Corydoras in a 5 gallon?

can any corydoras live in a 5 gallon tank if they are the only ones in the tank. if so, how many can I put in? I have an empty 5 gallon tank and recently found an interest in corydoras.

 

2 would fit in a 5g.. 3 might work, but could require more frequent water changes.

 

You could probably get away with 3 in a 5 Gal if they are the only one's there (as they really like to be in groups of 3+). They would be a tiny bit cramped at full size as most get to be 2" to 2.5", but considering they like to sleep huddled together they shouldn't mind so much. A good choice would either be as they seem to stay the smallest of the Corydoras at max 2". would also be a possibility provided you get the right one's as I believe there are albino versions of several different verities.

 

thank you! now I can pull out my 5 gal from my garage and into the bedroom. ;D
another question...ahhh I forgot! don't you hate that? ill post when I remember.... darn

 

thank you! now I can pull out my 5 gal from my garage and into the bedroom. ;D
another question...ahhh I forgot! don't you hate that? ill post when I remember.... darn

The corys will be great, we love our little juliI corys. Keep an eye on your paramaters after you get the tank running so you'll know when to add them, since corys can be sensitive to the water conditions.

 

ah I remembered my questions.... first... The only available space I have in my room is by a window. It has coverings but they are white so light still gets through. its not direct sunlight but it is light nonetheless. How to corys deal with algae? will they help clean it up or like eat it or something? I have another 5 gallon tank about 4 feet away from where this one will go and have never experienced any algae problems in the 5 years that ive had the tank. I'm not expecting algae to be a problem, but if it becomes one, what should I do? and my second question is how deep does the gravel at the bottom have to be for corys. I have a lot of gravel and didnt know how much to put in.

 

They won't do anything about the algae as they only clean leftover food from the bottom and not algae. Not that they don't or won't eat a little here and there, but not enough for you to notice. If you want fish that will eat algae then try oto's. They also get to 2" max but might like their space more. You could still try 3, but understand that oto's are even more sensitive to water conditions. If you still go with the cory's (my personal favorite fish so far ) then just use a gravel cleaner to deal with the algae as best as you can. Also something more important then dealing with algae when next to a window is temperature fluctuations of the water. If it goes up during the day and down at night, this could cause stress on the fish. Depending on where you are, you might want to invest in a heater so however hot the water gets from sunlight, you can keep it that hot (provided it's not to far over 80 degrees F). As to how much gravel you will need, the rule is 1 to 1.5 lbs per gal. So you would need 5 to 7.5 lbs. Also be sure it is not too sharp of a gravel as the cory's like to dig in it and if it's too sharp it can damage their barbels.

 

For the corys, you can try: sand, smooth river rocks or flat marbles if you want to make it easier on their sensitive barbels.. although a good batch of gravel without sharp rocks will work too. We went to the dollar store & walmart (crafts dept) and got flat marbles for our tanks.

You can see them at: - the pics with gravel are old & we replaced that with green flat marbles. The tank with the peach flat marbles has a container with some smooth gravel in it for us to drop the wafer on.. the drawback to marbles is the pieces (and other things) slip down to the bottom easier so we setup an area for them to have the wafer drop to. Smooth river rocks might work best for your setup.

 

well here is what I have in there right now...... does this gravel look ok?

I still need a heater and such, but I live in Southern California, so it tends to get pretty hot over here. I'm worried about summer approaching and the water getting to hot. Is there a way to keep the water below 80 degrees when it is a hot day? The only thing I could think of would be icecubes??? lol

 

I still need a heater and such, but I live in Southern California, so it tends to get pretty hot over here. I'm worried about summer approaching and the water getting to hot. Is there a way to keep the water below 80 degrees when it is a hot day? The only thing I could think of would be icecubes??? lol

The gravel looks good. Looks like the tank is flourescent, so that will help with the heat some. We have the same problem with heat & can't afford a chiller. We leave the flap open and have one of those new high-powered fans that we direct at the side of the tank to try to reduce heat. Is there anyway to rearrange furniture so you'd have a spot for the tank away from the window? possibly near, but not directly in, the air flow from the AC vents? If you use icecubes, make them from the same treated tap water that you put in the tank and don't put too many in at once so you don't drop the temp too fast.

