New to the Cory Hobby, Looking for Advice

[PanzerFodder]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum and I am new to the Cory Hobby.

I want to ask the more experienced Cory keepers if they have any recommendations for starting a new community tank that will be leaning strongly to the Cory species, but with a few Black Phantom tetras and maybe something else to fill the upper layers of the tank.

New tank is 30”x 22”x12” = 37 US gallons (BTW: it’s not set up yet).

How many C. Sterbai could I keep in a tank that size (I already have 4 Sterbai in another small tank).
I have also seen some Corys at my LFS that I would also like to keep, but do not know the name of them and neither did the expert at the store!, the only info that she could give me was that they came in with the last batch of C. Sterbai, would it be advisable to get a few of them as well or should I just stick to one type of Cory?.

I will need to get a good Cory ID book but am not sure what ones are available? any other information or tips that you could share with a novice Cory keeper will be very helpfull.

Thanks for reading this…PanzerFodder…

[Richard B]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/books/book ... ae+Catfish

is the book you want to get if you want to identify Cory's

Have you read any of the cory articles in Shane's world? Lot's of great info there

BTW - welcome to PC

[LeeRoy]

If it was me starting a tank for Cory's. I would start with a sand or very fine grade of gravel. Something that has no sharp edges.

Then I would add in a few plastic plants, that is if the gravel-sand substrat has not been used in a aquarium before. I would not add live plants untill the system has been running for awhile.

At this point I would add a few well cleaned rocks, to help make it look like a stream or pond shore line.

Then some wood, sticks, branches or limbs. These have to be safe for aquarium use.

When this has all made the cycle, checked for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites.

At this point if you have not given up on it, I would started to add fish. Do not overload your new system by adding to many fish at one time, make additions days apart.

This is the way that I tell people when ask about starting a new tank. Justs me 2c.

LeeRoy

[PanzerFodder]

Thanks for the info and warm welcome Richard B.

It looks like a very good book, but as far as I can see it is not avalible in Canada ATM, could get a copy sent from USA but would have to pay a small fotune to do it will just have to keep my eyes open and see whats about over here.


Also Thanks for the advice LeeRoy, my daughter already has a ten gallon tank running ATM (thats were I am keeping my C. Sterbia) I was told that I could speed up the start up proccess by useing some gravel/media from the 10 gallon tank (I have allready got my filter running on it as well)without haveing to go through the normal startup cycle with ammonia, would like to hear what you Guys think of this cycling method?.

On the subject of Gravel/sand, I was looking at getting some called "Peace River" as they have a few bags of it at my LFS, they don't seem to have much in they way of sand, only some stuff intended for marine tanks, and some black moon sand stuff, that I am not sure if I like or not, would I be able to mix the two mentioned? or would it just look like a rigt old mess?

Thanks again Guy's...PanzerFodder...

[Birger]

Should be able to get the book direct from Ian here http://corydorasworld.com/books

If you ask nice he may even sign it

I have had many books shipped from Britain with no problems.

Birger

[PanzerFodder]

Thanks for the info and link Birger, I will get that book in the future as it may be a little to much for a novice to get his head around ATM, I have found a book called "Coloured Atlas of Miniature Catfishes" sold near my place and will more than likley go for that one as I can get it for less than $30 including the postage.

I have also bought some very fine gravel "peace river" I was a bit worried about not cleaning the sand properly, and saw in this forum that people have had sand that looks oily! so went for the fine gravel instead.

Also saw that corys are happier in groups of six of more, so have added one more C. Sterbai to make five in my tank, and will get a couple more once my 37 gallon tank is up and running.

I saw some "Blue Rams" at my LFS, the Guy there said that they are OK to keep with Corys and tetras, is this true?.

Thanks again...PanzerFodder...

[katgermain]

I have also seen some Corys at my LFS that I would also like to keep, but do not know the name of them and neither did the expert at the store!

Er, "expert"?

I'm sure you already considered this, but just in case... I'd be wary of any fish store that doesn't know their stock, or what random fish are coming in with their stock! I see you're in Ontario. If you're anywhere near Toronto, I highly recommend Menagerie. The guys in the fish section really seem to know their stuff, and they're patient for a newbie (with 8 million stupid questions) like me. They take their business very seriously.

