CorydorasEthan

Something cool I found. Sometimes, my pygmy cories will sometimes hang around my Siamese algae eater (Crossocheilus oblongus) and follow it around, even though it is a much bigger fish than they are. I think this is because of the similar coloration. Both have black stripes going down the sides of their bodies. Anyway, I just thought that was kind of interesting.

I really like the stocking videos Cory puts out, so I look forward to more of those. Usually, other YouTube channels will only list a couple of fish that can live in a particular size of tank. But the Aquarium Co-Op stocking videos are different. They are very in-depth and actually have a sort of list and instructions to follow when setting up each individual idea for the setups he covers.

Yeah I hardly ever see them eat but sometimes I will see them nibble at a pellet I drop near the back of the aquarium. Mine are pretty fat too (especially the females).

I like to just let the fish waste allow the plants to grow. I think that is why the Java fern and Cryptocoryne grow so well, as they are both near the area where the peppered cory family and the school of pygmy cories always sleep. I heard root tabs could be useful for Amazon sword and Vallisneria, so I might try that out.

I change water (25-30%) and gravel vac every week. I don't dose any fertilizer, or have any CO2. I scrub the glass panels occasionally (once every two weeks or so), and clean out the intake sponge on my hang-on-back filter every week. I don't clean the sponge filter very often, because all the pygmy cories that sleep behind there start to freak out if I move my hand too close to it.

Oh yeah I've seen this one before! It was kind of gross though, the way it ate the other snail...

