You might be able to mix corydoras

[Mii]

(NOTE: this may not apply to pygmy corys as they look and behave differently than the normal corys. I am only talking about regular 'ol run of the mill standard corys such as bronze, peppered, panda, etc)

I originally posted stating that you can mix corys and they will all school and socialize with each other, but some people in the replies have informed me that their corys didn't school together when they mixed them. So i am going to take back the statement that you CAN mix corys and that they will always school, and say that you might be able to mix corys and they might school but it varies from case to case. I'm still going to continue mixing corys as when getting pairs of each species they didn't seem to have any preference for their own kind over other corys in terms of social interaction, they all socialized just fine. I'd also like to say that there's a difference between being being social with each other, and swimming together because they rely on "safety in numbers". When socializing they will touch each other, and really seem like they're happy to be around each other, meanwhile if they're just following each other around they're probably just doing it because they feel safer in groups and aren't really very interested in each other. I'd recommend getting pairs of each species and if they treat the other species the exact same way they treat their own species (with the exception of breeding behavior as I'm not sure corys can or want to hybridize). Or if they seem to have a preference for their own kind and be more social, and just sort of follow the others around. If they do seem to have a preference for their own kind you should probably bring the others back and get a school of just one species. I guess it varies from case to case.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Sorry to say and I am not yelling or something but if / when you really know and understand about Corybehaviour and social interaction between Corys (and fish in General) you wouldn't have started this thread and giving this misinformation.

Shoaling and being together in an enclosure like a tank are two different things. Thet can't just leave. You're talking about a Cory-collection and not a shoal. If that is what you wish, okay but don't tell is is the same. Youtube is full of (mainly Asian) Corycollections.

I also keep some species together. But for instance Sterbai and Concolor don't interact at all.

Besides that I don't really see them as shoalingfish but more as groupingfish that need company of their own species to social interact en thrive cause of that.

BTW several aren't tempcompatible as well.

 

[Mii]

Sorry to say and I am not yelling or something but if / when you really know and understand about Corybehaviour and social interaction between Corys (and fish in General) you wouldn't have started this thread and giving this misinformation.

Shoaling and being together in an enclosure like a tank are two different things. Thet can't just leave. You're talking about a Cory-collection and not a shoal. If that is what you wish, okay but don't tell is is the same. Youtube is full of (mainly Asian) Corycollections.

I also keep some species together. But for instance Sterbai and Concolor don't interact at all.

Besides that I don't really see them as shoalingfish but more as groupingfish that need company of their own species to social interact en thrive cause of that.

Yours don't interact with each other? Mine do, i figured if they preferred their own species they'd be more likely to swim with their own species than they would to swim with other corys, but with mine that isn't the case they all swim together and really don't seem to care what type they are. I didn't post this this to misinform i did it because MINE DO interact and socialize with other species when they have the option to socialize with their own and yet they don't seem to care. I bought pairs of each species with the intention to bring some back and get a shoal of all one kind if they seemed to have a preference but so far they haven't. I wonder why some corys are different than others about schooling wuth other kinds. Not trying to say you're wrong/lying, just in my personal experience they don't care one bit which type another cory is, they see cory, they hang out with cory.

 

[jkkgron2]

I’ve tried mixing albino corys with C.rabauti and it didn’t work out. My two Rabautis school together but not with my albinos. Some corys may school together but unless forced too i don’t think it very likely, atleast with my two species.

 

[Mii]

BTW several aren't tempcompatible as well.

Yeah i guess a few are different in terms of temperature but MOST are compatible

 

[DoubleDutch]

Yours don't interact with each other? Mine do, i figured if they preferred their own species they'd be more likely to swim with their own species than they would to swim with other corys, but with mine that isn't the case they all swim together and really don't seem to care what type they are. I didn't post this this to misinform i did it because MINE DO interact and socialize with other species when they have the option to socialize with their own and yet they don't seem to care. I bought pairs of each species with the intention to bring some back and get a shoal of all one kind if they seemed to have a preference but so far they haven't. I wonder why some corys are different than others about schooling wuth other kinds. Not trying to say you're wrong/lying, just in my personal experience they don't care one bit which type another cory is, they see cory, they hang out with cory.

Think it is what you think is social behaviour and interaction.
You really will be amazed when you see a large group of Corys interact (often toughing each other, (pre)breeding behaviour etc.....)
Of course if their is a lack of their own species they'll be in each other company for safetyreasons. And some (Pandas) will even (try to) breed with any Cory available in that cases.

Yeah i guess a few are different in terms of temperature but MOST are compatible

Most of the 500+ known species ?

 

[DoubleDutch]

You know you CAN mix tetraspecies as well. But is it a good thing to do ?

Corydoras have the problem they all look a bit similar and that's the reason people think they are all alike. It simply isn't so.

My peppers defintely have complete different behaviour than my bronze or venezuelanus, sterbais or Concolors.
Owwwww and forgot C.napoensis.
And strangely even the Albino aeneus behave slightly different than the Bronze aeneus. Don't know why. I think is quite funny.

