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Hi I was wondering if someone might be able to give me some advice on my new tank. I already have a heavily planted tank with mostly tetras, some pitbull plecos and some Corydoras 'Peru Green-Stripe' that spend most of their days hiding out under the bogwood.

I am currently in the process of setting up a 300l 'stream' aquarium with a sand substrate, some root wood and various smooth cobbles and pebbles. It will be lightly planted - probably with cambomba and/or hygrophilia when the fishless cycle is complete. I have half a dozen zebra danios who will be first fish.

The aim of the tank is to have one or two big groups of corydoras, but I also have a hankering for a bulldog plec that I know needs it fairly cool and well aerated. Danios and something like peppered cories will cope fine with the lower temperatures but I would quite like to move across my Peru Green Stripes and maybe get them some friends.

I can't find a great deal about the temperature that these guys like - they are an anaeus species which I seem to find temperatures of 21-27 degrees often quoted. Are they going to be ok at a temperature that would suit a bulldog pleco and if so what is the best temperature? Say 23 degrees or is this too warm?

Because it is quite a deep tank it is possible for me to have quite a good current and aeration at the top without it being too turbulent at ground level for the cories. I have a 1200lph external filter, but am considering a powerhead with maybe a venturi.

Any thoughts appreciated as no definate decision has been made yet. . .

Paula

I have always kept Green Stripes at around 24 to 25 celcius without any issues

You will find that they are a lot more active in slightly warmer water

Thanks for your reply - they aren't exactly active at 25 degrees as they sit under the bogwood and come out at night. That's part of the reason I want to move them as I can make a bigger shoal in the new tank and replace them with something more active in the existing tank. But I was hoping to be able to have the new tank a little cooler.

Paula

I keep them at 27 deg, and they're swarming all over my tank front glass!

I have a succesful breeding group of C. Peru Green Stripes. In summer there water temperature will rise to about 28-30 degrees but in winter they have a steady temperature of 24 degrees. Mine are always calm and sit under the wood all day, untill the lights go out. As they are not on display or in a show tank the lights are only on for 4 hours a day. They seem to like that. Also they like a lot of cover like wood and plants.

Thanks - it's a difficult decision. I could just leave them where they are - lots of plants and a nice piece of bogwood to sit under. But it has a gravel substrate and they are using up a lot of stocking inches for a fish I never see. There will be less cover in the new aquarium, but I am thinking of giving them half a dozen more friends making 12 of them, there will also be a dozen pygmy cories and a dozen of another speices.

The tank is still cycling and needs a bit more 'scaping work and there will be one more patch of the hygrphilia at the front.

Paula

it's odd, cuz unless there's something frightening your cories terribly, they're almost always roaming around in the tank.