Hello everyone, I've been meaning to create a journal on my 29 gallon aquarium and my experiences with it, but I just haven't had time recently, as I am constantly bombarded with homework, tests, and projects in school. As you can probably infer, I have a little period of rest right now from school, which is why I am creating my journal now. Anyway, I've done something similar to a journal in my introduction where I covered my journey through the entire hobby, so I thought that maybe I would do a more in-depth story with pictures and only about one aquarium. Hope you guys don't mind the read... Okay, so it started out with me getting my 29 gallon started up and cycled for a couple of weeks. Setup: I added in pool filter sand as the substrate (I had never tried this before previously I used gravel in my 10 gallon), because I knew Corydoras would love to sift through the sand. For hardscape, I originally included only a few river rocks, but soon later added in some driftwood from my pre-existing 10 gallon. Lastly, I added in a couple of plastic plants I had used in my first setup, and a Java fern grown in gravel, now planted in sand. In terms of equipment for this tank, I originally started with an airstone and a cheap hang-on-back filter from a 10 gallon aquarium kit, as well as a cheap heater from PetSmart. I increased the filtration later on as I get more fish. The original stocking for the aquarium was all the fish from my 10 gallon aquarium (not including the male guppy that had passed away a day before I transferred the fish), meaning a pair of peppered cories (Corydoras paleatus), two albino females (C. aeneus), one Venezuelan male (C. venezuelanus, I didn't know he was different from C. aeneus at the time which is why I only have one), and two Endler's livebearer males (Poecilia wingei), along with a number of Assasin snails (Clea helena) of all sizes. Here is me first releasing the fish from my 10 gallon into their new 29 gallon aquarium. Soon after their introduction, our last guinea pig Samuel passed away, so my parents allowed me to get more fish to compensate (also simply because the tank wasn't at all full, and needed something that would eat algae). I bought a school of five pygmy cories (Corydoras pygmaeus) (also not to eat algae, simply for my enjoyment), and my little sister wanted a pleco, so she chose out a female bristlenose pleco (Ancistrus spec., maybe A. dolichopterus?). With the purchase of the bristlenose pleco came a tiny little guppy (Poecilia reticulata) fry that had made its way into the bag. We added this fry into the 29 gallon as well. Also I added an Amazon swordplant shortly after. After a while, algae started to rapidly take over in the aquarium. Specifically whatever kind of algae this is: I think it's staghorn algae so that's what I am going to call it for now. So I introduced three Amano shrimp from my LFS in order to combat the algal bloom. They immediately got to work on the staghorn algae covering the driftwood, and soon the driftwood was completely clear. Unfortunately, one shrimp jumped out of the aquarium (I don't even know how there is a good lid, and even though it has a space for the filter and stuff, I don't know why a shrimp would jump out, because the other two stayed in the aquarium), and I was not at home when this happened, so sadly this one did not make it. Anyway, they ate all of the mystery algae. At this point, my pair of Corydoras paleatus were beginning to breed, laying eggs which I scooped out and put in a small 1/2 gallon container right next to my aquarium. This container was aerated with an air stone, but otherwise had no other equipment. This first batch of eggs all grew fungus all over it, and I was heartbroken, until a week or two later, right as I was about to throw the container away, I noticed a tiny little baby fish in the container. I put him into the 29 gallon aquarium because I had no other aquariums ready. He made his home under the rock caves that I constructed near the air stone. But soon after this problem came the bloom of hair algae and black beard algae, the former covering the Amazon sword and plastic plants, while the latter took over my driftwood and Java fern. My guppy fry, which grew up and happened to be a female, then had babies with my male Endler's, producing many hybrid fry. In this stage, I also added a MarineLand Penguin Bio-Wheel 150 Power (hang-on-back) Filter made for 30 gallons. Although I have heard bad reviews for it, it worked for me because it was just and had a decent amount of space inside of it to add sponges, cartridges, or filter floss (I started with the cartridge that came with the kit and then switch the media later on). Also, I added an intake sponge over the intake of the filter so that no fry would get sucked up and also so that algae and plant leaves and things like that would not clog the filter. Soon, my Corydoras paleatus started breeding again, and laid about 30 fertile eggs. I used the same process for these as last time, and amazingly, all 30 hatched. I added them into a breeder basket in the main tank. They did fine for a couple of weeks, but then I noticed one or two had died under the frame of the box. So I decided to release them into the main tank, as I was afraid all would meet the same fate. Honestly, I think it would have been best if I just kept them in the box. After a couple of days, I never saw any of them anymore. I think that they might have, 1) gotten eaten by the other fish in the tank, but I don't know who could have eaten them I only had Endler's livebearers, cories, Amano shrimp, and a bristlenose pleco at the time, 2) died of disease, or 3) they died of starvation and not being able to compete for food. Fortunately, three of the 30 survived and I began to see them later on as they got bigger. So at this point, I was really upset and just wanted something new. I finally got my parents to allow me to get plants (ordered off of Aquarium Co-Op they took a lot of convincing though because they were afraid of me getting pest snails that would take over like the trumpet snails in my 10 gallon). I ordered a Cryptocoryne wendtii, Vallisneria, dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis), and a dwarf aquarium lily (Nymphaea stellata). After this I went to my LFS to get Cabomba caroliniana, two Siamese algae eaters (Crossocheilus siamensis) for the still going hair algae problem, and a male pearl gourami (Trichopodus leeri). Also picked up my first Repashy to try it out as well. Soon, my aquarium was nice and green, and I added a black background for viewing purposes. I also decided to add more filtration (the water was pretty cloudy) so I ordered an Aquarium Co-Op sponge filter meant for 10 gallons (I had ordered this for my 10 gallon aquarium but wasn't using it at the time). After keeping this setup and stocking for a while, and while the guppies/endlers kept having more babies, I noticed my tank was way overstocked. The gourami was being aggressive toward the cories during feeding, the Siamese algae eaters were constantly fighting, and the bristlenose pleco was always chasing the other fish away from the food on the bottom (she, unlike the gourami, would just charge straight at whatever she felt wanted to take her food, even if they were half the tank apart. This meant baby cories, the gourami, and even the Amano shrimp). So I started by removing a large school of guppies (I took out the ones I wanted to breed) and added them to my newly restarted 10 gallon to start a colony. I removed my disintegrating Cabomba and put it in there as well (I never can seem to have success with this plant someone please give tips). Later, due to continued aggression, I moved both the pearl gourami and one of the Siamese algae eaters into the 10 gallon as well for temporary holding. They are still in there now, and aren't too big yet, so I plan on moving them or getting them a new home once they get bigger. Anyway, my guppies continue to have babies in the 10 gallon, but the ones in the 29 are not old enough yet, so they will soon. I added in water sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) in place of the Cabomba, and it is growing well along with the dwarf aquarium lily and the Cryptocoryne wendtii. My goal with this setup is to create a nice "jungle," where there are a lot of plants covering the back and sides of the aquarium, with many different species of fish of different shapes and sizes all thriving together. Right now, it doesn't look too good though. Despite the plants that are growing well, algae is taking over the glass walls (I think green spot algae and some other type). In addition, the Vallisneria in the back doesn't grow anymore, and the Amazon sword that I had originally put in the tank several months ago has gotten smaller and smaller (it was propogated underwater at my LFS), and now is looking green and brown. The hairgrass is growing okay. Any suggestions on what to do with these current problems would be well appreciated. Also, I thought I might add that the bristlenose pleco died just a week or so ago, probably due to internal parasites that might be causing the fish in both my 10 and 29 gallon to scratch themselves on the substrate. I am ordering the medications (API General Cure I heard works well) now, and so far no one else has died yet. Anyway, I thought I might include a few pictures of the fish in the tank at the moment: Here is a pair of Amano shrimp on their favorite driftwood. The female has eggs, but I heard they don't hatch in freshwater. But if anyone has hatched Amano shrimp before, please give advice I want to try and hatch her eggs. Corydoras attacking Repashy: Community Plus So currently, my conditions are: Equipment: Nicrew 30 Inch Light, MarineLand Penguin Bio-Wheel 150 Power Filter, Aquarium Co-Op 10 Gallon Sponge filter (powered by Aqua Culture 5-15 Gallon Air Pumo), 6 inch airstone (powered by Tetra 20-40 Gallons Air Pump), Some kind of heater I forgot the brand Plants: Vallisneria (2), Cryptocoryne wendtii (2 plus new plants from runners), Dwarf Aquarium Lily (1), Dwarf Hairgrass (1), Amazon Sword (1), Java Fern (1 large, plus many smaller plantlets planted in different spots), Water Sprite (1). Fish and Other Livestock: Albino Corydoras (2), Peppered Corydoras (5), Pygmy Corydoras (5), Venezuelan Corydoras (1), Guppy/Endler's Livebearer Hybrids (Around 20 of various sizes), Siamese Algae Eater (1), Amano Shrimp (2), Assassin Snail (Many). So that's my journey with this aquarium so far. As I mentioned earlier, I want a bit more variety in my fish species, so I plan selling some of the guppy/endler hybrids and assassin snails (or moving them) and stocking the aquarium with a couple other different peaceful fish, like tetras (I like rosy tetras, cardinals, diamonds, lemons, black neons, and pristellas), rasboras (maybe the micro rasboras?), minnows (white clouds), or other Corydoras (I know that would probably be too many bottom dwellers though, so maybe only a friend for the Venezuelan or albinos, or more pygmy cories so they school in the middle instead of taking up more room on the bottom). I also like Bolivian Rams, but I know they get pretty big and act like a gourami so not suitable for my community. So if you guys have any ideas on which other fish I could do in the aquarium, go ahead and give your suggestions down below. I'll make sure to give updates on this aquarium in the future. Sorry for the long read, but if you did make it this far, thanks for reading!

