Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Putting Different Cories Together

36K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  LisaC144 
#1 ·
Hey, I just found the site, it's real cool, and I have a quick question.

A recent death in the tank has left my little albino cory all alone. There's a loach for him to hang out with, but it's just not the same. I'm planning to buy a couple new fish, and I wanted to make sure; do corys of different breeds/species get along with each other just as a school of the same species would? I'd get ones of a similar size and shape, but it'd be nice to know in advance. And if so, which corys would you recommend? I do have a male betta, which is very docile, but I'm going to avoid anything brightly colored.

And on a side note, does anyone know if an albino cory is its own species, or a subspecies of bronze cory, or what? I'm confused. Thanks in advance, and any cory stories are welcome!
 
#2 ·
Corydoras aeneus or bronze cory, can be either albino or bronze in color and do best and you will see better or more normal/natural like behaviors when kept in a shoal of at least 6 or more and will often spawn in the aquarium with right conditions especially right after a large water change with cooler replacement water.
They do tend to school better with their own species but I have seen different species hang out together when they didn't have a choice. Cory cats like smooth substrate like sand due to their barbels being so sensitive and easily damaged from rooting/digging around in the substrate for food. Cory cats can also be a bit sensitive to long term salt and some OTC medication.
How big is your tank and what other fish are you keeping?
 
#3 ·
I added two peppered (rescue) cories to my 45 gal. community which already had 4 albino cories. They all get along fine but do not school together.

do you have room in your tank for 4 or 5 more albino and 6 or so other cories? they're so much fun to watch.
 
#4 ·
Unfortunately, I only have a 10 g. I know they're best kept in shoals, but I didn't know this when I got the tank and now I don't want to overcrowd. I feel a little bad, but they seem to do fine. My two corys always swam together, so I definitely want to get the remaining one a couple of playmates.
 
#5 ·
Even at the slight risk of adding more fish to your tank, you should definitely get 2 more corys. Left alone, a single cory may be stressed which brings on health issues and sometimes leads to early death. Given the space limit, a trio of corydoras would be sufficient.

Some corydoras species have a greater preference for their own species than others; I have never kept any of the albino forms, but something like the regular Corydoras aeneus (bronze or green cory as it is sometimes commonly called) or the peppered cory (C. paleatus) would probably work, unless you get two more albino corys. The one you have is probably an albino of the Corydoras aeneus species, they are the more common of the albinos. If you go with the bronze or green, be careful because there is another fish that looks identical, Brochis splendens, but it grows much larger and that puts more strain on your biological system.

Byron.
 
#6 ·
Thanks much for your help, Byron and everyone! I saw some C. aeneus at my fish store, so I'll go check it out! I think I got spooked about putting five fish in a 10g, because I did it once and the fifth fish died immediately. But that was a guppy from Petco, so it was probably on its way out already. :/
 
#7 ·
i'd still get a few more albinos. mine hang out together and sleep on top of each other sometimes. i think your little guy would feel better with a friend or two.
 
#9 ·
Were it me,(and it ain't) I would not place corys in a 10 gal tank with Betta due to different temp requirements and not enough swimming room. Bettas do best in temps 78 to 80 degrees F and cory's much prefer cooler temps perhaps 74 to 75 degrees In my humble opinion. Three or four Sterbai cory's might work but they would do much better in 20 gal . Would go along with others who keep cory's over sand substrate.
 
#10 ·
I'd missed the betta, thanks 1077.

If the cory is Corydoras aenus, the albino form (which is the most common one), it will be fine at higher temp, say 82F. This species is found over almost the whole of South America and even onto one of the West Indies islands, forgotten which. Anyway, it has a considerable tolerance for varying water parameters. By this I mean it will be at home in soft acid water or in slioghtly harder basic water, and in 77F or 82F on a permanent basis, not fluctuating within the tank. Most species of cory would not be so accomodating.
 
#11 ·
Ok so let me get this right, because I want to add cories to my 55g tank too. My LFS had cories labeled as "green aeneus". Is this the same thing as "bronze cory"? I want bronze cory because I keep my temp around 79 degrees for my Angels and read that bronze cories are suitable for 79 degrees. I've searched the internet and couldn't find anything regarding if they are actuallythe same species. Instead of starting a new thread, I'll ask in this one :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
Ok so let me get this right, because I want to add cories to my 55g tank too. My LFS had cories labeled as "green aeneus". Is this the same thing as "bronze cory"? I want bronze cory because I keep my temp around 79 degrees for my Angels and read that bronze cories are suitable for 79 degrees. I've searched the internet and couldn't find anything regarding if they are actually the same species. Instead of starting a new thread, I'll ask in this one :)
This is precisely why I do not like common names. The same fish can be called several different names, or the same name can apply to several different (sometimes quite different) species.

If the fish is a true Corydoras, it is probably C. aeneus if it is called either green or bronze--I say probably, not definitely. There is also Brochis splendens, almost identical in colour but grows a bit larger.

