Qestion about how many sterbai should be kept in a 60 gallon

[fishtales81]

Hey all.

So we have a 60 gallon set up. We recently moved and had to sell a bunch of fish, so we are keeping it pretty simple with this tank.
Sand substrate
2 hotb filters (hang on the back)
several live plants
Some driftwood

In terms of fish, we have 3 juvenile platties and 2 sterbai corydoras. (The others died after we were hit with a disease a while back)

Oddly enough, after the cory's died, these 2 remaining cory's started spawning. We have had them for about a year and a half and they have never layed eggs before. Anyways, we have raised 3 batches of fry in another 20 gallon tank. (By the way, we have had a bit of trouble keeping the babies alive...but thankfully the tender stage seems to be over and the rest are thriving)

We have moved 11 sterbai babies into the tank with the parents now that they are big enough to not be eaten or get sucked into the filter.

Which brings me to my question,...

In a 60 gallon, is 13 sterbai corys ok? Should we add any more or take any out? The parents seem pleased to be swimming around with this new little group. Other than that, we just have our 3 little orange plattie brothers swimming around.

Thanks a bunch for your help! I'm super concerned with tank space and making sure they are stocked at a healthy rate. We do a 20 percent water change every week.

p.s. now what to do with the 50 babies we have left in the 20 gallon?!

[zenyfish]

13 sterbai in 60 gal is no problem ... with only a few platties, you could have a good 50 or more easy.

[Kets]

If it were me, I would keep 30-36 total sterbai in that tank and sell the others. Sterbai are a fish that don't go for cheap.

[MatsP]

If it were me, I would keep 30-36 total sterbai in that tank and sell the others. Sterbai are a fish that don't go for cheap.

Although prices are much lower now than they used to be. My LFS has them at £5.95 at the moment, for 1"+ sized fish (so not fully mature or LARGE fish, but decent size). When I bought mine, they were about £8, and I remember seeing them for twice that again not so long ago.

But keeping a large schoal of them in a decent size thank (which a 60g tank is) sounds like a great plan.

--
Mats

[fishtales81]

Thank you all for the ideas!

So I put in a few more babies after reading your posts. We now have 20 sterbai in the tank:) They all look so happy! I know info says the parents won't "parent", but it's funny to see the parents come out for food first, followed by 18 little babies right behind them. Thanks again!

Oh, looks like we won't be selling many. Our friends have a 60 gallon cycling right now, and when it's finished, we are giving them 20 babies:)