# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  Caught the Corydoras bug

## luenny

Hi all,
I've recently had an empty tank and since I've had the cory bug for some time now I've decided to set it up as a cory species tank. I was told that there are 2 types of cories, wild caught and tank bred. I was told that tank bred ones are generally smaller and not so nice color but wild caught ones are more expensive and are harder to keep. Does anybody has any experience with keeping wild caught cories successfully? I.e. most of them survive? 

By the way, I am thinking of a non-planted tank for them, only driftwood, stones and river sand, I heard they like sandy bottom. However, I only have a overhead filter for this. It's a 3 footer and I'm thinking of keeping 30 - 50 of them. Can they do ok with overhead filter with fortnightly water change of 30% - 50%?

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## illumnae

Haha I've recently caught the cory bug too luenny! Added alot more cories to all my existing tanks than i previously planned, and I'm thinking of setting up a cory biotope tank as well  :Smile:  it'll be a 2-2.5ft only though.

I think 30-50 cories in a 3ft tank may be abit of an overload unless it's dwarf-cory only. you may want to consider 1-2 canisters instead to hold more biomedia to deal with the large bioload.

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## luenny

Hahaha ... looks like I'm not the only one who caught the bug. Which cory do you keep? I am still deciding on which species to buy.

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## illumnae

i don't have many yet, space constraints. I have C. duplicareus, C. sterbai, C. habrosus, C. trilineatus. Used to have C. panda and C. pygmaeus, but I sold off my pygmaeus to make space and my panda didn't make it through my rescape period  :Sad:

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## luenny

Hmmm ... duplicareus. That's nice. I'm considering between duplicareus, trilneatus and another one (don't know which one) which I saw in the farm the other day. Currently I have sterbai, napeonsis, aeneus, panda and another which I can really identify, it's either zygatus or rabauti.

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## illumnae

I love duplicareus, it's my favourite cory species along with adolfoi (since they look so similar, though duplicareus tops adolfoi slightly due to the thicker black band). I will probably keep more duplicareus/adolfoi in the biotope tank (pending stock availability at the point of setup), if i do end up setting up the cory biotope tank. Pity i can't set up the tank in time for Biotope's potential wild cory shipment...otherwise i'd definitely be getting a colony of wild adolfoi

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## Quixotic

> I was told that there are 2 types of cories, wild caught and tank bred. I was told that tank bred ones are generally smaller and not so nice color but wild caught ones are more expensive and are harder to keep.


Personally, I am not sure that tank bred ones are generally smaller. Most are likely sold even before reaching adulthood, aren't they? So, I am not sure size can be used as a distinguishing criteria for tank bred fish. For me, there is not exceptional difference in size or colour between tank bred and wild caught fish. *shrug*

Anyway, wild caught fish are definitely a lot harder to keep, as they come from different river systems, hence different requirements. For example, some _Corydoras_ species don't do as well in warm waters compared to others. Some can be difficult to be acclimitised to tank conditions, some depends on compatible tank mates and so on.

I have kept lots of different _Corydoras_ before, and not too successful with certain species. However, I can't tell with absolute certainty if they are tank bred or wild, but certain assumptions can be made (can also be wrong).

The long and short of it is that, when the required water conditions are met, if kept as a species tank and the larger the tank, then the chances of being successful is a lot greater. As this is what you have in mind, then chances of keeping wild ones successfully should be good (when the required water conditions are met).




> By the way, I am thinking of a non-planted tank for them, only driftwood, stones and river sand, I heard they like sandy bottom. However, I only have a overhead filter for this. It's a 3 footer and I'm thinking of keeping 30 - 50 of them. Can they do ok with overhead filter with fortnightly water change of 30% - 50%?


I am not too familiar with overhead filters, but no problem as long as it provides good dissolved oxygen (DO). It is okay to change water fortnightly, maximum 30%, provided the bioload isn't too high, possibly not more than 30 of 5-cm or less fish. Personally, I would opt for water change which is less and often (weekly 20%), rather than one that is more and infrequent (forthnightly 30%) due to them being wild fish.

Some of my current fish:
Corydoras sp. C129 (probably wild)


Corydoras sp. C003 (Dekeri) (probably wild)


Corydoras davidsandsi (probably wild)


Corydoras venezuelanus


Corydoras sp. (probably wild)

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## corywink

30-50 shouldn't be a problem as long as your filter and tank are mature. Maybe shouldn't add all at once. I have around 50 in my 3 ft planted and have just 1 eheim canister running, I do around 30-40&#37; water changes weekly. But I think I have to thin out the bioload as the small ones get bigger. I'll share some pics later ^-^

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## illumnae

lovely pictures Quixotic. Thanks for sharing!

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## sfk7

I got the bug too! haha

Gotten 10 duplicareus from a bro in this forum and attention to my community tank now always straight to them first!!

To Luenny : Which farm(s) did you go for the different species of corydoras?

Nice Corydoras venezuelanus there Quixotic

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## luenny

Whoa! So many people got the bug! Nice cory photos Quixotic. The C003 looks like the one that I saw in the farm. Hmmm .... now I really don't know which one to get. 

sfk, the farm that I go to is not open to public. Sorry.

Ok, here're some photos of my setup until now. Forgive the white background. This was a discus tank and I'm too lazy to tear down the background. Anyway, with brownish water, it should look fine.

1st - put in driftwood. I arrange such that there's lots of cave and some driftwood sticking out of the water.


2nd - put in stones. The stones are put at the back. The front will be filled with river sand later after the wood is properly soaked. I intend to put in some ketapang to get the water a bit brownish too.

