More corys?

ok, so having gone and got my lovely little dwarf chain loaches yesterday (4 of them), I had to do an emergency transfer into the main tnk when the filter broke down in my q tank. Dont know why it did as it has been working fine in the main tank without a problem

Anyway, they have settled well, have taken up residence on top of the bgwood which they seem to have claimed as their own, so fingers crossed.

Now, my question is, I did intend to get a gew more panda corys - I just have two at the mo and tthey prefer to be in groups. The two seem happy enough but I know they like to be in a larger group. I bought the loaches as a spur of the moment thing, because the pandas werent ready for sale till today - so it was the lfs fault not mine!

Do you think it would be ok to add a few more corys now I have the loaches or will the bottom of the tank be a bit overcrowded if I do? There will be 2 BN's, the 4 loaches and probably 5 or 6 corys in total.

Panda corys stay small so adding 2 more shouldn't be a problem. Just keep an eye on your water stats and make sure you have enough hiding places.

Thanks indi. Well I've got 4 caves, planting and also the two pieces of bogwood are arranged on top of each other to make another sort of cave as well.

I cant make it to the lfs today so will go after Easter

a trip to lfs to look forward too




dekker

OK - Here is a list of my bottom dwellers - you can then decide whats too many for your own tank

2 Adult BN's
1 LDA33 Snowball plec
1-3 Zebra Loaches (never see em too often so dunno the numbers)
2 Bronze Cory
2 Leopard Cory
5 Skunk Cory

As well as my xray tetras and checkered barbs being predominantly bottom dwellers, and my 3 rams and my 8 golden barbs -

probably same sized tank as your yours.

Id suggest as well as extra corys, to get more of the same loaches too

now youve got me thinking. I am soooo in the mood to buy more fish, and am going back to the lfs after Easter to get a few more corys.

Ok, so what else should I get that would be compatable with the fish in my sig?

depends if you want top middle or bottom fish

You have lots of shoaling species plus bottom dwellers, Diana. So for balance, I suggest some larger feature fish such as Pearl Gouramis or Angelfish.

i would go for pearls - but then i love them so i'm a bit bias toward gouramis



dekker

Maybe a pair of smaller cichlids, rams, kribensis something along those lines, possibly firemouths though they may just be too big?

Or how about something more unusual like my ctenopma? (climbing perch) Mine live with praecox rainbows without seeing them as lunch.

Rainbowfish - Bosemani are stunning but there are many types available now.

Gouramis are nice looking but IMO a little characterless compared to some others. (Although the Thicklipped ones I had were definitely an exception to this)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I think out of them I like the idea of kribs, angels (would they grow a bit too big??), rams or pearl gourami's (doesn't leave much out does it!)

How many of what species would you suggest, given the tank size etc?

I'd skip the Kribs as they get very territorial when breeding but out of the others, I'd say a pair of Rams, a trio of Pearl Gouramis or either one or four Angelfish. The latter can get a bit territorial and those numbers cut down on this. I only have a single Angelfish who sometimes chases the male Pearl Gourami but nothing too serious. I seem to recall that with a pair of Angelfish, there can be major bickering.

Thanks Mary.

I think I have narrowed it down to either rams or Pearl Gourami's. Angelfish are lovely but they grow a bit big in the long term.

Cant wait to get them now

I have my Angelfish in a 165L tank and it's just fine but I know what you mean. Given that your other species are small, they might dominate it. Rams or Pearl Gouramis (or both!) would be lovely though.

Three Spot gourami are nice (the blue ones) or the gold morph (the ones I have) - whenever I see pearl gourtamis - they are always lurking at the bottom.

You could get a hand ful of african butterfly fish - in terms of smaller cichlids - keyhole maybe another option for you (you need to research cichlids in terms of what will like your water chemistry in terms of pH, Nitrate and dGH/KH as well as the social side of things)

Rich wrote:

Three Spot gourami are nice (the blue ones)

Except they're the most aggressive of all the Gouramis species...

Quote :

whenever I see pearl gourtamis - they are always lurking at the bottom.

Not mine. They saunter majestically around the tank...

African Butterfly Fish seem to be a bit sensitive though as I've read several accounts of them dying for no apparent reason.

Had my ABF since Xmas, no losses, all look fine and are always hungry (and if you have livebearers, make good fry hunters)

My three spots were only nasty to fish iof similar colour (namely 1 play) and to each other - once they paired all is fine - they keep themselves to themselves - and you know what my tanbk is like for quantity of livestock.

I will point this out for three spots - they love their own caves and plants, so if you have BN's - just add more caves and provide a reasonable amount of plant cover (fakes or whatever) and they soon settle in and behave.

I honestly dont have any issues with three spot gouramis - thnk I can honestly say my checkered barbs cause more friction than the gouramis

ABF are sensitve - if you have the wrong water - which is the same for any fish - im lucky in I have naturally soft lightly acidic water - so I dont need to add peat etc to keep such fish happy

Research is always the key and really does save a lot of heartache int he long run

Rich wrote:

Research is always the key and really does save a lot of heartache int he long run

Very true.

i have had my pearl gouramis for about 6 months now and they have been fine with everything else thats in with them - i.e. the b.ns platys, mollys, no trouble at all as everyone says its just down to what you like. good luck with what ever you chose.



dekker