 

later in the day ill post a pic of how near it is to the window and you all can tell me if you think I should move it but right now I need to go to school!!

 

Yeah those rocks are similar to what I use, so they should be fine. As to heat, note that the water temperature will pretty much be consistent with the temperature of the room the tank is in. So if your room is normally at 78, then the tank will be as well. It's only by direct sunlight will any spot in the room get hotter then another, but you mentioned that you have blinds that cover the window. If you want to be a little more certain about sunlight going out rather then coming in, you could take a piece of card board and cover it with aluminum foil (shiny side out). Then stick this between your blinds and your window. Now the sunlight will reflect off the aluminum foil and shine outward instead of inward which will keep it cooler as well. Another option is if you have a dark color on the back side of your blinds (dark blue or black) then changing them to white or putting a white poster board in between them and the window will also keep it cooler as lighter colors don't attract as much heat. Yeah a picture will say a lot more then a ton of words, so I'll shut up now .

 

well as you can see the white window coverings do a pretty good job as not letting direct sunlight reach the tank. Suprisingly...

Not much light reaches the tank considering how close it is to the window!!!!!

oh and these pictures were taken at approximately 3:00 PM

 

No those are very good shades there. I wouldn't worry about it at all then. Sounds like you are good to go! Good luck.

 

Yea, the tank's not in direct line of any light that makes it thru the shades so it shouldn't warm up from sunlight. I think your new corys will be happy in their new home. Looking forward to seeing pics when you get them. Probably wouldn't hurt to keep a tray or 2 of ice cubes from treated water (marked so nobody uses them) if you can just in case you need them during the hotter months (like if the AC went out or something), but really that would be just an extra precaution and not necessary at all.

 

thanks!

ehhh my mom for some reason thinks corys are hideous and she doesn't want me to get them. The only cory she thought wasn't hideous was a rare species lol but I don't think she will let me get them ;(. If she doesn't let me get them ill probably just get a few african dwarf frogs I also think those are cool but yea thanks everyone for helping me out

 

ehhh my mom for some reason thinks corys are hideous and she doesn't want me to get them. The only cory she thought wasn't hideous was a rare species lol but I don't think she will let me get them ;(. If she doesn't let me get them ill probably just get a few african dwarf frogs I also think those are cool but yea thanks everyone for helping me out

Really? even the juliI or pandas? Did you show her the movie we posted of our corys and tell her they're hard working fish that can be playful and a lot of fun to watch as they zip about the tank looking for anything they can clean or playing games? That's too bad she feels like that, they are great fish and I think beautiful in their coloring and design.

oh well.. hope she'll go for the frogs. we saw some today at a pet shop near here and they were fun to watch swimming around. Best of luck with the tank no matter what goes in it.

 

yea the juliis were the worst in her eyes :-\
oh well. Once I get my 150 gallon tank once my friend's fish die, I'll get a school of them. Like 10!!!! lol or more.

 

yea the juliis were the worst in her eyes :-\
oh well. Once I get my 150 gallon tank once my friend's fish die, I'll get a school of them. Like 10!!!! lol or more.

A big tank like that & you could get something like: 4 juliis, 4 pandas and 4 peppered corys, 6 otos and 1 apple snail for the clean-up crew.

 

yea that would be cool. My firend has a 14 year old pleco... and I heard that some plecos have lived to be 30!!!! so it may be awile before I get the tank. lol

 

Doesn't like Cory's! That's crazy talk!

 

Doesn't like Cory's! That's crazy talk!

I hear ya Luniyn.. they're great fish with beautiful patterns and a lot of fun to watch. Probably she's just not really spent time watching them or doesn't want to.. seems like a lot of fishlore members have parents or family who don't understand what we see in our fish.

 

Doesn't like Cory's! That's crazy talk!

seems like a lot of fishlore members have parents or family who don't understand what we see in our fish.

exactly

 

People are odd--a friend of mine loves plecos but despises corys. No reason why apart from personal taste.

 

People are odd--a friend of mine loves plecos but despises corys. No reason why apart from personal taste.

Yea, I guess every fish has it's fans. I would prefer corys to plecos, but if I had a chance to get a pair of zebra plecos, i'd LOVE them. Every group of fish has some that I'd like a few of.