What type should i add?

jbrentk · Post by **jbrentk** » 26 Feb 2005, 15:14

Hey guys i have a ten gallon tank currently with 2 emerald corys (i think they were miss named) and 3 neon tetras. When the bought the corys i was unaware that they were schooling fish. I really want some panda corys but i am only looking to put 2 or 3 more fish in the tank.

Is it best to get 3 more emerald corys, or is it ok to get 3 or a differnt species (panda)?

Temp- 78
Nitrite, Ammonia- 0
Substrate- Fine sand
Nitrate- ?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 28 Feb 2005, 09:49

Emerald cory being ? [The easy way to tell them apart is the number of rays in the dorsal fin. If it's more than about 7, it's a Brochis of some sort].

Could also be Bronze Cory , they loook pretty similar.

Brochis grow quite large, so may not be the best choice for a small tank like that, but let's say you decide to keep them for the near term at least: Panda cory would work OK, the temperature range is about right.

If they are Brochis, then I'd recommend not getting any more of them unless you know for sure that you're getting a bigger tank very soon. Same thing with C. Aeneus, as they are one of the bigger cory's. Get something that grows a litte bit smaller...

Oh, and your neon's would be much happier if you got 2 or 4 more of them too...

--
Mats

jbrentk · Post by **jbrentk** » 28 Feb 2005, 16:53

Thanks alot for the advice. Ever since i got them i have been wondering if they were Brochis Splendens or Corydoras Aeneus because they seem to have traits of both but after counting the rays, they both have 5 or 6. One of the corys is a very deep jungle green while the other is basically bronze with bright green on the gills.

I was actually going to get more tetras but they came down with some white spot and i just havent got around to it.

The guy at my fish store said that i could fit about 4 of the emerald corys (corydoras aeneus) in a 10 gallon but would this be overstocking it?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 28 Feb 2005, 17:06

jbrentk wrote:Thanks alot for the advice. Ever since i got them i have been wondering if they were Brochis Splendens or Corydoras Aeneus because they seem to have traits of both but after counting the rays, they both have 5 or 6. One of the corys is a very deep jungle green while the other is basically bronze with bright green on the gills.

I was actually going to get more tetras but they came down with some white spot and i just havent got around to it.

The guy at my fish store said that i could fit about 4 of the emerald corys (corydoras aeneus) in a 10 gallon but would this be overstocking it?

It's hard to say exactly how much fish you can fit in a particular tank. The GENERAL rule says no more than 2" of fish per gallon, so you could have abour 20" of fish, or about 6-7 3" fishes in there. But that's a very general rule, and it depends on a lot of factors:
- Filtration & Water changes.
- Aeration.
- Individual fish needs.

If you get too much fish in there, the nitrates will go up to a level where the fish are going to be stressed (get illness or other problems).

Some fish will need cleaner water than others, so obviously have to take that into account. I don't think your tetras, nor your cory's are really high on the scale of how clean the water needs to be, but they aren't at the bottom either...

Unfortunately, tehre's really no way to know exactly how much fish your tank will take. If you measure the nitrate levels prior to water change and it's not getting above 20 ppm (mg/l) of nitrate, then you can, as a general rule, add some more fish. Unfortunately, tests for nitrate aren't always precise at lower levels of nitrate, so it could be hard to tell exactly where you are on the scale at that level, but if you get readings that are well below 20, you'll be fine.

If you get readings that are way above 20 ppm, you need to start doing something about the situation... One of the following:
- Bigger tank (with better filter capacity)
- More filter capacity.
- More frequent and/or larger water changes.
- Reduce the fish.

--
Mats

metallhd · Post by **metallhd** » 01 Mar 2005, 08:11

hi there! you may also want to consider water temperature in your choice, pandas are one species of cory which require slightly cooler water than the average tank for long-term health . . . good luck!