CorydorasEthan

Wow that is one big bronze cory! I am always fascinated by the sizes that female cories can get. Like my female peppered cory for instance, got way bigger than I was told they get. For comparison see the fully grown venezulean cory male above her. Anyway, she's laid two batches of eggs for me, with a male peppered cory who has unusually long fins (I think he may be some sort of long-fin variety or something). The first batch was around 10 eggs, and I put them in their own 1/2 gallon container with an airstone. Unfortunately, all the eggs got fungus and turned white. As I was about to throw away the container, I noticed a tiny little baby cory wriggling around in there, so I added it to the 29 gallon community with the rest of the other cories. Surprisingly, it survived and it now has grown bigger than its father (I think its a female). The next batch of eggs was much bigger, like with over 40 eggs. I followed the same procedure, and surprisingly, I got around 30-32 fry. They stayed in a breeder basket for a few weeks until I noticed some dying from getting trapped under the edges of the basket. So I added them all in to the 29 gallon. This is one of my most regretted decisions I've made in fishkeeping. Over the course of several weeks, we didn't see any at all. Eventually, only three out of the 32 made it. On the brighter side, they are growing fast still and love to play together and with their family. Mama peppered cory hasn't laid any more batches since, even after I've tried the cooler water changes and also fattening up with repashy and other high quality food. So yeah that's my experience with peppered cories. I would appreciate any other advice you fellow cory breeders have on the matter. One of my albino females and the male venezuelan have attempted to lay clutches around five or more times, but the eggs are never fertilized. Anyway, great cories, and good luck with the eggs!

Ugh you stole my idea! Salt and pepper Cory!

That last one is a green laser Cory!

They eat at the flakes I throw in at the surface, and a little fry food also helps to keep them occupied. When they are done they come in hordes to the bottom of the aquarium, but they always share food with my cories, algae eater, and the pleco that used to be in there. In addition, the female bristlenose pleco that used to be in there always got very aggressive during feeding, as she would do the same yours did (flaring her spikes and charging) except at everyone, including cories, guppies, guppy fry, the algae eater, and even amano shrimp that weren't even close by. I think it did this because it felt like everyone else would eat up all the food before it got it, but that was never the case. I think a solution to problems like this would be to distribute the sinking pellets/wafers around the bottom of under plants and such so that the pleco can get to them but the guppies can't. Another solution would be to feed a bit more heavily with flakes so that they take a longer time to eat and won't be as hungry.

Great looking aquarium! Here are a couple of stocking suggestions: Schooling Fish: Like you said, tetras like the cardinal and ember tetra work great. Other options include the harlequin rasbora, white cloud mountain minnow, cherry barb, threadfin rainbowfish, and plenty of other tetra varieties. In terms of numbers, I would go for around 15 or 20 of one species. If you are doing smaller species like the cardinal tetras, ember tetras, neon tetras, chili rasboras, or similar, then you could probably go to around 30. Other fish: You mentioned guppies, which were be a great option in addition to the other schooling fish. You could do a group of all males, or a mixed group of around 6 females and two males if you want some babies. Other livebearers like platies, freshwater mollies, and swordtails might work as well. A couple more options include the honey gourami, pearl gourami, Bolivian ram, or apistogramma species. Bottom Dwellers: Corydoras would make an excellent choice. Do a school of around 6-8 of one species. You could choose albino/bronze cory (C. aeneus), peppered cory (C. paleatus), sterbai cory (C. sterbai), false julii cory (C. trilineatus), or panda cory (C. panda). Cories are very peaceful and perfect for a community aquarium. They might eat baby shrimp though. If you are looking for something completely shrimp safe, try the pygmy cory. They grow less than an inch long. Get a group of around 15 of these guys. Other options for bottom dwellers include kuhli loachs, dwarf chain loaches, and upside-down catfish. Bottom Dwellers (cont.): Bristlenose plecos would work well, but I personally would go for otocinclus catfish. They are like plecos, but much smaller and equally efficient eating algae. They are also very similar in appearance to pygmy cories, so they would school with the pygmy cories if you got them both. Other bottom dwellers that fit in this "algae eater" category include the hillstream loach, siamese algae eater (doesn't suck on glass, but great against hair algae), and rubberlip pleco. Invertebrates: Yes shrimp and snails would work fine. Personally, I would go for nerite snails and amano shrimp. But if you wanted breeding go for ramshorn snails and cherry shrimp. Everything I mentioned above is pretty shrimp safe, but you have to be careful with larger fish like the cichlids and gourami. Also the baby shrimp will likely get eaten by all but the smallest fish on the list. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Definitely a Rosy Tetra (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus) like @Daniel said. Possibility that it could be a Candy Cane Tetra (HY511 Tetra), like @MickS77 said, although I don't think PetCo carries them, as they are fairly new to the hobby. Also Candy Cane Tetras look a bit different, with more pink and less of a black spot on the dorsal fin. So I think it's a Rosy Tetra. Hope this helps.