[PanzerFodder]

Hello Katgermain.

Thanks for the info, I live in North York, so am pretty close to Menagerie but have not been there yet! (will have to pay them a visit at some point in the near future though as they sound very good), The LFS that I use is called Big Al's in fact it's the only one that I have used since I arrived in Canada "LOL" they seem to be OK really! and the prices are not bad if you can catch them when they have specials on sale .

BTW: Not sure what your water is like?, but mine comes out of the tap with a PH of 7.4.
I heard thats a bit high for Corys? so put some bog wood in the tank with them but it has not helped in bringing the PH down at all? although my Corys dont seem to mind it being that high, so will not play about with it to much, but am not sure if what will happen if I want to put some black phantom tetras in there as well because I read that Tetras like a lower PH value?

Thanks again...PanzerFodder...

[Richard B]

if you're buying fish locally - tetras or corys, they'll most likely have been kept in the same or very similar pH water you have. Bogwood will have a minimal perhaps negligible effect on pH.

Is the gravel you have really fine? as the only thing i'd suggest as the most important thing for corys (having spoken to cory experts like Ian Fuller, H-G Evers etc)is that sand (fine round grain) is a must as the substrate

[MatsP]

Bogwood will have a minimal perhaps negligible effect on pH.

I agree with that if the water is hard. In soft water, it can have quite a noticeable effect.

I do agree most commercially available, captive bred fish are OK to keep in whatever comes out of your tap, as long as it's not very extreme. Corys and tetras are definitely mostly adapted to local tap-water.

Is the gravel you have really fine? as the only thing i'd suggest as the most important thing for corys (having spoken to cory experts like Ian Fuller, H-G Evers etc)is that sand (fine round grain) is a must as the substrate

Absolutely agree on this one.

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Mats

[PanzerFodder]

Hello and thank you for the advice.

On the matter of gravel, I have just got 2 bags of "Caribsea Peace River" it looks very round/smooth and has a grain size of 1mm - 2mm, I did see another post in this forum by another Guy that was useing this gravel and he thought it was very good.

I did look at the sand in my LFS but did not go for it as it was powder like to look at and feel (think that it was meant for marine tanks really) I had also seen on a forum for my local area that a couple of people have had trouble with black patches when useing this stuff, so I decided not to you up that road untill I have a bit more Experience under my belt.

Thanks again...PanzerFodder...

[nj2tou]

I use CaribSea Torpedo Beach and my cories are doing great! They root around in it no problem. It's a fine, smooth gravel.

I agree about the ph. As long as it's not something ridiculous - where I was living previously the ph was over 8! - once they acclimate to it, they'll be fine. The key is keeping it stable. The ph where I live now is about 7.4 and as I said they seem perfectly happy and spawn too.

As for having other species, I have 6 or 7 different species in my 15 gallon tank and they get along great. I have at least two of each, usually 3 or 4. They're all small species - with the exception of my massive female paleatus! LOL! She's a behemouth! I have about 6 of those and the males chase her around like crazy. It's fun to watch them spawn. Even saw her holding some eggs in her fins one time.

I love cories.

[PanzerFodder]

Thanks for the reply.

I have had my new tank running for three weeks now and the corys (5 Sterbia and 4 baby Metae) seem to be doing very well on the Caribsea "Peace River" gravel it's a bit lighter in color than the sample on their website but it will soon get dulled down once the Amazon Swordplants grow some more and block out a bit of the light.
Also got a small "Golden spotted Ancistrus" last weekend to take care of some of the algae (brown stuff) that had started to grow on the leaves, it cleaned them all in just 4 days, I was pleased that it did not eat any of the leaves at the same time, hope that it does not get a taste for them in the future though?.

Thinking about adding some Seachem Flourish to the water to help the plants grow, anybody know of any bad side effects on the corys if I start to use this product in thier tank? here's a link with some info about seachem flourish http://www.bigalsonline.ca/Fish_Plant-C ... ml?tc=fish

Thanks for reading this...PanzerFodder...

[MatsP]

Most aquarium plant fertilizer, as long as it's dosed correctly, should be safe to all fish.

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Mats