# how many cory cats?



## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

I have a large pleco 8in and a lil guy 3in for a clean up crew in my 75 gal i love them both to death but the big one is tickin me of since i just switched to sand and was thinkin sell him back to my lfs and get cory cats how many would i need?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

An 8-inch pleco can be havoc in sand substrate tanks. Also, if it is 8 inches now, it will likely get up to twice that, so a good idea to re-home. What about the other? If it is a similar species that will grow, now is the time to re-home it too. There are smaller pleco, max 4-5 inches, and some are OK with sand. And th issue isn't the fish, but the mess when they burrow continually. I have a 5-inch Hypancistrus furunculus that was moved out of sand and into fine gravel for just this reason.

As for corys, a good-sized group as they are a highly social interacting fish. In a 75, you could have up to 30+ if you like them, several species (they all get along). Minimum for a 75g I would say 12. All one species, or more than one species with 4-6 of each species works fine.

Byron.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

Yea ive noticed hes my prob :-( but im torn b/c the store i got him from is the one i would sell it back to is gunna put it back in a 10 gal :-( and when i got him all his fins were torn and now hes healed idk what to do


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Alex1331 said:


> Yea ive noticed hes my prob :-( but im torn b/c the store i got him from is the one i would sell it back to is gunna put it back in a 10 gal :-( and when i got him all his fins were torn and now hes healed idk what to do


Look for a local aquarist who has the tank space and wants a plec. A local or nearby aquarium hobbyists club is often a good source for finding hobbyists. Post here in our classified section, mentioning the area and the fish, someone near you might be a member, or a member might know someone in that area.


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Byron said:


> As for corys, a good-sized group as they are a highly social interacting fish. In a 75, you could have up to 30+ if you like them, several species (they all get along). Minimum for a 75g I would say 12. All one species, or more than one species with 4-6 of each species works fine.
> 
> Byron.


Jealous. I would love to have that many of one species in a tank.

Jeff.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

All one species meaning?.....i dont know what you mean by that i thought a cory cat was a cory cat lol


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Alex1331 said:


> All one species meaning?.....i dont know what you mean by that i thought a cory cat was a cory cat lol


These are catfish:

Emerald Catfish (Brochis splendens)
Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus minor)
Gulper Catfish (Asterophysus batrachus )
Hoplo Catfish (Hoplosternum thoracatum)
Jaguar Catfish (Liosomadorus oncinus)
Oto Catfish (Otocinclus macrospilus)
Pictus Catfish (Pimelodus pictus)
Spotted Driftwood Cat (Centromochlus perugiae)
Striped Raphael Catfish (Platydoras armatulus)
Synodontis Ocellifer Catfish (Synodontis ocellifer)
Twig Catfish (Farlowella vittata)
Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigriventris)
Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus)
Whiptail Catfish (Rineloricaria parva)

And these or Corydoras:

dolfo's Cory (Corydoras adolfoi)
Bandit Cory (Corydoras metae)
Blackfin Cory (Corydoras leucomelas)
Bronze Cory (Corydoras aeneus)
Dwarf Cory (Corydoras hastatus)
False Adolfo Cory (Corydoras duplicareus)
False Bandit Cory (Corydoras melini)
False Network Catfish (Corydoras sodalis)
Gosse Cory (Corydoras gossei)
Guapore Cory (Corydoras guapore)
Julii Cory (Corydoras julii)
Leopard Cory (Corydoras leopardus)
Panda Corydoras (Corydoras panda)
Pepper Cory (Corydoras paleatus)
Pygmy Cory (Corydoras pygmaeus)
Reticulated Cory (Corydoras reticulatus)
Salt and Pepper Cory (Corydoras habrosus)
Sands Cory (Corydoras davidsandsi)
Schwartz Cory (Corydoras schwartzi)
Smudge Spot Cory (Corydoras similis)
Spotfin Cory (Corydoras punctatus)
Sterbai Corydoras (Corydoras sterbai)
Tail Spot Cory (Corydoras caudimaculatus)
Three Line Cory (Corydoras trilineatus)

I haven't looked at the classifications enough to know the difference between them but some of the cats are often called Cory's and some of the Cory's are called cats, less often. Suffice it to say there are a lot, and these just from this site's profiles.

Jeff.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

Wow!!!! i had absolutly no idea there were tht many i checked some out and i think ima go with like 6 black fins and 6 lepords....thanx for alk your help guys


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Alex1331 said:


> Wow!!!! i had absolutly no idea there were tht many i checked some out and i think ima go with like 6 black fins and 6 lepords....thanx for alk your help guys


According to Fishbase, there are currently 154 described species of Corydoras. There are certainly dozens more that have not been described. It is not exaggerating to say that every creek tributary of the Rio ***** basin that has so far never been explored is almost certain to hold one or perhaps more species of cory that have never been seen before.

Many of the species are wild caught, and thus available only at certain seasons according to when that particular stream can be fished. And some of these may rarely appear in local stores, but there are online sources too.

I managed to acquire three of the Blackfin Cory last year, wild caught in Peru. And I have one Leopard Cory (also wild-caught) that I acquired about 4 years ago. Both are nice fish.