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## illumnae

Looking good luenny! Wish I could see this firsthand. How about spreading the rocks out abit more, getting larger ones for the back and putting the current ones nearer to the front at the base of the wood to look more natural?

What are the tankmates gonna be, or is it gonna be purely corydoras?

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## sfk7

Looking really good!

Can just imagine the corys foraging in the open area. Just a 'hum-ding' with them is they are too skittish. Hides whenever there is movement near the tank

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## luenny

There are smaller pebbles that I'll be putting in front on top of the sand near the wood but that will have to come after I finish soaking the wood. I'll probably drain almost all the water after that, put in sand and the pebbles and refill the water. And then I'll put some ketapang to tint the water. I'll probably keep it there for a week or so after that before putting in fish. 

As for tank mate, I'm thinking a small pleco (those that can't grow big) will do. May put in some freshwater crayfish/lobster but that is still uncertain. I don't know if those will survive soft slightly acidic water or not.

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## illumnae

i think having some Hypancistrus or perhaps L134 (abundant in the market now) would be good as tankmates, as well as some colourful tetras to make the top less boring? Perhaps try to make it a biotope style tank and choose cories/plecs/tetras all from the same river/locality

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## luenny

I did thought of the top part being boring. This is why I try to set the driftwood high. I notice from my existing cories that if there are no big fishes in the tank, from time to time they do swim up to the top of the driftwood.

As for them being skittish, I'm hoping that if there are enough of them in the tank they'll come out. That's what happen in one of my other tanks - especially with food around.  :Grin:

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Hey luenny,

This is an exciting thread to watch! Very tempting as usual :Grin: 

Nice woodscape! What's the ambience temperature of the tank going to be like?

By the way, are you planning for a species tank or an assortment of many types of cories? Think it will be quite a sight to see different types of corycats living and interacting with each other!

That being said, it also takes alot of discipline to stick to a species tank, with so many corydoras available in the market for us to choose from..

Im staying glued to this thread :Smile:

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## Shadow

hey... I like you wood arrangement

Are you planning to use the pebbles? is it the shiny types? if not mistaken it is using some kind of wax to make it shiny. I planning to use it in my scape and when i soak it with hot water, the water surface end up oily. So I guess the hot water melt the wax and float.

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## luenny

Clint,
I already have a tank with a few types of cories but I find it lacking of something. Maybe the number of cories in each species is too little. Anyway, this will be a species tank but you're spot on, I really don't know which one to choose.  :Grin: 

Robert,
The pebbles that I'm planning to use is the same as those stones you see in the second picture, only smaller version. I want to keep to only wood and 1 type of stones to keep it neat. When the sand goes in, I think the stones at the back will be covered partially so shouldn't be so distracting anymore. The pebbles have to go in last otherwise the sand will just cover it and it's as good as not putting. Anyway, I never like those shiny wax type of pebbles that they sell in some fish shop. It doesn't look natural.

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## Shadow

where you got the un polish one

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## luenny

I think you can get those at flower shops - try Far East Flora. But remember to clean them. Soak them for a few days and rinse them first.

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## illumnae

how's the tank setup luenny? My plan for the future is a Peruvian biotope type tank with Corydoras aeneus 'Goldline'/arcuata/panda, Zebra oto and marbled hatchetfish with a pair of Apistogramma bitaeniata (what's an illumnae tank without apistos right?  :Grin: ). Not necessarily a breeding tank, but fine sand with lots of wood and smooth rocks and slightly higher flow via a sump tank (for more oxygenation).

How does that sound?

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## iwishweallcouldwin

> how's the tank setup luenny? My plan for the future is a Peruvian biotope type tank with Corydoras aeneus 'Goldline'/arcuata/panda, Zebra oto and marbled hatchetfish with a pair of Apistogramma bitaeniata (what's an illumnae tank without apistos right? ). Not necessarily a breeding tank, but fine sand with lots of wood and smooth rocks and slightly higher flow via a sump tank (for more oxygenation).
> 
> How does that sound?


splendid :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:

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## Quixotic

> May put in some freshwater crayfish/lobster but that is still uncertain. I don't know if those will survive soft slightly acidic water or not.


Not only that, they will eat just about anything, plants and fish if they are able to get hold of them. I don't know if _Corydoras_ would be eaten but there could be risks.

Why not go with something along the lines of illumnae's idea, not necessarily a Peruvian biotype but general South American setting, with South American fish?

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## luenny

I was thinking keeping something that will utilize the wood for shelter - which is also why I thought of lobster (since small shrimps are cory food). Well, I'm open to suggestions of other suitable fauna that uses wood a lot.

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## CK Yeo

Be careful about the fine sand: Do not use too thick a layer to prevent compacting and hydrogen sulphide buildup. 

ck

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## illumnae

> I was thinking keeping something that will utilize the wood for shelter - which is also why I thought of lobster (since small shrimps are cory food). Well, I'm open to suggestions of other suitable fauna that uses wood a lot.


hypancistrus sp. plecs can use the wood as hiding places (you'll hardly see them unless you have moonlights as they don't like to come out in the day). apistos can also use the wood as a cave to spawn in. do note however that apistos will probably chase them out of the area when brooding. This may or may not suit your purposes as it does mean that your cories will be in the open alot more often

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## doppelbanddwarf

Lobsters are definitely a no-no. I'd a panda cory eaten alive within 5 minutes of introducing the cory into the tank years ago. I was really traumatised by the sight of a half eaten cory struggling to swim away. :Confused:

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## luenny

The sand part is ok. I'm not so worry about that as I am having not very think layer and the cories are good at shifting them about. So far I have another tank with half and inch of fine sand about a year or so without problems of compacting.

