New Corys, with a Question

BEARitone

IMAG0128 by PenguinsUnlimited, on Flickr

I fell in love with the little guys at the aquarium today! I bought 2 for now and I know they are happier in a group so I am getting more.They are soooo funny to watch them feel around the substrate for food. They seemed a little scared when put into the tank and hid under my bridge but I noticed them look around the gravel for a little bit before darting back. I bought some bottom feeder food because my flakes usually barely hit the water before they are gone. I dropped in a few and saw them shyly sniff around and eventually find them. It was pretty awesome.

I was curious, there seem to be quite a few of these ~2" corys at the store with different markings. Are they happy in a shoal with other corys or do I need more of the same?

eatmysox

Well I can offer advice with my limited knowledge and tell you that it depends on the temperament of the fish. Alot of times they will shoal together if they feel threatened, but in some case they will actually "play" together as some people call it. You can leave it up to chance I don't think it will hurt anything to try.

BEARitone

Cool, I definitely have no problems getting a few more of these guys, they have great markings on them, but some variety might be nice.

Byron

It is best to have at least three of each species; 5 of each seems ideal, but I have had no problems (that I can see) with 3 of a species when I have had multiple species in the same aquarium. Some prefer their own, others seem less concened.

The species in your photo seems to me to be Corydoras trilineatus, the Three Line Cory. We have info on this fish in our profiles, click on the shaded name or use the second tab from the left in the blue bar at the top.

Yopu don't mention the tank size or other fish, but a group of 5-6 would be best, either one species or 2 species. If space allows, more. They will be less "skittish" in larger numbers, and with hiding places (made from wood or rock) and floating plants; they dislike bright light and feeling "out in the open."