Even though my pearl gourami is a peaceful fish most times (except during feeding, which is what I am about to explain), the thing is that he would always, after eating the flake and floating foods I provided, deliberantly go down to the bottom of the aquarium where the cories eat their pellets/wafers/repashy/etc., and start nipping the cories and chasing them away from their food. This was my main problem with him, and is why I removed him. With gouramis though, it really depends on personality of the individual fish, so if you really wanted one, go ahead and try it out, just watch closely for signs of aggression during feeding and make sure you have a back-up plan if things go badly. Maybe do a female instead of a male. One thing I found helpful is dropping the pellets behind plants and rocks in the back and sides of the tank so that the cories can get to it but the gourami can't. Also try feeding the cories before the lights come on in the morning and after the lights go out at night. They can locate food in the dark while the gourami can't. Still, there was always some aggression, as he found a way under the plants behind which I dropped the food, which is why he now lives in my 10 gallon for the time being. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Okay then I would say no to the pearl gourami, as they can be pretty gluttonous and aggressive when it comes to food.

I don't know much about dwarf cichlids, but I think they'd be a good choice for your community. If you decide not to get one though, pearl gouramis are some of my favorites. I had one in my 29 gallon community, but I had to move him due to food aggression (only against cories, but now he is a bit territorial toward guppies and algae eaters during feeding). I currently have him in a 10 gallon for holding purposes. They do not grow very big (in my experience) getting about the size of a dwarf gourami. Then again, I have only had him for three months or so at best, so maybe they grow much bigger in a long period of time (I heard they only live four years though). I am a bit newer to fishkeeping, with only a couple of years of research and only a year and a half of experience in the hobby, so any other people that have kept these pearl gouramis please correct me if I am giving the wrong information. Anyway, I hope this helps.