Hmm ... lobsters eat cories huh? Darn! I thought they would do a good job decorating the top of the wood as they like to climb to the top of the wood from time to time. 

As for the other suggestions, plecs hide a lot and apistos is another bottom dweller so not what I want. Well, I guess I'll just stick to cories only for now - if only I can make up my mind about which cories to choose. Anyway, with the driftwood arrangement like that, they should swim up the surface every now and then. I notice that they do swim near the surface of the driftwood upwards when they're foraging for food.

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## illumnae

My corydoras duplicareus like to swim up and perch on the wood every now and then, as do my zebra otos...perhaps you could consider an oto colony? or a dwarf panaque species? They eat wood, so you may see them out eating your wood instead of hiding all the time. alternatively, hatchetfish are surface dwellers that can add interest to your tank (make sure you have a 

My alternative setup - Rio Negro Biotope: Corydoras adolfoi/duplicareus, starlight bristlenose, blackwing hatchetfish and dicrossus filamentosus (maybe green neons/cardinals if the tank is big enough). Maybe some amazon frogbits with long roots, and either a 70W MH or 2x36WPL single point light source about 1/3 lengthwise to make the tank look more natural?

[I like to plan things REALLY early... :Embarassed: ]

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## iwishweallcouldwin

How about wood shrimps?

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## luenny

Wood shrimps do come to mind but I don't really know what they would eat in a non-planted tank without lights. There wouldn't be much algae in the water column for them. Do they eat other stuff like frozen blood worm or tetra bits?

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Never kept these interesting shrimps before but here's some info on them: http://www.petshrimp.com/bambooshrimp.html

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## doppelbanddwarf

How about some Nannostomus eques? One of my favourite pencilfishes. They swim at a 45 degrees angle and look really interesting.
The profile of the fish at fishbase: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...y.php?id=10754

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## CK Yeo

Yes! _Nannostomus eques_! They will look good in a shoal.


ck

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## Vandecruz

very nice cories *you* guys got there, like to share the cories i *am* keeping now with my L134 so far but they will be shifting soon to comm with my new coming plecos :Grin: 



_(Edit: Discussions of Corydoras aeneus "Venezuela Black" have been moved here, http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=46366)_

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## luenny

Ok, the driftwood is finally able to sink and I've put the sand and the pebbles in and top up the water. After 2 days, the water cleared up enough for me to take these photos. The water is kinda yellowish due to the tannin from the driftwood. Will be adding ketapang later to make it a bit more yellowish.

1st picture - What it looks like with the pebbles and sand with water. 


2nd picture - Here's what it really look like. Took out the flash and use high ISO to show you what it should really look like. I only put light on one side of the tank - I can do that because I don't intend to put plants. Anyway, with the light at the side, I manage to create a side that's light (to emulate sun light) and another side that's slightly darker (to emulate shade). Since in nature it is seldom lit up evenly. Anyway, with this I hope the cories will not just hide under the wood but will also come out to the shaded side. And if the shadow is soft enough, hopefully, they'll eventually be brave enough to play in the bright part. Am I making (fish) sense? Ok, the photo.

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## iwishweallcouldwin

I love your tank! Can already picture the cories shoaling all around! Good tank for apistos too :Grin:

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## illumnae

wow amazing setup luenny! Your cories will love you for providing them with such a home. Perhaps you can try getting wild cories?  :Smile:

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## luenny

Hi Clint and YX,
Thanks for the comment. And yes, I'm getting wild cories. Already booked. Still waiting for the farm to acclimatize them. Will be getting in 2 weeks time.

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## doppelbanddwarf

Looks really nice and natural. :Grin:

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## luenny

Thanks.

Hmmm .... I've been thinking. Do you guys think I should just throw in some ketapang and let it settle on the sand or put it somewhere else (like at the outlet of the filter)?

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## leeruisheng

Very nice tank for cories.

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## doppelbanddwarf

I think a layer of ketapang leaves on the sandy floor will make it more natural. However the leaves might disintegrate over time and dirty your substrate.

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## illumnae

like what chongyu said, i think ketapang on the sand will look better. if you decide to keep apistos as tank mates they will also love you for it  :Wink:  however, you will probably need to do maintenance. replace leaves every 2-3 weeks

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## Wackytpt

WHat cories are you intending to keep in there?

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## luenny

Hmm ... I thought it'll look better also but the maintenance part could be a problem. As for the cories, I actually don't know the species. It looks spotted and it's quite nice. But there are a few species that look similar to it so I can't pin point it out.

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## genes

Love your wood arrangement man.  :Well done: 

You can also use peat to brown the water other then ketapang leaves. Using ketapang leaves, once they start to disintegrate, it will look very natural. However, downside is that your bright sand will look very dirty.

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## illumnae

Could be Corydoras kanei or Corydoras loxozonus? I saw some at C328 lately, auntie calls them "White leopard mouse" haha

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## luenny

Thanks. Yeah, I think I'll keep the ketapang to the filter. That way the leaves won't get into the tank. White leopard mouse? Hmm ... I really don't know. Maybe they are. Well, I'll just have to take pictures of them when they arrive and post it here for ID.

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## ranmasatome

> Hmm ... I thought it'll look better also but the maintenance part could be a problem. As for the cories, I actually don't know the species. It looks spotted and it's quite nice. But there are a few species that look similar to it so I can't pin point it out.


spotted and quite nice.. hmm.. thats like 60% of them..hahaaha..

nice tank you got there.. :Smile:

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## Anthen

Where *you* get the sand from? it look nice for cory tank..