Byron.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

I called my favorite fish store its about an hour away from me and they havr both in stock and like 15 other species in stock they are 5 bucks a piece


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Alex1331 said:


> I called my favorite fish store its about an hour away from me and they havr both in stock and like 15 other species in stock they are 5 bucks a piece


That is a good price, but you are in the US. My C. leucomelas cost me $12 each, which is why I only got three. But when corys are together in a good number, like the 31 I have in my 115g, you can have 3 of a species, though 5 is better no doubt. If you see others you like, I would suggest 15 with five of each of three species. They all live together peacefully; probably the most peaceful freshwater fish there is.


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## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

JDM said:


> These are catfish:
> 
> Emerald Catfish (Brochis splendens)
> Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus minor)
> ...


whhhiptail catfish ftw!!


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

It wont show the latest msgs for some reason :-(


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

Now they show lol.....not tht i wanna do this cause it would be tottally unatural ...you couldnt keep one of each species? Just wondering


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## Thoth (Mar 16, 2011)

Well that depends on how you define the common name Cory.  There are Cory that like cooler water or slightly warmer water then the majority of Cories so you really cant keep all of them together in the same tank.

To me all fish in the Genera Corydoras, Scleromystax, Brochis and Aspidoras are Corys.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

Pepper cory wont do ok in 81 to 82 ?


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Alex1331 said:


> Pepper cory wont do ok in 81 to 82 ?


Most Cory's won't do well in high 70's. I ended up going with an emerald catfish to suit my tank temperature instead, that and the up to 30dGH water tolerance 

82f is even on the edge for them. 

Jeff


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

So are the emerald catfish really tht green?and so....if the dorsal fin almost touches the little fin befor the tail its an emerald cat? and a bigger gap its a cory?


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

This from another thread.



Alex1331 said:


> So are the emerald catfish really tht green?and so....if the dorsal fin almost touches the little fin befor the tail its an emerald cat? and a bigger gap its a cory?





Alex1331 said:


> Could you plz post a pic lol i need to kno if the 2 that i got from my lfs are emeraod cats or cory mine are darker than the bronze cory but not as green as the pics on here they do have a green tint tho and thier dorsal fin goes all the way to the little fin befor the tail i think its a emerald and i really hope they are cause if not idk what ima do :-Q i wish i would have known for shure plzz help me identify





JDM said:


> Mine haven't shown up yet. If the dorsal is that long it is probably the correct fish. Did you buy them by "Emerald catfish" or by "Brochis Slpendens" Or by "Emerald Brochis"? The first could be anything including the Bronze Cory, the other two, if the shop gets their names right, would be correct. The differences that are important to me are the higher hardness, pH and temperature range of the cat over the cory. Otherwise I wouldn't really care which I got colour and look wise.... I'd have been happy if I managed a bandit cory initially.
> 
> Here is a comparative pair of pics from the internet, they are good examples to be able to see the difference in the dorsal fin, otherwise, colouring could just be a variance between the fish specimens. The first is the Cory and the second is the catfish.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

The other (non-cory) fish species in your tank (Alex) haven't been mentioned, so I can't assess their temp requirements. But is there a reason for having this tank at 81F or higher? This is too warm for many (= most actually) of our tropical fish, though there are exceptions. I'll summarize below.

Temperature ranges for each species such as those in our profiles are intended to give a range in which the fish can manage, though it may not be suitable at either end but only for shorter periods. I think it is safe to say that all tropical streams vary in temperature from day to night, and also from season to season and the water cools during the rains. The fish adapted to those watercourses are able to tolerate the extremes. But when forced to live in them continually, as in a heated aquarium, they may suffer.

Most species are best in the middle of their range. The higher the temperature, the harder the fish must work to carry out its normal life functions, such as respiration, eating, fighting off disease, etc. Less oxygen is available, which affects the physiology. The blood carries less oxygen at higher temps, and this can affect the blood pH. All sorts of issues.

Byron.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Alex1331 said:


> Pepper cory wont do ok in 81 to 82 ?


No. Have you read the profile? The name shaded, forming a link to the profile. Under Water PArameters, it specifically says this species will not do well above the given range which is 78F at the highest.


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Byron said:


> The other (non-cory) fish species in your tank (Alex) haven't been mentioned, so I can't assess their temp requirements. But is there a reason for having this tank at 81F or higher? This is too warm for many (= most actually) of our tropical fish, though there are exceptions. I'll summarize below.
> 
> Byron.


From Alex's tank page:

"Large common pleco,small pleco,2swordtails,one standard angelfish and 4 vieled angelfish"

Jeff.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

JDM said:


> From Alex's tank page:
> 
> "Large common pleco,small pleco,2swordtails,one standard angelfish and 4 vieled angelfish"
> 
> Jeff.


Thanks Jeff. If these are the fish, keep the temp around 77F. The angels are almost sure to be commercially raised [= not wild caught] and they will be better around 77-78F. The swordtails could be cooler, but they will manage at this temp too, and certainly better than above 80F. The pleco depends upon species, but this should again suffice.

Alex, please get in the habit of using our profiles.;-) There is a lot of helpful info in them, like all this about temperatures.

Byron.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

I always look at the profiles yhey are my fist resort and i was just curious and i no longer have the plecos i fond them a good home and i have 6 angels total i got one more to make it an even number and hopefully the will pair off someday and i can try to healthy and succefully breed and care for the babies to sell them to my lfs or on here lol so i should turn my heat down a few clicks right?


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## JDM (Dec 9, 2012)

Alex1331 said:


> so i should turn my heat down a few clicks right?


Yup.

Jeff.


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## Alex1331 (Dec 24, 2012)

Ok will do


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