10gl planted tank...but which "dwarf" to go with?

[artgecko]

Hey folks,

I am going to be setting up a 10gl planted tank in the near future and was wondering which of the three dwarf species would work best and how many to stock. The only other tank inhabitant will be a very small male betta (and possibly some MTS to help keep the sand clean and aerated).

My tap water is about 7.2 - 7.4 and I do not use any chemical treatments to alter the ph. I am planning on running 2, 100gph power filters and will be keeping the tank at ~ 74f. I will be setting it up with very well-aged filter media (from my 46gl) so cycling shouldn't be an issue. At the moment, I am planning on weekly 20% waterchanges, but would like a species that is fairly hardy (in case I have to go a few days longer between water changes). For plants, I am looking at asian ambulia, red temple, wisteria, anubias, and some crypts, along with a piece of driftwood.

I am leaning towards habrosus, solely on coloration, although it is hard to tell true coloration from photographs (all the photos I see of pygmeus and hastatus have the fish looking washed out without much body pigmentation at all). I would be willing to go with any of the dwarf species, if they are more suitable. I would really like for the corys to be very active and I have read that some of the dwarfs do school mid-water and this would be an interesting trait to observe.

I am also unsure in terms of stocking numbers.... I know that corys are generally happier in larger groups, but I am thinking that more than 8 might be tight in a 10gl. I would love to keep a larger group...i.e. 12 in the 10gl, but if you think that would be pushing it, I'll take your advice. I will most likely have to buy them online and have seen several auctions for groups of 10, so perhaps that would work?

I greatly appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions you have!
Thanks for reading!

EDIT- sorry, one final question. Would typical sinking waffer / pellet (like worm or brineshrimp) foods be acceptable as a staple diet for feeding dwarfs (along w/ frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp)?

Artgecko

[MatsP]

I am planning on running 2, 100gph power filters ...

For corys, that soounds like a lot - that's 20x turnover rate. Great for

Chaetostoma

, but not for corys.

--
Mats

[OldMan]

That turnover rate is very high for a betta too. Of the 3, I like the habrosus for their lack of shyness. Any of them would work at 74F but that is a bit cold for a betta. Ten in a 10 gallon is a bit more than I would keep but you might be able to get away with it. As far as feeding, a nice big variety of different foods is the best way that I know to avoid deficiency diseases in any fish. A cory will eat whatever it can get that it can get into its mouth. They are generally not picky eaters.

[Ironhead]

With all that waterflow you might want to try a fast water cat...Aspidoras pauciradiatus ?? They love the fast water currents.

Mike

[artgecko]

thanks for the feedback and replies everyone!

I usually keep 2 power filters on even my small tanks due to the risk of one failing and having a backup... With the 10gls that I've kept in the past, this has meant 2, penguin "mini" filters or similar small aquaclears. I have kept cories (a small group of pandas and a trio of peppereds) in a planted tank with this flow rate before and not had any problems, but I can easily use just one filter (at 100gph) if you think 200gph will be too much for the pygmy cories to handle (or the betta for that matter).

I could also increase the temp to 76f (it would be better for the betta) if the pygmys can handle that high of a temp. I'd also welcome any suggestions on a good brand of small heater (50watt). I've had extremely bad luck with heaters over the past few years, having severl "stick on", and die for unknown reasons...and I thought I was buying the good brands (visi-therm and ebo-jagger).

If the habrosus are the least shy, they sound like they will be my best bet. Do they stay primarily on the bottom, or will they move into the middle of the wate column at some times (like the other pygmys)?

One final question for those that have kept the dwarf cories... Is the coarsness of the sand an important factor for them? I was hoping to use a mix of onyx sand and cichlid sand (both somewhat larger-grained and rougher than, say, fine play sand).

Thank you again for all of your help and input!
Art

[MatsP]

All but three of my current 11 heaters are Visi-Therm. But no heater is immune to the "sticking on" problem (except perhaps those that to not use a mechanical thermostat, which is nearly all models).

Having two filters is a great idea, but I'd go for a smaller capacity than 100gph for a 10g tank (at least 2 x 100gph is a fair bit more than you want, both for betta's and corys).

--
Mats

[OldMan]

IMO a rough sand is a problem for any bottom dweller. Cories love to root around in the sand looking for food so they are easily injured by sharp sand or gravel. The habrosus move all over the tank but spend more time near the bottom than near the top. They do interpret any semi-level plant leaf as the bottom though, so you will see them resting on plant leaves.

[artgecko]

Thanks for the information. I'll check out the visitherms, maybe the one I purchased in the past was just a "lemon". I do still have one visi-therm that has been working for several years. I've also heard good things about the Hydor heaters, so I'll check on those as well.

Oldman- I'm not sure if the sands I'm using are especially rough or not...they are coarser than a "powder" type sand and have a larger grain size.

I've checked out the cat-e-log and the Aspidoras pauciradiatus also looks like an interesting fish that is in the same size range as the dwarf cories I'm looking at... However, aren't the aspidoras more sensitive and harder to come by than the dwarf cories?

Thanks again for your help and replies!
Art

[Richard B]

Aspidoras in general (in the UK , IME) have the same sort of availability as the dwarf corys - i would hope this is similar where you are? The couple of species i've kept were no more sensitive than corys. I should add that they were AFAIK in good health & good quality fish when i got them, but i do believe they suffer on import (as do many other species) from overcrowded shipping conditions.

