Which catfish to go with my Angelfish?

Spoon

My 55g is cycling and when it's ready I am going to move my angelfish over. I currently have 1 cry and I'm wondering what other bottom feeders I should/could put in there. I a;lso have a bright orange algae eater that was given to me when I bought the 55g. I don't anything the angels won't be able to fight off if the should spawn.

Cody

More cories. At least 6.

1077

I would lose the orange algae eater which I am guessing is a Chinese Algae Eater. They aren't from china, and they don't do a very good job at all in respect to eating algae especially,, once they discover that the fish food tastes better. And they also become aggressive towards other fish as they mature or get larger. Some have been reported to attach themselves to fish such as Discus,severums, and Angelfish in an effort to rasp or suck the slimecoat from the fish which can lead to sores and infection.
I agree with more cory's for bottom patrol. Be sure and provide them with sinking pellets and occasional frozen brine shrimp and or bloodworms which the angelfish will also enjoy.

Byron

Agree with previous posters. Your lone cory must be very lonely, they are most assuredly a schooling fish and always do better (health, temperament, activity) in groups of at least 6. You can mix species or stay with one species. I have found that when mixing species there seems to be more interaction if there are 2 or 3 of each species. I have over 15 years kept some of the same species in both situations and this is always evident. So 3 of 1 and 3 of another, or 2 of three different species would work well if you want variety.

For algae control, if you have plants (and I assume you will for the angels), the otocinclus cats are the best, and will fit in nicely with your cories and angelfish. Farlowella also are avid algae eaters in a planted tank, but this is not a fish for everyone. And in either case I would recommend that you wait for the algae to begin showing before you add the otos or farlowella; they won't fare well in a new tank that is free of algae.

Spoon

I bought two medium sized spotted corys and 3 small albino corys. The girl at the lfs had a hard time with one of the spotted ones. He got caught in the net and got pretty banged up. She didn't want to sell him, but they only had two and I wanted both, so she gave him up for free :)
I have pebble type substrate and I'm afraid too much food is getting missed at the bottom. Do the corys need smaller gravel to get to the food?

Cody

The leftover food isn't the concern; it is that they have very sensitive barbels and do best on sand.

Anyways, saying you said pebble size, I would think you are fine.

Spoon

here's a pic of the tank during set up with pebbles.

Attached Images

IMG_0247.jpg (104.8 KB, 20 views)

1077

Leftover food will become a concern if you don't remove it or reduce the amount fed.

Lupin

Leftover foods ->>Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate rise

High nitrate level is also responsible for the disintegration of the cories' barbels.

Spoon

So do you think this substrate is not good for the corys?