tank height limit

[scotteim]

So I have a 120 gallon (US) aquarium, it measures 4'l x 2'w x 2'h. I was wondering if its too high to keep corys? I know they like to swim up to the surface and get some air once in awhile, is 2 feet too high for them? Currently it's empty and I'm looking to house some more corys, I hope I can use it, would be nice to put a large school of something in there. Thanks in advance for your info!


Scotteim

[MatsP]

It may possibly be too tall for breeding purposes, but for just keeping them in there should be no problem whatsoever. Ian Fuller (Coryman) commented on this subject a while back, and said that there is no evidence that corys require (very) shallow water - they may not live in the deepest parts of rivers, but they will certainly be OK in anything that can be considered an ordinary aquarium.

--
Mats

[OldMan]

I have a number of cories in my 120 gallon. It is 6 ft long and 2 ft high but not as deep front to back as yours. The cories treat it like a big playground and some of them have been in there for over 4 years.

[Richard B]

In a thread somewhere else, i have previously commented on seeing some Corys that were forgotton in a public aquaia tank 30+ inches deep & they were thriving

[jar]

Yea, when i first bought cories, I had this EXACT SAME concern. Read some warnings online about tank depth and I stressed for weeks. I can say now from experience, they dont seem to care what depth the tank is.

If it is higher than 2ft, maybe a platform or log half way up is helpful for them to rest half way but its not important.

That said, anecdotally the corydoras in my shallow tank seem more active than the ones in the deep tanks, however it could be for other reasons!

[apistomaster]

I went through a period of grasping for straws while trying to understand the high mortality rates I experienced with some Corydoras fry but have since concluded that water depth was not critical for even Corydoras fry. Even small fry will seek out hiding places among natant plants like Hornwort if they are doing so for self-defense but I don't think aquarium depth is critical to them and it certainly isn't for adults.

Corydoras don't have to come to the surface to breathe just to survive. It is just something they do and can be a handy trick when caught in a pool with low dissolved O2 in the wild. May help them outlive another fish species by a day or two and maybe by then, some fresh water will flush them out to better conditions if they are lucky.

[jar]

I have read several articles where the author states that the fry have to be able to get to the surface to fill their "swim bladder" or they don't survive. That would imply if fry couldn't reach the surface they would be in trouble.

But of course we all believe what we read on the internet (:

[apistomaster]

I can accept that as a valid hypothesis but not as a fact.