 

[Mii]

Most of the 500+ known species ?

Well a lot of the ones sold in stores are. I'm not saying all corys are the same you don't need to get mad at me

I'm not trying to be misleading. MY corydoras do school AND socialize and interact with each other and seem to show no preference for their own species over the others. Maybe YOUR corys didn't interact and shoal together, but MINE do. So you can't say 100% for sure that mixing corys they won't school.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Well a lot of the ones sold in stores are. I'm not saying all corys are the same you don't need to get mad at me

My sincere apologies for giving you that feeling. I am not mad at you at all.

But trying to explain the difference.
As said if one would make a Corycollection that is okay with me (living in free countries) but please don't tell it is the same. It simply isn't and the more company of their own the better fish will feel.

Sometimes more species will shoal in nature, but a lot don't. Sometimes even other fishspecies "shoal" with Corys.

 

[Mii]

My sincere apologies for giving you that feeling. I am not mad at you at all.

But trying to explain the difference.
As said if one would make a Corycollection that is okay with me (living in free countries) but please don't tell it is the same. It simply isn't and the more company of their own the better fish will feel.

Sometimes more species will shoal in nature, but a lot don't. Sometimes even other fishspecies "shoal" with Corys.

I have pairs of each species, bronze, punctatas, and panda in my quarantine tank. And they each interact with the other types the exact same way they do with their own kind, if they didn't I'd take some back to my lfs and get a group of all one species, but since they do all interact I'd consider mine a proper school of corys. I'm not trying to say that you're lying or doing anything wrong, as maybe they usually don't interact and socialize at all, and maybe mine are just a weird exception. I will probably edit the title of this post to "you might be able to mix corys" instead of "you can mix corys" as some people have had different results and I don't want to be misleading.

 

[DoubleDutch]

I have pairs of each species, bronze, punctatas, and panda in my quarantine tank. And they each interact with the other types the exact same way they do with their own kind, if they didn't I'd take some back to my lfs and get a group of all one species, but since they do all interact I'd consider mine a proper school of corys. I'm not trying to say that you're lying or doing anything wrong, as maybe they usually don't interact and socialize at all, and maybe mine are just a weird exception. I will probably edit the title of this post to "you might be able to mix corys" instead of "you can mix corys" as some people have had different results and I don't want to be misleading.

It simply isn't the same. How exactly do you know they're behaving like in a big group of their own?

Then CAN - PREFER - SHOULD are three different words. As said you can put 20 species of tetras together. Should we ?

BTW : Your "punctatus" will be a different species cause C.punctatus isn't in the trade / isn't found in a LFS.

I leave it to this.

 

[Mii]

It simply isn't the same. How exactly do you know they're behaving like in a big group of their own?

Then CAN - PREFER - SHOULD are three different words. As said you can put 20 species of tetras together. Should we ?

BTW : Your "punctatus" will be a different species cause C.punctatus isn't in the trade / isn't found in a LFS.

I leave it to this.

I am well aware of the differences in can, prefer, should. And mixing corys i say
CAN: yes
PREFER: depends on the corys
SHOUL if they show preference for their own kind, get a school of all one kind, if they don't, then go ahead.

If mine aren't punctatas, then what are they? They have black markings similar to panda, but also have little dots all over.

Since you say mine aren't punctatas I'll post a picture tomorrow so you can tell me what they are.

I would just like to say that i used to have a bronze that sort if became best friends with a pepper and would prefer to hang out with the pepper over the other bronze.

 

[Lucy]

Looks like the title was changed? Can and might are two different things and may not have prompted this discussion at all.
Just making note of that so the responses make a bit more sense.

 

[Mii]

Looks like the title was changed? Can and might are two different things and may not have prompted this discussion at all.
Just making note of that so the responses make a bit more sense.

Yeah i changed the title from can to might because some people said they're attempts to mix corys where unsuccessful, but mine did fine, and before i wasn't aware that it didn't work out for some people so i said can, but changed it to might because apparently that's not always the case

 

[Lucy]

Yeah i changed the title from can to might because some people said they're attempts to mix corys where unsuccessful, but mine did fine, and before i wasn't aware that it didn't work out for some people so i said can, but changed it to might because apparently that's not always the case

 

[DoubleDutch]

Yeah i changed the title from can to might because some people said they're attempts to mix corys where unsuccessful, but mine did fine, and before i wasn't aware that it didn't work out for some people so i said can, but changed it to might because apparently that's not always the case

There also is a difference between "attemps were unsuccesful" and "is it a beneficial for the fish" I never did make any attemp so it wasn't unsuccesful as well.

 

[Mii]

There also is a difference between "attemps were unsuccesful" and "is it a beneficial for the fish" I never did make any attemp so it wasn't unsuccesful as well.

Well imo it is beneficial for the fish and mine do socialize with each other but you don't have to believe me