please advise me

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » 27 Oct 2006, 20:28

Hello

i'm looking into setting up a tank for corydoras and microrasbora. the tank is a 2', i think its about 45l.

i'd like to keep a small species of cory, that will be happy in slightly soft water, pH around 7, temp around 22-24 C

i have looked at the species i can get at the moment on the Cat-elog, and i quite liked C. pygmaeus, C. panda and C. reticulatus (or sodalis). would any of these species be OK to keep in such a setup, and how many would be OK in the tank?

any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

helen

kim m · Post by **kim m** » 28 Oct 2006, 05:06

You could easily keep 10 C. pygmaeus in that tank and still have room for the Rasboras.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 28 Oct 2006, 14:13

Corydoras hastatus is small as C. pygmeus but less shy, if you can find them for sale.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 30 Oct 2006, 10:43

Most corys would go fine in that tank, and the temperature range is fine for most of the corys, so it's within reason just your choice and perhaps what's available in the shops where you live.

The numbers will of course depends on the size of the corys and the number of Rasboras you plan on having. If you want higher numbers, go for one of the smaller corys, corys like to be in groups of AT LEAST 5, and are generally "the more the merrier".

Another factor to how many fish you can fit is the actual dimensions of the tank - you can (in theory) get 45 liters of water into a 2 foot wide tank in many different ways, although to make it 45 liter with a reasonably "ordinary" shape, I expect it's 24 x 12 x 10 or so [just rough estimate]. More water won't really make much of a difference, it's the surface area that matters (and to some extent the bottom area, as that's where the corys will live...)

<Moderator>Could you add where you're from in your "profile"...</Moderator>

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Mats

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » 31 Oct 2006, 17:47

thanks very much for your advice.

MatsP the tank dimesnsions you suggested sound about right. i will certainly ask about C hastatus, thanks for that suggestion. staying small is quite important, as i won't have room for a larger tank for them at a later date. are hastatus fairly lively? the microrasboras i'd like to keep with corydoras can be quite shy too.

Do they like caves, or will plenty of plants be fine? and do they prefer relatively still or fast flowing water?

the info on this site seems to be really good, and there are some wonderfull pictures too.

thanks

helen

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 31 Oct 2006, 18:00

Corys in general aren't lively in the sense of Zebra danios or such, but they are certainly lively in comparison to for exampl the average pleco.

My corys don't seem to prefer caves over plants or even reasonably open areas, as long as there is a "bottom" to follow, they are fairly happy, so I'm sure that "plenty of plants" is a fine idea.

Some current in the water is a good idea, but most corys tend to avoid the really fast currents from powerheads/filters, so you don't want the tank to look like the outlet from a hydroelectric power-plant or such...

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Mats

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 31 Oct 2006, 18:27

Hello Helen,
I also keep nanofish. I have a 15 gallon tank set up with 4 Boraboras species, cherry shrimp, Sawbwa resplendens, Paraotocinclus spilosoma and Cordoras panda. I have some Corydors hastatus due in any day that will end up in this tank. Moderate flows best suit this group.
I will be removing the panda corys for breeding and then I'll just have a dozen C. hastatus with the mini-rasboras.

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » 10 Nov 2006, 13:21

thanks for you very helpfull replies

i think i will attempt to go for plenty of plants for this tank. will i be safe to put down a layer of plant substrate under the sand? i have seen cories sifting around in sand before, but just how deep do they go? i normally keep loaches, and one of their aims in life is to dig up of destroy plants, so i dont have much experience of growing plants properly, and i wouldnt want to put anything in that would cause barbel damage.

apistomaster that tank you described sounds lovely. what do you find is the best food for your nanofish?

thanks

helen

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 10 Nov 2006, 15:30

Corys will dig their head into the sand down to about the eyes if they think there is (or may be) something edible at that level.

Plant substrate under the sand will work, but beware of:
1. deep subtrate of sand may cause problems with anaerobic activity by for example dead plant matter breaking down in the sand without oxygen.
2. Sand and plant substrate will eventually mix at least to some extent. I have fine gravel and sand in my tank, and there's sand about a foot over into the gravel - likewise the gravel is mixed into the pure sand that I put down when I last redecorated the tank [it started with a nice half and half separaton aling the mid-line of the tank].

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Mats