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## luenny

I bought the sand because someone here in AQ bought extra and sold it to me. Bought it a long time ago. Anyway, I think NA do sell sand from time to time.

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## eeeeemo

your arrangements look so natural!
well done~!!
can already see the cories swarming in and out of those cervices in my head =)
one thing however, maybe you should use less sand as the cories only dig to a certain depth and the rest below will cultivate harmful bacteria.

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## trident

Nice update, but the sand looks kind of fine.
what sand is it?  :Smile:

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## luenny

Thanks. For those who like the driftwood, I arrange it out of 9 pieces of drift/bog wood. Kinda throw in whatever I have.  :Grin: 

I think the sand should be ok. The cory will sift through it. I have another thank with discus and cories with the same kind of sand, even thicker and it's ok. The sand is fine river sand but it's not the finest grade so shouldn't be a problem.

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## Wackytpt

luenny,

Can advise where to get the sand and those unpolished pebbles / rocks?

I intend to set up a 2ft tank for my dad.

Cheers

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## Shadow

> I bought the sand because someone here in AQ bought extra and sold it to me. Bought it a long time ago. Anyway, I think NA do sell sand from time to time.


That is me and I'm regreting it. It is hard to find cheap find river sand. I've been searching for a while without success  :Exasperated:  The one that curently available is GEX brand ant it cost 5 times or more  :Exasperated:

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## illumnae

OTF sells the fine sand that luenny is referring to. the pebbles can get from gardening nurseries

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## luenny

YiXiang,
Thanks for helping me answer the questions. Weeee!! I'm getting my cories tomorrow.

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## illumnae

pictures! many many pictures!

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## sfk7

Cant wait to see the pics too!

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## luenny

Ok, finally got my cories and 3 other fishes. Out of the 3 fishes, one of them is corydoras reynoldsi (in another tank) and the other two is the leopard frog pleco (L134).

Of course, the main fishes are the 50 cories (which I still don't know which species they are). I was told that they are white fin cories - which according to what I found on the web is suppose to be corydoras incolicana. Does this look like c. incolicana to you? I've neutralized the yellowish tinge in this pic for ID purposes.



Anyway, here are the tank shots. First the closeup shot.



And the tank shot.


What do you think?

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## doppelbanddwarf

Wow really beautiful!

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## illumnae

amazing...i love this tank!

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Very very nice!

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## quix

Love your tank luenny! You really got 50 of the same species! I salute your discipline! It must be a sight watching them shoal.

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## sfk7

Oh my, what a sight!!

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## EvolutionZ

WOW!.. amazing FTS.. love the shoaling cories!

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## luenny

Thanks all for the comment. Yeah, it isn't easy choosing 1 species out of so many. The temptation to get many different species to keep together is great. But I guess keeping to one species pays off. I really love the way they interact. 

One thing I don't really understand is their behavior. In the farm, they stay mostly at the bottom and not moving much unless you disturb them. In my tank, today's the second day and they're moving all over the place even going up and down the glass (but not reaching the surface - not gulping for air). I don't know if that's a good sign or not, but it seems that they're always hungry. And their favorite food so far is frozen blood worm. I can even hand feed them with frozen blood worms.

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## freshfish

i caught it too ! i love the pandas !

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## EvolutionZ

my sterbai cories in the past also "chiong" here "chiong" there in the tank.. active cories!

_(Edit: "chiong" is colloquial Singlish meaning "rush forward", or "darting" as in context above)_

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## trident

Luenny,
Looks like they have settled down, you keep the L134 with them?

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## SCOPE

Nice Haven for the cories....

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## CK Yeo

Active cories is a good sign. Either horny or conditions are good.

ck

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## luenny

Yes, I put the L134 together with the cories. Hardly see them anymore, they're more into hiding. The cories on the other hand is always upfront by the class. I was told that they are the easier species to keep. I guess the activity just means they're ok, no wonder they're always jumping onto any food I give them. Anybody can help me confirm the ID of the corydoras?

Here's one more picture.

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## fishpoo

Wow really really nice tank....... you have made me a fan of cories although i'm keeping crs...  :Laughing:

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## luenny

Thanks fishpoo. I was told by the farm owner that the market for cories isn't that big in Singapore and that's the reason why we don't get to see the rarer cories. If more people are into cories then maybe the rarer species will be imported here.

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## SCOPE

> Thanks fishpoo. I was told by the farm owner that the market for cories isn't that big in Singapore and that's the reason why we don't get to see the rarer cories. If more people are into cories then maybe the rarer species will be imported here.


Totally agree....as compare to Taiwan or Japan, such a big difference.... In Singapore, if you happen to see 10pcs of super Pulcher or C113 in C328, it is a big WOW!!! But in Taiwan, i saw tank of them in hundreds....
They dont treat cories as cleaner... Usually we can see 20-30 types of rarer cories easliy in any reputable shop in Taipei...

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## luenny

Yes, sadly a lot of people here treat cories as garbage collectors - just like the way they treat plecos. Well hopefully with more people interested in it, the market will grow and we can have a better variety entering Singapore next time.

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## luenny

Ok, time for more photos. Can't seem to take enough photos of them. Can somebody please help me ID this cory, is it really c. incolicana?



Here's one coming out of hiding.


And guess who decides to show up for picture taking session?

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## SCOPE

totally agree....when some think of corydoras...they only think of the bronze or leopard....they never know there are indeed few hundreds species available...

