Have pandas, was given an albino today...

[Jamielands]

I have a 60 gallon tank with skirt tetras, Otos and 6 panda Cory. I planned on more pandas after I move, waiting to stock until then. At my job we have a betta in a 2.5 gallon. One of my coworkers thought it would be a good idea to buy an albino cory to live in there with him. Long story short, the Cory is now in my tank. This may change my stocking plan. I wanted to add more pandas, but now should i be adding more albino instead for the new addition? I'm moving in a couple days (that's another problem in itself!), what would you all do?

[bekateen]

If I were you and I wanted pandas, I would buy the pandas when I'm ready and I would either trade the albino to the LFS as credit towards the pandas, or if that didn't work, just give the albino to the LFS. I don't know about your area, but near me albinos sell for just $3-4 USD. Albinos are the cheapest Corys a person can buy in my town. And pandas have a reputation for hybridizing with other Corys, so I wouldn't want to mix them together with albinos.

That's just my 2 cents, but there are no best answers here. Ultimately, you should do what you think is right and what makes you happy. If trading the albino away makes you unhappy, don't do it. If you end up feeling disappointed because you buy a bunch of albinos, but you really wanted more pandas, don't keep the albino, and certainly don't buy more.

Cheers, Eric

[Jamielands]

Hmmm ok. Thanks for the input. I'm not sure. I do really love my pandas. But I may also like the albinos? I don't know, ive only ever had panda Cory. How do the albino differ, behavior, personality wise? And would it be unfair to the albino to only have the one? I currently have 6 panda Cory, 9 oto (no one believes me! Haha!) and 9 skirt tetra. I most definitely want more Cory, I know that much.

[bekateen]

Again, that's just my thoughts. Other people might have other opinions.

What I can tell you is this: (1) I keep albinos and they are a fun Cory - active, not afraid, and easy to breed and raise the fry; (2) people tell me, and I have seen, that Corys like to be in schools with their own kind, especially if you want to see their full range of "natural" (or as natural as possible) behaviors, and the bigger the group, the more fun they are to watch; (3) if they are in a group, eventually they will breed, or at least it's very likely with albinos and with pandas; (4) people say that corys are prone to hybridizing with other corys, especially if they are kept singly with a group of another species, so mixing solitary Corys with another species isn't wise; (5) albinos get much larger than pandas (larger than all the pandas I've seen, anyway), so that is something to consider; and (6) Corys can live for YEARS if well cared for, so any fish you buy now is a commitment that could last a decade or more (this really applies to my impulse buy comment in the next paragraph).

Finally, in my own experience, there are about 2 or 3 species of fish I REALLY want to buy. But sometimes I'm tempted to "impulse buy" other neat fish I find or have a chance to get. And in almost every case where I impulse bought a new fish, I had some regrets later, because it impacted my future plans in one way or another to get the fish I had been patiently waiting for.

All this is to say that you need to decide what you really want. Branching out into new species can be a great experience, but don't do it "just because" somebody gave you a fish they didn't want or couldn't keep.

Cheers, Eric

[Jamielands]

The pandas I have now are all 2-3 years old. 3 of them are fry I managed to raise, lost a couple of others along the way. Im torn. I like the little guy (or girl? I think she may be a female, based on what I've seen in my pandas). Also, the girl who brought the albino to my house today admitted to dropping the container, TWICE, on the way, on the ground. Amazing the lid didn't pop off. The fish seemed ok, I removed the lid and floated the container and started acclimating it. I put my daughter to bed and when i came out I noticed much less movement, so It's highly possible this fish won't survive. I don't wish for it to pass, but if it does I'll just move on and buy more pandas.

I'm hoping all my livestock survive the move on Friday. Im a while away from adding more fish, since I want to get the tank re-established first. Really looking forward to finally adding new fish though, all of my current fish ive had for 2+ years.

[Jamielands]

While I'm picking your brain about Cory let me ask you (and anyone else who wants to chime in) this; I've had the pandas for a long time, I had them on Tahitian moon sand in a 20g long. I moved them to the 60 gallon, with a tan colored sand instead of the black because I wanted something less angular. I contacted CaribSea and they advised me to avoid the Tahitian moon sand for Cory. When I made the tank change they seemed just fine. Sniffing around in the sand, active, etc. I've since put a solid black background on the tank, I noticed them surfing the glass right after, and ever since then I NEVER see them. When i do they seem very skittish and dart back somewhere to hide. Definitely have changed. I can't find the problem. The other fish are great, the otos are fat and happy, the tetras spawn every now and then. The albino is zipping around the tank acting like a Cory, he's perfectly fine. What do you think could be wrong? I removed the background as I'm preparing for the move anyway. No change. Thoughts?

[bekateen]

I don't know how to explain the change in their behavior.

In general, I start with the hypothesis that when an animal's behavior changes, it's either because they encountered something new that they like, or because they encountered something new that they don't like (Yeah, I know... Rocket science, right?!? LOL). Typically, I expect a dark background to represent shadows and hiding places which stressed fish will move towards in order to reduce their exposure from the front (open) side of the tank. I use black construction paper on the back, sides, and half the front of my clown pleco tank to help them feel relaxed and less vulnerable.

So maybe before the addition of the background, the pandas had no "safe secluded area" in the tank, and as a result they used all areas equally. But once you darkened the background, they discovered a secluded hiding area and developed this new behavior. And even after removing the background, they might still... at least for a while... view the back as safe and hide there. Maybe they will break the habit, maybe they won't; I have no way to guess with authority.

Moreover, this all assumes that their behavior changed BECAUSE of the new background. But what if that's not the real cause. And to that point, is it possible that the addition of the albino cory triggered this behavior in the pandas? Or did the behavior start before you got the albino Cory?

Maybe someone else can offer other more authoritative explanations.

Cheers, Eric

[Jamielands]

Interesting. I love hearing other views and opinions, i appreciate things I might not have thought of on my own. Yes, the change in behavior started weeks before the albino arrived. I almost hoped he'd perk them up a bit. So it's possible that the change in behavior with the addition of the black paper is a positive, not a negative? I'm here thinking they're unhappy because they're acting different, maybe they're actually happier? I do miss seeing them out puttering around. But maybe with the black substrate they felt more secure to putter around openly? I replaced the black because i wanted something softer for them, I noticed shorter barbels over time, and id been advised not to use the sand i had. Maybe they liked it better. i wonder if increasing the size of their shoal might boost their confidence? I'm not opposed to a Cory dominated tank, I do love the little guys. I'm getting attached to the albino, too. I'm in trouble...

[bekateen]

Again, my words are only possibilities; I could be wrong.

Actually, the sand change may be far more important than the background. But even if they're more scared / secretive on the pale sand than they were on black sand, I would agree that a smoother sand is healthier for them than one which damages barbels. And yes, they should do better in larger groups.

I'm not opposed to a Cory dominated tank, I do love the little guys. I'm getting attached to the albino, too. I'm in trouble...

Welcome to my world! LOL. I have a 36 gal tank with 2 angelfish, 1 upside-down cat, about 5-7 banjo cats, and 21 corys! Except for the angels, everything is on the bottom, and the banjos and USD cat only come out at night. Basically, it's all Corys, all the time.

Cheers, Eric