Cory cats vs. Planted tank

Ami

Hi,
I have a 55 gallon planted tank. Its been cycled and is 7 weeks old. The current inhabitants are
5 long fin zebra danios
4 otocinclus catfish

I'd like to add 5-6 julii cories before I add neon tetras to them
I had heard / read somewhere that cory cats are a bad idea for a planted tank, especially if it has dwarf hairgrass ( which I do). I just wanted to verify the fact since I can't remember where to read it. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ami

DKRST

Wherever did you read that? Corys work great in a planted tank. The only issue might be the substrate. A "soft" or sand substrate with no jagged edges is best for their whiskers!

Ami

I guess its good that I can't remember the site / person
Yay ! I'm gonna get some julii cories for my planted tank. I used the same subtrate I used for my 20 gallon from Petsmart. Its smooth gravel , I think there is some kind of coating to make it smooth. I have 5 albnio cories in it. They have a GREAT personality. I just laugh at their antics

Thanks

TwinDad

The hair grass might have merit, but they love plants for shade during the day to get away from the lights.

Ami

Um...do you mean that the cories might go after the dwarf hairgrass?

Inga

I think the issue with the hairgrass is more that the Cories find their food by snuffling around on the substrate and the hairgrass can take over the bottom of the tank. That was always my understanding anyhow. I have about 10 Cories and I have a heavily planted tank. They love it and they have not hurt the plants at all.

Are you supplementing your Otos? Often they come from the fish store half starved and unless you have an established tank with plenty of algae (more then 7 weeks) they can starve to death.

redchigh

Just add a piece of slate to the tank, and you can feed them there.

Alternatively, feed them live blackworms...

Ami

I got plenty of diatoms growing...their tummies are bulging. They took to eating as soon as I released them and continue to clean the tank. However, I think the diatoms have a head start =0)
Anyways, I monitor them closely since they are constantly feeding.

kitten_penang

i find that if the plants are not yet fully rooted they can uproot them as they are finding food.another thing is the can cause a lo of gunk to surface if the tank has not been vacumed properly maybe due to the plants growing big and getting too close that it's impossible to vacum between them without the chance of uprooting them.this is my personal experience though.keeping 1 or 2 are ok but these fishes needs to be in groups of 6 and above.the larger cory's around 2 inches can uproot or cause plants soft plants like millfoil to break off during their foraging rips.

Blaxicanlatino

i have cories in my main tank with hairgrass and they dont bother the plant at all. Plants are great for cories. Ive seen that they love to rest on the leaves...sometimes sleeping on top of each other!