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## Quixotic

> Ok, time for more photos. Can't seem to take enough photos of them. Can somebody please help me ID this cory, is it really c. incolicana?


Uhm, more pictures of individuals, if you can?  :Grin: 

Anyway, coming back to the identification, I have reservations that they are _C. incolicana_. There is quite a number of very similar looking species, I think you have one of those C-numbers.  :Laughing: 

Here is why I have my reservations (based on not-so-professional observations, for which I may be grossly wrong):

1. _Real_ pictures of _C. incolicana_ look very different. Many pictures on the internet are attributed to incorrect fish. The real _C. incolicana_ can be found here, http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...?species_id=62

2. _C. incolicana_ seems to be a much longer and slimmer fish. Your fish seems to have a shorter and more robust shape.

3. _C. incolicana_ supposedly has a dark nape, with a distinctive pink-yellow patch behind the operculum. Your fish don't seem to have a totally dark nape (mostly spots). There is a yellowish patch but rather indistinctive as it is covered with small dark spots.

4. Patterns on _C. incolicana_ seems to be thicker and darker. Patterns on your fish seems to have smaller and many more spots.

5. Found a thread on identification where the 3 fishes pictured in there look pretty similar to what you have. They are definitely not _C. incolicana_, but tentatively identified as C141. Frank and Ian are pretty much gurus in the field of _Corydoras_...  :Razz: 
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=257840

Even though there can be variable differences for the same species, given there seem to be quite a number of differences, I have doubts that they are _C. incolicana_. Can't propose an alternative identification though, probably need someone with greater experience with _Corydoras_ to provide an opinion.

My 2 cents worth...

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## luenny

Hi Quixotic,
Thanks for the tentative ID. Hmm ... they certainly look more like C141 than c. incolicana. Is C141 common? I don't remember seeing them in LFS before. Anyway, here is one more photo I took last night of the cory. Not so nice but for ID purposes it should be ok I guess.

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## StanChung

I really enjoyed watching the process and result. I am much slower in creating one as I have to get the plants to root first before I introduce them as they have shown in the past to play with the soil and mess up the white sand.

They are are delight to watch when they school. I've managed to accidentally breed some of them like _C trilineatus_. Hopefully I'll get lucky with my _C. duplicareus_

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## freshfish

> Hi Quixotic,
> Thanks for the tentative ID. Hmm ... they certainly look more like C141 than c. incolicana. Is C141 common? I don't remember seeing them in LFS before. Anyway, here is one more photo I took last night of the cory. Not so nice but for ID purposes it should be ok I guess.


i believe i saw this at ANGMOKIO block 233

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## luenny

Stan,
You've got c. dupli? Pictures please.

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## Quixotic

> Hi Quixotic,
> Thanks for the tentative ID. Hmm ... they certainly look more like C141 than c. incolicana. Is C141 common? I don't remember seeing them in LFS before. Anyway, here is one more photo I took last night of the cory. Not so nice but for ID purposes it should be ok I guess.


Well, it looks a lot like C141 but will be difficult to confirm due to lack of literature or pictures. For your fish, there seems to be a dark blotch that runs from the anterior base of dorsal fin downwards into the body. This does not seem to appear on C141 (based on pictures in PlanetCatfish).

But then your fishes looks rather variable too. The fish in post #63 and #81 seem different from above, they have a dark blotch in the middle of the dorsal fin and do not extend into the body.

I don't know if this is actually a variance in the same species or you actually have different species caught from the same area. More pictures?  :Evil:  With _Corydoras_ (and _Aspidoras_ as I have found out), sometimes you may never be able to find out the exact identifications. *shrug*

Anyway, don't think C141 is common (only 2 registered keepers on PlanetCatfish). I have not come across them or heard of any sighting reports from other aquarists. That said, it is also possible that it may have been available but was misidentified (e.g. as _C. incolicana_ or something else), and vice versa.




> i believe i saw this at ANGMOKIO block 233


Could be _C. schwartzi_ or something else.  :Wink:

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## luenny

Darn, this is tough. Originally I also suspect they may be different species, but what I found is that sometimes it is the way the light is shone on the fish. Sometimes you see the dark blotch at the dorsal fin extending to the body and dark band at the eye but sometimes when they swim to a different part of the tank, the dark blotch and band can appear very well conceal on the same fish.

However, I do notice that some of them have big spots, some have spots that form a line in the center, and some have smaller spots. So maybe they are different species. Sigh! That's the problem with wild caught fishes. You never know what you catch unless you inspect them very closely and which most suppliers don't do. Well, they look close enough to each other so I don't really care. When they shoal, they still look like a single unified group.  :Smile:

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## ranmasatome

i doubt these are c141.. if you look at the dorsal fin it already looks different.. also the spotting goes all the way into the portion above the eyes in the ones you have. c141 just has this black mass on top.

Perhaps a cw002? Rio tigre cory?
or a c02? New black spot cory?

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## SCOPE

bro,
i also suspect that they look like C141.....very high chance

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## luenny

Hmmm Ranma ... seems like you're right. It does look different on the head and the dorsal fin. But the spots doesn't look like CW002 also. The CW002 has smaller spots and there is no dark botch below the dorsal fin.

C02 has dark botch below the dorsal fin but the doral fin itself looks clear from the picture. So also doesn't really fit. Hmm ... so hard to ID.

SCOPE, yeah, I agree they look very similar to C141 but then after reading what Ranma said, I am beginning to doubt it. In fact I'm beginning to doubt I'll ever find out which species they are.