I second @Daniel and @Colu. That's definitely a Pseudomugil species.

This next one is a bit longer, and it's a full view of the tank.

I would recommend a school of larger Corydoras catfish. They are great bottom dwellers, and won't harm a soul (they might eat baby shrimp though). Good candidates would be the Sterbai Cory, Peppered/Paleatus Cory, Albino/Bronze Cory, and Emerald Green Brochis. They are social fish, so get a group of maybe 6 or so. For a completely shrimp-safe option (although not a large fish), try the Pygmy Cory. It only grows to about an inch long or so, and won't eat any shrimp. A good group of around 12 of these little guys would look great with the tetras. If you don't want Corydoras, I would go for one of the other options listed above by @Kirsten, @Colu, and @Jungle Fan. Other suggestions I have would be the Congo tetra, pearl gourami, Apistogramma species, and some species of rainbowfish like the Boesmani rainbow. Hope this helps, and good luck!

@Alan_ Yep those look like Ryukins to me.

Around the fall of 2019 I think. I got interested a year and a half earlier though, like in early 2018

Yeah those are stems.

Can't go wrong with cories! I got the idea of the signature from @JamesB's original signature and later @quirkylemon103. Here's the journal I'm making on the tank. I just rearranged the tank again and put in some new gravel, so my jungle is about to take off.

I really like your aquascape. I plan on doing something like this in my 29 gallon.

@Fish Folk Is it easy to breed brilliant rasboras?

Hey @Adamjpon. For a good centerpiece for a 20 gallon cube, I would consider a honey gourami. It is a peaceful fish that stays small and has great colors. Another option would be the dwarf gourami. If you need some functionality, I would consider something like an albino bristlenose pleco or something similar. It will eat algae, but also has a bright color to it. The only problem is that bristlenose get slightly to big for a 20 gallon cube (they might need a larger tank, like a 20 gallon long as they grow older). So instead I would opt for something small but flashy like a guppy or endler's livebearer. They stay small, but also provide a lot of color. They can be helpful because they will eat some algae as well. They also breed, which could be a pro or a con depending on your opinion. Hope this helps, and good luck!

I second @Colu. Live plants would definitely help a lot with filtration as well.

I haven't kept any barbs yet, but ever since I saw them, cherry barbs have always been my favorite. Not just the males because of their bright cherry red, but even the females look fantastic with the tan, red, and chocolate brown. Another barb I like is the rosy barb, because of the bigger size, peaceful disposition, and nice red/olive color.

Welcome! I look forward to learning more about how your tanks progress!

I second @OceanTruth. Its scientific name is Aequidens rivulatus I believe. It is quite aggressive, and can grow to be around 8 inches.

Obi-wan: Nerm Jocasta Nu (librarian): Pet Store

Okay I have a bunch of Star Wars memes:

Snow goose, evening grosbeak, scarlet tanager, and European starling? Those pictures look amazing by the way.

I'm no photographer, but I remember from a post @Fish Folk is a birdwatcher and has some experience in that field.