Corys 10 gallon

[josh7, posts: 17]

In this tank I have 4 male guppies java moss and a sword plant was wondering if I could add 5 bronze or peppered cories.

[MatsP]

Does it have to be bronze or peppered corys?

Both species grow fairly large given good conditions. Peppered = Corydoras paleatus are probably not the greatest choice, as they are technically subtropical, and need a "cool winter" period to be really at their best.

Something like Corydoras panda or Corydoras trilineatus should be available in most places and will not grow quite so big, thus allowing for a stocking level that needs less maintenance.

There are dozens of others, but it may require a bit more effort to find those.

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Mats

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

Cory pygmaeus is a smaller cory that should be easily available and would be suitable for a small group still leaving adequate space for growth. It might be worth considering one of the dwarf species?

[josh7, posts: 17]

There is only 4 types of corys i can find around where I live the bronze, peppered, sometimes julis and pandas except the pandas are 7 dollars each pretty ridiculous.

[MatsP]

At 7 dollars each, you can probably find some on mail order (assuming you want more than 3-4). Although 7 dollars isn't CRAZY expensive - they are about £4-6 here. If you want "nicer" fish, then they tend to cost a little more.

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Mats

[corielover, posts: 103]

I would say that if you want a smaller option, corydoras panda are the way to go. If you see julis at a store, they are probably trilineatus, and the ones I had were very sensitive. They all died of fin rot, but I currently have some bronzes in the same tank, and they are thriving.However, I may have just gotten a bad batch.

[josh7, posts: 17]

I know this is a diffrent subject but does anyone know about banjo catfish are they active at all are they good scavengers what size tank do they need is gravel okay for them.

[MatsP]

To start from the "back": gravel is not what I would recommend. Nor for corys!

By talking about "good scavenger", what are you trying to achieve? If you get food that falls to the bottom uneaten, I'd suggest that you are feeding the fish too much.

--
Mats

[josh7, posts: 17]

No I mean a fish that like exhibits scavenging behaviour and this is for a different tank also I know smooth gravel is fine for Cory cats.

[racoll, posts: 4473]

I know smooth gravel is fine for Cory cats.

You've unfortunately been misinformed. Gravel is not suitable for Corydoras, even if it is smooth. It harbours bacteria in the voids, and leads to poor health. It also prevents the fish from indulging in their natural behaviour, digging. No serious Corydoras keeper would consider using gravel.

I would suggest that if you can't replace the gravel with sand, then it is best not to keep Corydoras, or banjo catfish for that matter.

[josh7, posts: 17]

I guess I will just get shrimp or something.

[racoll, posts: 4473]

Shrimp are great for cleaning up uneaten food. Much better than catfish, as they have a significantly smaller bioload.

If you do want catfish though, changing over to sand in a 10g tank should not expensive or hard at all, and the water quality should improve too.

[josh7, posts: 17]

I guess now I'm dead set on 12 ghost shrimp is there any bottom feeer type fish that can mix with shrimp and plants that don't require sand.

[racoll, posts: 4473]

I guess now I'm dead set on 12 ghost shrimp

These are generally used as feeder shrimp, rather than as pets. I would go for cherry shrimp instead.

is there any bottom feeer type fish that can mix with shrimp and plants that don't require sand.

I can't think of any. Gravel usually increases the bacterial load near the bottom of the tank, which is not good for any bottom feeder.

[josh7, posts: 17]

I have had ghost shrimp before live for 2 years I know they are usually feeders but do make cool bottom feeders.

[corielover, posts: 103]

Amano shrimp are nice. They're small and scavenge a lot, and they are always about doing weird shrimp stuff. They mix really well with my corys and ancistrus.