isn't that what we all want to see in our tanks?
Q. What do I feed them?
A. They're often thought of as being part of the clean up crew & will be ok on any scraps that fall to the bottom or that they're algae eaters. They get little to no nutrition from algae or veg as their digestive systems are not set up to process it efficiently.
Yes they will eat any food that hits the bottom but corys need their own diet which should consist of frozen or live bloodworm if you can get it, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc and catfish pellets or wafers.
Q. What substrate should I keep them on?
A. Corys are sand sifters, they take a mouthful & sift it through their gills retaining the food & letting the sand fall through.
Have a look at this video, not mine but shows how the sand is expelled through the gills.
They can be kept on gravel but use a fine grade & make sure it's smooth with no sharp edges. If you've looked at the video I hope you'll choose sand for them there's nothing nicer than seeing your corys head first in the sand looking for morsels of food.
Q. What tank size do corys need?
A. There are several species of smaller corys the most commonly seen are C. Pygmaeus, C. Habrosus, & occasionally C.Hastatus, a group of 6 could be comfortably kept in a 15 US gallon.
Pygmys & Hastatus tend to spend a lot of their time in the middle levels so that should be taken into account when choosing tankmates.
Other small species not often, if ever seen are C.Gracilis, C.Cochui, if you see these snap them up!
There are currently around 400 species of corys (new ones are still being found) most don't exceed 3", the larger species I'd suggest a 20US gallon (75 litre) some of the smaller species could be kept in a 15US gallon (60litre) of course bigger is always better.
For more information on various species size have a look on Planet Catfish
Just a word on temperature requirements, most corys are happy in the mid range, around 24C whilst peppered require much cooler temperature 20-22C. SterbaI like warmer temperatures 26C+ & are often kept with Discus for that reason.
Some other species that have wider ranges & can handle higher temperature are C.adolfoi, C. Splendens (emerald brochis), C.duplicareus, C.haraldschultzi, C.gossei, C.suessi, C.oiapoquensis & C.aenus
There are of course other species for warmer & cooler water, I've just mentioned a few.
As you've probably guessed they're my favourite fish & I want to help them live long (15-20+years) & happy lives in everyone's tanks.
Some cory myths debunked by Ian Fuller
The legend of the Cory
