PlanetCatfish.com

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone keeps corys in a discus tank.

I believe discus tanks are usually kept at a slightly higher temperature than tanks normally associated with cory species.

Does anyone keep cories with discus?
What temperature and what species of cories have you found to be compatible if any?

Many Thanks
Stuey

Hi Stuey,
The most commonly kept cory with Discus is C. sterbai which thrives in temperatures to 84f. Get a nice group of 6 or more fish and they should do great.

Cheers,
Mark.

Historically cory's have often been kept with discus, but some species do better if the discus are kept at higher temperatures, (as Corywally points out).

Check details in cat-e-log for specific species if you are interested in them.

Blatant advert for "My code in the Cat-eLog project": Cat-eLog search engine allows you to enter temperatures and which family/genus you want to choose, so if you go to http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php, you can select Callichtyidae as the family, and Corydoras as the species, and enter the min/max temperature of your tank [the closer those two temps are, the "more" you get back from the search].

--
Mats

Corydoras sterbai are the best ones to keep with Discus but even so, it is warmer than they prefer. I prefer Hypancistrus and Peckoltia in lieu of Corys in my discus tanks.
C. sterbai spawn best at 80*F and will diminish production above that temperature.

Would the related Dianema not be a good replacement?

Hey Mat,

I didn't mind the blatant plug as it is a neat search engine. I used it with a 83 deg F upper temp and came up with Corydoras leucomelas. Only hit I had.

Kirk

Hi. I keep a group of 6 XL C. sterbai in a 55 USG with 8, almost full-sized Discus. I keep the tank at 86º and everyone seems happy. The Corys spawn in the tank, quite frequently and the eggs become food for the Discus very quickly. - Frank

hi. i have 12 corys in with my 6 discus, and 40 cardinal tetras. i keep my temp at 86, and the corys have been fine for over 6 months. everyone has been happy and healthy. i even have an elephant nose in there. i have albino, julii, sterbai, and haraldschultzi corys. the albinos don't school with the rest, but the others are always together.

i didn't even know about that temp thing, thanks Mats!

Discus should be kept at 84*F unless you are treating them for some diseases. 86*F is unnecessarily high.
Sure, some Corys seem to tolerate 86*F it is best not to force them to. Toleration is not the same thing as thriving. I have kept Corydoras sterbai with discus and they spawned but they were only in with the discus temporarily.
While I only began trying to breed fancy dwarf Plecos about two years ago I began breeding wild Discus in 1969 so I have about four decades of experience with discus.

In my experience, keeping fish at very high temps above their range for an extended time (that may translate to more than 6 months) is a recipe for columnaris.

Most Corys with the exception of a few will not tolerate 80 degree F. temps for long, ime. But I am willing to learn.