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## SCOPE

i can say this is the first time i saw this cories in C328 store since the last 10+ years. If this is really C141, i believe that you better grab hold of them fast.
Antie & her supplier told me that even through they look slightly different, they got no choice but to price them similarly....at $6/pc - it is a steal...

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## luenny

Ummm .... you saw this at C328 at $6/pc? Hmm ... now I know I got them at good price.  :Wink:  Anyway, these photos are of the cories that I already have, so don't have to go grab them anymore.  :Grin:

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## Quixotic

> or a c02? New black spot cory?


ranmasatome is actually referring _Corydoras_ sp. (02), not C002 which has been retired (it is _C. parallelus_). _Corydoras_ sp. (02) is probably not designated with a C or CW-number yet, but they sure looks like luenny's fish!
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...pecies_id=1149

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## luenny

Yeah, this is the one I was referring to. But the dark patch (on all 3 pictures) stops below the dorsal fin. Mine has dark patch on the dorsal fin too. Maybe it's the lighting again?

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## luenny

Ok, another question I have. I have been feeding them for a few days now and I don't really know if I'm giving them enough food or not. So here's what I feed them everyday:
Morning:
- 3 cubes of Hikari frozen blood worms (those 32 cubes per slab kind)
- 3 to 4 pieces of Hikari algae wafer

Evening
- 2 cubes of Hikari frozen blood worms
- 3 to 4 pieces of Hikari algae wafer
- 4 to 6 pieces of Hikari carnivore
- I also put one or two pieces of food inside the cave there the L134 hides in so that they can get to the food before the cories finishes them off.

Is this enough food? Too much food? Too little? Usually the cories are very hungry, so hungry that if you hold the blood worm near the surface of the water, they'll come eat from your hand. And the other food that drop to the bottom, will usually be surrounded by a group of them and got eaten up very fast. So, this makes me think that they're not getting enough food. But I also do not want to overfeed them and get the water dirty in the process. What do you think? Should I give them more? Or is this enough?

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## SCOPE

i believe that the reason cories eat like that is caused by the environment that they live in... It is not really that they keep on eating is that they are hunger....it is their natural feeding behaviours.
There are a time of lack & time of plentiful depends on low or high rainfall seasons. Meaning that there are time where the water level is reducing with lesser food available, they can be on hunger for a long time before heavy rain that brings lots of foods. From this change of season, cories will eating non-stop to feed up their body ... in turn stimulate for breeding
This is a repeatable cycle

If you can stimulate the same scenario in our tank, basically you can predict their breeding behaviours too.

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## Quixotic

It is their nature to always look for food and eat whenever possible, so you may be fooled into thinking you are not feeding enough. I think SCOPE has given a good picture regarding their feeding in the wild.

Considering that you are feeding them twice each day, that is quite a lot of food for each feeding. However, given that they are still acclimatising to a new environment and may still be stressed, it may be important to feed more during this period, to improve their immunity particularly in the first few weeks. From then onwards, perhaps you want to cut down the food gradually from week to week. My personal feeling, eventually 3 cubes of bloodworm (++other food) per feeding once a day may be enough, but you really have to make the observations yourself.

Just to share my feeding regime, I have approximately 30 Corydoras and Aspidoras, plus +-50 other fishes including tetras, rasboras, barbs, Dicrossus etc. I feed them mostly in the evening, always on 1 or 2 cube(s) of bloodworm plus one of these (Tetra Color Pro, Tetra Vege Pro, NLS Thera+A, wafers) based on one of these schedules: (1) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, or (2) Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

As you can see I starve them on certain days. However, I always carefully observe and ensure that there is no adverse effects during those days. There is no right or wrong though, just an example for your perusal.

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## luenny

Hi SCOPE and Quixotic,
Thanks for the advice. I usually starve the fishes the first day after water change. And the second day, it's usually have the food (i.e. only feed once a day). Third day everything becomes normal. As for their feed, I will take your advise and monitor to see if I need to cut down or not. One other problem I am facing now is that the cories hog all the food and I'm just afraid the L134 may not get to the food. I have seen L134 out in the open sharing food with cories now and then but they're much too shy so the moment they see me, they run, but the cories continue eating away. Every now and then (during the evening), I'll place a piece or algae wafer or carnivore pellet near the hole where the L134 hides. Hopefully the cories don't dig them out before the L134 does.

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## SCOPE

i must say L134 is much more active than most other plecos in looking for food.
However in case you worry that they cannot complete with the corydoras...you can throw in some wafer disc...before you off the lights. In my opinion, pleco search for food better than corydoras in the dark

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## luenny

There was a thread on what to feed corydoras and there seems to be some misunderstanding that cories don't eat algae wafer. So, I took some pictures of my cories feeding. Please pardon the harsh light and the uncleaned flash. Didn't really plan for the shoot and when the food is in, I have to shoot fast before it's all gone.  :Grin: 

Here they are (tentatively I'll call them) C02 - new black spot cory, feeding on algae wafer.


C. aeneus and c. zygatus feeding on algae wafer.


C. aeneus, c. zygatus and c. napeonsis feeding on carnivore pellet.


And here's my c. reynoldsi that the fish farm owner gave me for free. He got one leftover and he gave it to me.  :Smile: 


Remember there is another thread about black cory? Someone says that some expert actually says that the cories are actually c. aeneus that has gone blind. Well, here's my c. aeneus that has gone blind (both eyes gone) and you can see that it's still the same color. This is what you get when you place cory in a bare tank with discus. As you can see, it's still very capable of finding food.

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## Shadow

Regarding C.aeneus that has gone blind, are you saying that it is previously not blind?

