Tankmates for Danio's and Cory

kangy

I have a 29 Gallon (freshly) planted with 3 Giant Danio's, an Emerald Green Cory, and one Gourami. I know the Cory is a schooling fish but it's so hard to find the Emerald Greens around here and he was the lone one in the LSF. Also temporarily I'm housing 2 Clown Loaches.

Once I find a suitable home for the clown loaches I will be in the market for some stocking :) I might just order 2 more Emerald Greens online, or do you think I could get another breed of Cory that would hang with the emerald? He seems to be a much larger variant.

Preferably I want something medium/large but not too big for the 29 gallons. I've had community's before with lots of smaller fish but would prefer fewer and bigger. Up to what the 29 comfortably and properly allows.

Any suggestions?

Tapil

I had 1 albino cory and one pepered cory - they swim together and sit at the bottom of the tank together. Not sure if it will work in all cases or if mine are special.

You should ask your LFS what days they stock all their fish (for mine its friday) I find that when i go to the store on friday they have every fish instock - or ask the store to order you a cory

Now awadays i have 2 albino corys and 3 peppered corys (They ALL sleep together) if one moves they all move with it

*Off topic*

Do your corys randomly rush at the speed of light to the top of the tank and back down?

kangy

My main concern is that the Emerald is larger than most Cory's. He has adapted to the 2 clown loaches exceptionaly well.

Regarding your off topic question. I have never seen the Cory's dart to the top. From what I know that is a sign of poor water and/or lack of oxygen. Before I went planted I had way too much filtration and a bubble bar so I doubt they were starving for oxygen. I will keep close eye on them for the next few weeks though since I just dropped the bubble bar and went planted.

Byron

On the Emerald, Brochis splendens, a group of three of them minimum would be best. Brochis species, like their very close relatives in Corydoras and Aspidoras (some ichthyologists are suggesting Brochis and Corydoras should be combined or that some cory species actually belong in Brochis), are highly social fish. As a last resort, adding some Corydoras would be better than keeping a sole Brochis.

There are some other issues here too. The Giant Danio is also a shoaling fish with a high social interaction, and as noted in our profile a group of 8 is recommended. But this fish attains 4-5 inches minimum, and that given its swimming it needs more space, at least a 4-foot tank.

Last, I would not recommend gourami in with active fish like any of the danio. Sorry to be negative, but...fish are the way they are.

Byron.

kangy

Byron, I am going to call the LFS on Monday to double check if they can take the clowns and at the same time see if they can order me two more Emeralds. Regarding the Giant Danio's that's a perfect example of how lack of knowledge, no impulse control, and trusting the Petco employees can wind you up between a rock and a hard place. Their tag said they only grow to 2" and you should keep them with 3 or more. Should I rehome them?

The Gourami has been in the tank for 3 years now. I used to have him, 3 black and white Cory's (sorry not sure of the actual name) and a school of 10 tetra's (mixed between neon/high fin/blood heart/etc. About 3 months ago I had something go through the tank that wiped out the tetra's and Cory's. About broke my heart, I almost tore down my tank and called it quits, if it wasn't for the lone Gourami surviving I probably would of. Honestly I still don't know what caused the wipe-out. All water parameters seemed fine, it had been 9ish months since I changed the substrate. Either way that's a story for another day. I got the Emerald when buying some dog food, he was all alone in the tank, someone returned him since I guess the other ones that were with him did not make it. I know he probably would of gotten picked up by someone but my bleeding heart wanted to take him home. Tankmates for him are on the top of the list. The Danio's I got about a month ago, as mentioned above, inexperience, and bad information :(

I'm so glad I found this site, I've had this tank for 5 years but still feel like a brand new rookie. It's my new obsession now thought haha I actually ordered a couple of books and figured with the help of you guys I can finally start appreciating the joy/planning/hard work that go into a properly kept aquarium.

kangy

p.s. please no apologies, I didn't see anything negative with your posts Just honest straight forward information which is what I appriciate and look for. Don't worry you won't hurt my feelings ;)

Byron

The Gourami is fine, but not with active fish like danio. And given the danio size, if they really are the Giant Danio [check the photos and info in our profile, click the shaded name] I would ask the store to take them as 3 is going to be trouble eventually. Then you will have space for some nice quieter fish to keep the gourami company. Rasbora work fine, and many of the characins (tetra) would, just avoid any that might fin nip. This is mentioned in the profile if applicable.

One has to question anything a store tells you. With a chain store, they have to sell fish to make money, which is understandable; but if they told people they needed 8 of this or that fish, you can imagine, they would never sell them.

If you like the Brochis and can get two more, perfect. If you can't get them (yet), a trio of corys would work. Find a species you like, maybe one of the spotted variety. They will keep the Brochis company until you find two more, but they will also be fine with 3 of them in the meantime and after.

Byron.

kangy

Alright, good news!... I think... I convinced the LFS to take the two clown loaches. The only downside is they said they already have 6 in stock about the same size and they are not selling very well :( So I hate picturing the poor guys stuck in the LFS. Darned if I do darned if I don't. They said I could bring them by Saturday. (They are about an hour from my house and bringing the fishies to work and going on lunch sounds like a bad idea) They can order me two more Emeralds but I have to pay in the store first (no phone orders) I guess they have had people skipping on the pickup.

I'm going to dig up the receipt for the Danio's to see if they are still within the 30 day mark, may just return them for some Rasbora.

Byron

Local aquarists are another resource. If you have a fish club nearby, or a regional forum, this might be worth a try; someone with the tank space might be in the market for the fish.

kangy

I'm taking the clown loaches on Saturday to the NSLFS and gonna try and order two more Brochis (I found some Brochis online but I can't see paying more on shipping than the fish cost but if the NSLFS can't get them in then I'm willing to pay the money). Regarding the Danio's they are also in the process of being rehomed, I still have a few days left on the 30 day Petco return so will probably do that Saturday as well. Was going to pick up some Rasbora and Tetras from either Petco/LFS depending on what they have in stock and/or are willing to trade for the clown's and danio's.

Here is the final fish stocking goal with a 29g planted tank (goal of "heavily planted").

5 Harlequin Rasbora
5 Head and Tail Light Tetra (or similar)
1 Blue Gourami
3 Brochis (Emerald Catfish)

Too much, too little, just right. Suggestions/comments welcome :)