[artgecko]

Richard B- Thanks for the information. I am not sure about the US as a whole, but availability of any kind of fish, other than your standard guppies, platties, tetras, common pleco, etc. is pretty near zero in my area (the southeast of the US in a smaller city). The one shop in my area that does do special orders is so overpriced that it would most likely be cheaper for me to order online. I've been scoping out aquabid.com...and although I see several listings for the dwarf cories, there was only one for the aspidoras (and they were crazy expensive). I'll keep looking though and I'll check with my local fish store (maybe they won't be as highly priced as I think they will).

If anyone knows a good site/person to buy the dwarf cories or aspidoras from I'd greatly appreciate any recs. you have.

I live in Alabama, so anyone or site located near there would be great.

Art

[apistomaster]

If you can locate true Corydoras hastatus you may easily keep up to 2 dozen in a 10 gal tank.
I have permanent breeding set ups of 20Longs for c. hastatus and C. habrosus.
I frequently reach a population of 150+ C. hastatus in their 20 L. These are the ones I can see. There are always many more larvae cats hiding out in the plants and artificial rubble piles I provide.
These tanks have large sponge filters: one run in the airlift mode and the other by a MaxiJet #600 Power Head. I also have a air stone bubbling vigorously.

The C. habrosus are not as productive breeders as C. hastatus. They larger but fewer eggs.

I also have 10 Aspidoras pauciradiatus set up the same way. I have seen eggs but so far no surviving fry. I consider Aspidoras pauciradiatus to be more delicate than any of the Dwarf Corydoras spp and more difficult to breed. I have seen them spawn most frequently after making a 50% RO water change. A. pauciradiatus seem to be extremely shy compared to the 2 dwarf Corys I raise.

I paid $3.00 each for my dwarf Corys and Aspidoras before adding shipping in.
Many vendors ship Corydoras pygmeus nwhen you order C. hastatus so be sure you receive proof that you will get what you want if you desire C. hastatus. They would be my first choice as the first Dwarf Cory to keep and breed. In well planted tanks with a lot of floating Ceratophyllum(Hornwort) you will have excellent fry survival and the larvae join the adult school as soon as the complete their final metamorphosis and look like miniatures of the adults. This occurs at approximately 3/16" to 1/4" total length. A diet consisting of primarily newly hatched brine shrimp will assure good spawning and fry survival.

[Richard B]

to expand on my previous post, the species i kept were (i think) albater & fuscoguttatus (it was a long time ago ) They certainly weren't pauciradiatus so i would listen carefully to what Larry has said- he has massive experience with stuff like this & we would want you to have the best chances of success.

[OldMan]

The idea of a rough sand does not necessarily apply to a large grained sand. The sand in my tanks is fairly large grained but is rounded in shape if you examine the individual grains of sand. The sand to be careful not to use has sharp corners to it. Builder's sand in general is intended to be a sharp sand because it is made for use in mortar where a sharp sand works much better than a rounded sand. I like my sand a bit bigger than many people do but have no trouble at all if it is gentle to my hands while I am cleaning it. If it is sharp enough to make my hands sore when I am washing it, it is too sharp for a cory at my house, no matter how small the grains.

[artgecko]

Thanks again for all of the great info!

If the aspidoras are considerably more "fragile" than I'll steer clear of them for now. I'd hate for my first experience with the small cories to be a bad one... I'll have really take some time and decide which dwarf to go with. At first I was leaning towards habrosus, but now that I've gone back and looked at more photos, I've started to like the pygmeus (I do love my otos and pygmeus are somewhat similar to them in appearance). This is yet another case of too few tanks and too many fish that I want to keep.

The sand that I'm planning on using is a black sand "onyx" plant substrate / sand made by seachem. I have it in a planted tank that I helped setup (and help maintain) at my mother's school... She's got a 20gl long with some kuhliis and cories (aneus) in it at the moment and none have suffered barbel loss or wounds (on the soft bellies of the kuhliis)...So hopefully it would not harm dwarf cories.

Thanks again!
Art

[artgecko]

OK, the pygmeus are growing on me... BUT, I might have a change in plans. I will have to breakdown and move both of my current tanks when the floors are refinished in my home. I have a 46gl bowfront community tank at the moment and I am thinking about rehoming the angelfish and roseybarbs in it to make it a more *friendly* small - medium sized fish community setup. That would leave the following inhabitants: 1 BN pleco, 1 Clown pleco, and 8 Brochis Splendens (7 of which I purchased yesterday ). To this I will be adding a school of 8 harlequin rasboras and possibly some dwarf rainbows if I can lay my hands on some.

Would a large group of dwarf cories (pygmeus or the others) work with those fish and in a tank as large as 46gls? The tank is 36" L x 12.5" W (smallest width on ends) x 21" T. I know it would mean having a lot of "bottom dwellers", but if

Other than the sheer height of the tank, I have two conderns, my current substrate and the amount of filtration I'm currently running. My current substrate (flourite on bottom w/ a layer of rounded gravel on top)...which the standard-sized cories have been doing OK on. I assume that sand would be better and as I have to break down the tank anyway, it wouldn't be that hard to take out the substrate (it has to come out to move the tank) and the tank also needs to be heavily replanted. For filtration / current I've curently got 2, aquaclear 300's and an airstone. This puts out a good bit of current, especially top - mid water level, but not as much near the bottom of the tank.

If you don't think the dwarfs would be comfortable in that large of a tank (or with the current, etc.) then I will still setup a 10gl for them...But I would appreciate your suggustions on another corydoras species for the 46gl (if you don't think the bottom would be too crowded).

Thanks!
Art