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## Vandecruz

Luenny,I think if i am not wrong ,your blind cory is the C.Venelueliannus from what i know,i may be wrong in the id part but anyway altought its blind but i still think its a very beautiful piece :Grin:

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## luenny

Robert,
Nope, previously not blind when I bought it, it has eyes. 

Vandecruz,
I don't think it's c. venelueliannus, it doesn't have that orange color that c. vene have. Anyway, I bought it for 60 cents each at Polyart and it was labelled bronze cory.

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## SCOPE

all nice corydoras pictures....swee swee...
And you had kept them well fed & healthy.

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## luenny

Thanks SCOPE. They are pretty hardy bunch and usually do well in most scenario.  :Smile:

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## SCOPE

> 


May i know is there a purpose of the larger brown gravel on top of the sand for?

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## sfk7

Hey Luenny,

was browsing through planetcatfish and found this corydoras to be very similar to yours!!

http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/co...article_id=364

You think its the same?

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## luenny

SCOPE,
Well the larger gravel here (this is another tank with plants) is ADA Amazonia. I put it at the back of the tank with the sand on the front. And see what happens when you put cories in there? All got mess up.  :Laughing: 

sfk7,
I think this is it! By gosh! It sure took long to find out the ID. Thanks bro! C009 Corydoras lamberti, finally I know the ID. The description on bloodworm and mid level swimming fits too. But the size is a bit off, mine is more towards 2" size.  :Grin:

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## quix

whoa! Your Napoensis and Reynoldsi are gorgeous! Napos are one of my favorite cories.

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## Quixotic

I don't know if there are any _Corydoras_ that don't prefer frozen bloodworm as their favourite food.  :Wink: 

Well, they certainly look like _C. lamberti_ but... but... I have some reservations. From the link posted by sfk7, http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/co...article_id=364, the traits in bold below seem to be something that is different in luenny's fish...




> The colouring of these fish was most remarkable: the caudal fin appears striped; a white background with thick, *even black spots on the body* giving a clown-like appearance; the dorsal fin has a black blotch that is isolated to the middle, surrounded by clear; the snout has the smallest black spots; the pectoral and anal fins are devoid of colour.


The spots running horizontally along the middle of the body of _C. lamberti_ is disjointed and more or less of even size compared to other dots on other parts of the body. This seem to be very obvious in the pictures here, http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...?species_id=67.

The spots along the middle of the body for luenny's fish seem to be not as distinct, not as disjointed, and longish size compared to other dots on other parts of the body. Again, it may be the lighting, but looking closely at the pictures from post #63 seem to support the observations above. *shrug*

Sorry if I have thrown a spanner in the works.  :Opps:  Well, if you really really want to know, ask for an identification in the PlanetCatfish forums. Ian, who identified the _C. lamberti_ in the article above, lurks in the forums and will know if this fish is _C. lamberti_, or otherwise.  :Grin:

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## sfk7

I certainly agree with you Quixotic. IDing corydoras is very difficult. I have my reservations too, thats why, in my post, I think I come across as not 100% certain although the picture really seems identical.

Its the same for napoensis. Browsing through the pictures in planetcatfish, one can see that those in there is rather different from the ones posted in this forum. 

So yea, damn tough to get a correct ID

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## luenny

Quix,
Thanks. I have only 1 reynoldsi. 

Sigh! I guess it's back to square one. I guess I'll post it in Planetcatfish and see if they can help me or not.

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## EvolutionZ

luenny, you are seriously tempting me to turn my coasta island tank to a biotope tank like yours..

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## luenny

Hahaha ... welcome to the group then. The more the merrier I say. It can only bring down the price of the cories and allow us access to more different species.

By the way, what do you guys think of c. ambiacus? http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=461


Looks really similar to mine and from the different pictures you can see that the pattern varies (so does the black patch on the dorsal fin). I still haven't have much reply from PlanetCatfish forum yet.

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## freshfish

i love this thread ! up !!!

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## luenny

Thanks freshfish. 

More temptations anybody?  :Grin:  Anyway, lost 2 fish because of my carelessness.  :Crying:  They were stuck between the sponge filter and the glass and couldn't get out. Found one dead in there the other one was dying - dead 2 days later. I have move the filter so that it is not stuck against the glass anymore.

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## illumnae

I'm definitely going to order my cory biotope tank asap once I recover some savings after my wedding expenditure!! *deeply poisoned*

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## freshfish

oh my god this is crazy ! evil poison  :Evil:

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## luenny

Hahaha, welcome to the group. 

By the way, I found that the plecos (L134) are getting bolder and would come out even when the lights are on to get the food. They even snatch food away from the cories. And they have an advantage, their sucker mouth. While the cories are gathering around the food, trying to bite chunks out of the pellets, the plecos would just swim into the place, suck a piece up and swim away with it so that they can enjoy it in peace. Clever huh?

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## luenny

Here are some photos of the L134.

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## EvolutionZ

bro how is your bioload?

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## luenny

Hmmm ... 50 cories (ok, now only 4 :Cool: , two L134s, 2 wood shrimps and a few malayan which I hardly see anymore. I know it's quite high but I have a big air pump pumping air into the tank.

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## doubleace

luenny,
your wood shrimp in the tank is for what purpose? I dont know wanted to put any shrimp in my tank or not. Which type of shrimp will be better?

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## luenny

For fun, looks nice something to stay on the wood because I couldn't put lobsters. I think small shrimps are out of the questions, so you're only left with big ones.