Just for interest, I just did a Google on "green cory" and images; I can tell immediately that there are photos of Brochis splendens and Corydoras aeneus all mixed in, and all labeled "green cory cat" or some such nonsense. Pointless using common name, we all need to learn the true names of the fish we have in our tanks so everyone knows what we are talking about. Anyway, there's my soapbox rant for this evening.

Photo below of C. aeneus (top) and B. splendens (middle). The photo on our Profile for "Bronze Cory" is C. aeneus, a somewhat different variation. This species is very variable due to its wide distribution, but all bear a fairly recognizable similarity once you know the species. It also contains several very different forms, the gold stripe Peru, Black stripe, Green Stripe, Red Stripe--there we go again, more common names--but this is a bit more accurate because these fish are probably all C. aeneus though quite different colour and pattern variants each unique [termed endemic] to certain distinct creeks and streams mainly in the Peruvian Amazon basin. Unless my memory is escaping me at the moment, the variants have not been described as distinct species, though I have read authorities who believe they may be. It is possibly something akin to the variants of the so-called "adolfoi" clan of corys. Corydoras adolfoi was discovered in 198_ something, then a mimic but with a longer snout was discovered and named C. imitator for obvious reasons [latin imitator is in this case coincidentally the English word imitator]. Then Dr. Sands found two more near-identical species, which he named C. duplicareus [= to duplicate] and C. serratus [from its serrated pectoral fin spine] in adjoining creeks. The thinking is that the various similarly-patterned and coloured species evolved individually in separate consecutive creeks from the same original fish. We can only marvel at such magnificience in nature. Incidentally, in my view C. duplicareus is one of the most beautiful and striking corys, I have a group of five, photo 3 below just for fun. I adore this little fish, ever since I was priviledged to get the first five imported in 1996, a couple years after Dr. Sands found them and they were first described and photographed in the July 1996 issue of FAMA.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Wow, your cory is very unique and pretty. The one at my LFS looked more like photo 1, but I can't be 100%. In my other thread, you said the one cory I have is probably C. Sodalis. Since they are difficult to find, I'm trying to find a similar breed that he may shoal with. Since he is my only cory (had bad luck with them in the beginning and he is my lone survivor) I think a shoal of any cory at this point would be beneficial for the one survivor I have left.
 
#14 ·
Wow, your cory is very unique and pretty. The one at my LFS looked more like photo 1, but I can't be 100%. In my other thread, you said the one cory I have is probably C. Sodalis. Since they are difficult to find, I'm trying to find a similar breed that he may shoal with. Since he is my only cory (had bad luck with them in the beginning and he is my lone survivor) I think a shoal of any cory at this point would be beneficial for the one survivor I have left.
Yes, rather than a lone cory, a couple of other corys even if a different species would be preferable. I had a lone C. duplicareus for some months, and he used to chum around with the C. panda out of preference (may have something to do with some similarity in the black head band) and now that he has companions of his own species he pokes around with them or on his own.

With the "green" or "bronze" cory, the true Corydoras has a smaller dorsal fin, only 8 rays. The Brochis splendens has 10-12 rays so a longer dorsal, long meaning extending along the dorsal ridge, almost to the adipose fin; this feature is quite readily discernable so should avoid confusion of genera.
 
#15 ·
I see what you are saying from the picture. Will it make a difference which one I get? Is one hardier over the other? I know my LFS had them in stock, but I am going to check one other place in the area for something like the sterbai cory. It's more attactive to me.
 
#16 ·
I see what you are saying from the picture. Will it make a difference which one I get? Is one hardier over the other? I know my LFS had them in stock, but I am going to check one other place in the area for something like the sterbai cory. It's more attactive to me.
There are so many corys, I find the common C. aeneus somewhat uninteresting, perhaps because it is "common." It is a bit smaller than Brochis splendens, so that bears on bioload and appearance, but otherwise, both are hardy, peaceful, typical "cory" type catfish. Brochis has a blunter stockier look, being taller as well as longer.
 
#17 ·
So I stopped in the LFS today. In stock they had the peppered cory and albino cory. My tank is kept aat 79 degrees. Will one fare over the other due to temperature. The only reason I'm leaning towards the peppered corymore is because they look a little more like my C. Sodalis than the albino's (obviously). Any suggestions?
 
#18 ·
I like the peppered (C. paleatus) as a cory, it was the first cory I ever had back in my childhood. As for which cory would be best with your C. sodalis, I can't say; I've never experiemented with individual corys, any observbations I might have as with my one C. duplicareus are just accidental due to circumstances. I know the panda and similis in my 90g never shoal together, only with their own species, but others have I think mentioned pandas mixing in, so who can say.

PM FishinPole about that store he uses, not sure how close it may be, but worth a drive if not too far. They might have some neat corys in stock.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top