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## doubleace

*i see, i see*...  :Smile:

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## alfredliow316

Cant use cherry shrimps for your tank? I think they should do fine wiht your L134 and cories. Cant wait to get my hands on my batch of L134 in 2 days time!  :Very Happy:

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## luenny

I think the smaller shrimps are ok with the L134 and cories as in they probably won't get eaten. My 1 sakura and a few malayans are still in there. But the problem is, with 50 cories swimming around, most of the time the shrimps will be hiding. I only see them like once in a blue moon nowadays - and that's how I know they're still around.

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## illumnae

finally decided on a biotope and will try a small scale nano one to see how it goes before setting up another 4ft biotope next year...Rio orinocco biotope featuring Corydoras habrosus! Tankmates will be Dicrossus filamentosus, Otocinclus vittatus and Carnegiella marthae/Paracheirodon simulans

Will be decommissioning my office 1 ft cube planted apisto tank to set this up before Christmas.

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## EvolutionZ

nice L134.. im so tempted to get 1....

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## luenny

Evo,
Get a few, they look nice with the cories. Lol!

YX,
Pictures please!

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## EvolutionZ

time to go y618 and C328 to hunt for them.. at most get 2 only.. my tank only 2ft and they are not cheap also.. hahahaa...

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## illumnae

I'm of 2 minds about the sand I'm going to use for my office biotope. On one hand, I already have lapis sized sand in the tank and it's gonna be extra work to remove...plus lapis sand won't be stirred up to create a mess (e.g. sand stuck on glass wall); on the other hand, the cories do prefer smaller sand...

DILEMMA!  :Evil:

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## EvolutionZ

i would say cories do love the fine sand alot.. they love to suck the sand and pui (puke) them out via the mouth or gils.. very cute!

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## illumnae

in my discus QT tank, the discus love to forage in the sand for food too...one thing I don't like is that sometimes the fine sand that gets thrown up is stuck on the glass walls, making me have to regularly scrape the walls

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## EvolutionZ

for me, my moss tied to lava rocks are usually covered with the sand.. have to frequently "blow" them away. :Laughing:

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## EvolutionZ

reason why i say not to use soil because..

see what the cory does after feeding.

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## luenny

My cory tank almost nothing is covered with sand except the bottom of the aquarium. I try putting sand on the wood to make it look more natural but after a while, the cories shift them away. I think they really like the sand. I'm glad I use it.

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## doubleace

> My cory tank almost nothing is covered with sand except the bottom of the aquarium. I try putting sand on the wood to make it look more natural but after a while, the cories shift them away. I think they really like the sand. I'm glad I use it.


great... post more update of your tank. :Grin:

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## illumnae

thanks for sharing your experience luenny  :Smile:  I guess discus are more boisterous during feeding time and they really whack the sand up while rushing for food, hence the sand flying up and eventually sticking to the side of my tank. Cories (especially the pygmy ones i'm keeping) should be more docile!

Now the dilemma is between hassle of replacing substrate and having finer substrate that the cories will enjoy! Hopefully I can decide soon...my tank is looking bare and ugly now

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## Quixotic

> Now the dilemma is between hassle of replacing substrate and having finer substrate that the cories will enjoy!


While fine sand is closer to their natural environment, lapis sand works well as an alternative. As lapis sand aren't sharp, there are no problems with Cories digging into them, although not as vigorously. Been keeping my Cories in lapis sand setup for close to 5 years now, a little difference in the substrate is largely negligible, as long as the substrate is cleaned during routine maintenance.

P.S. doubleace, your sighting requests have been consolidated here, http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=48069 and http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=48070

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## luenny

Ok, an update. Not on this tank but on my planted tank with Sterbais. I changed the canister filter recently and within 3 days, the sterbais started breeding. I move at least 2 dozen eggs to another tank with my shrimps for hatching. The rest are still in the main tank. Some of it turning white but some turning brownish. Hopefully can see some babies soon.

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## doubleace

wow luenny congrat on your sterbai spawn.. :Grin:  Hope to see fries soon.. :Wink:

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## StanChung

Cool man-show us some pics! I have been collecting one species of cory lately. Hope to get more.  :Evil:

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## luenny

Didn't shoot them. When I saw them they were doing the thing already and I was afraid shooting them and flashing would scare them. So I didn't take any photos.

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## EvolutionZ

woah.. cograts bro.. one day maybe adding a fan to my L134 tank and my schwartzi will start breeding.  :Laughing:

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## luenny

Hmmm ... the eggs are gone already. Some that are white are still there but those that are not white are missing. Hopefully hatched already. I don't see any babies in the tank though. Probably hiding somewhere.

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## EvolutionZ

good luck bro.. hopefully can see extra cories in your tank in future.

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## luenny

Found the sterbais breeding again. I'm not sure it's the same female but found 5 eggs on the glass this time. 

And then look what I found in my comm tank. The ones in the red circle looks like they've got fungus. But the ones in the blue circle looks like they've already hatched. I wonder which cory lay these eggs. Hmmm, will the babies survive the rummynose and the discus? What cories will I get? Napoensis? Panda? Aneus? Or hybrid?  :Roll Eyes:

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## luenny

Ok, quick update. Last count there are 3 baby sterbais and 1 in the other tank that looks like a baby aneus. Do juv aneus look like the adult in terms of coloration?

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## StanChung

Shoot them with your macro man. They're so tiny!
The discus might make a meal of them but discus are pretty blind![LOL]
So tiny... I just saw one baby cory come out to look for food. Pretty cool if you ask me.

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## luenny

Mine are not that tiny anymore. Around half and inch to 1 inch. I think if they manage to survive until now they should be ok. Will try to shoot them during the weekends but they're always hiding. See if I can tempt them out with some food or not.

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