Are these safe for guppy fry and snails?

How many/what types of fish do you already have in the 100 gallon aquarium?

My dad says that I can get a 55 gallon tank off Craigslist or something like that if I participate in a Biotope aquarium contests. Not neccessarily because I will win (I probably don't stand a chance in those professional contests), but because he wants me to participate in a competition that I will actually enjoy (my older sister does History day and my parents wanted me to do it I had to do it this year but I didn't like it too much), and he thinks it would be cool if I made an ecosystem of the creek near our home. Once I am finished with the biotope, I release the fish into the wild, meaning I probably get to keep the aquarium and turn it into the planted corydoras-livebearer-tetra community I have been hoping for. Maybe I should go with your suggestion instead by looking for a 40 gallon breeder, although this may be a bit harder to find, I think it would be well worth it (I've seen a couple at PetCo during dollar per gallon sales, so maybe that will work). Plus, it takes up less room, so my parents would be more into letting me get a new tank! Thanks for the advice!

I have a 29 gallon with pool filter sand, an assortment of live plants, river rocks, and driftwood. I was thinking the same thing for my community, with multiple different schools of Corydoras. I try to pick up new every species I can find at my pet stores, but my parents made me stop because I started to get too many fish. Hopefully when I get a larger tank I can have more. The only species of cories my local stores and chain stores have to offer regularly are: C. paleatus, C. aeneus (albino and bronze forms), C. panda, C. trilineatus (labeled Julii cory), and C. sterbai. Occasionally, my local stores bring in Brochis splendens (labeled Green cory) and C. pygmaeus. The more rare types that hardly ever come in are C. habrosus, and I have seen "Assorted Corydoras" once that looked like C. elegans (very pretty, one of my favorites), but I couldn't get any more fish then. I am hopeful, because apparantly, one of my local stores has labels on some of their tanks for green lasers for $3.99, and they said that they used to have a lady that bred them and sold them to the shop. I don't think they knew the value, but I hope to get some for that steal of a price soon! Anyway, I agree I found breeding helps a lot build up a school is breeding. My pair of peppered cories (C. paleatus) bred and laid 30 eggs, so I tried to hatch them. Although I was successful in hatching, I released the 30 babies into the 29 too early (the poor things were only three weeks old at most I always feel bad about it), and only 4 survived. Nevertheless, it still made the school bigger and the four survivors are the most outgoing of their family. The albino cories are by far the most active in the tank, always moving around on the substrate and sleeping out in the open. The pygmy cories are the most reclusive, always hiding in their favorite spot (changes from time to time, right now it is under the sponge filter and the big Java fern all the pygmies and the peppered cory family sleep here). They only come out when they can't see me but when they do they are the most fun fish to watch.

I like dwarf aquarium lily, crytocoryne wendtii, and water sprite, because they grow in just about any conditions (I grow mine in pool filter sand with no fertilizers or CO2) and grow really fast, which is really satisfying, making them enjoyable to keep.

Then I think the cories are fine. The one thing is that mine could possibly have internal parasites, because I have seen them scratching themselves agains the sand (along with the other fish in the tank). I will be treating them very shortly. I don't know if the round belly is also a sign of internal parasites, but that's just something I'd watch out for. Hope this helps.

So kind of like this?

@Kara C Wow the habrosus cory in the second picture is really big! I didn't know that they got that size.

I'm up in the midwest/Great Plains region, so it would be kind of hard to get them to me. It might be easier and more profitable to sell them to your LFS if you really don't want them. But maybe if you had a nice community display tank with some extra room, you could put your cories in once they get bigger they would add a lot of activity and personality into the aquarium.

This is a male venezuelan cory, Here are female albinos. Do they look sort of like this? I think both males and females have it (if they are fed well) and females have bigger ones than males (then again, these are two different species).

Could you send a picture?

Cool article! I'm just wondering how the one guy could not successfully breed guppies...

Nice! I have never seen one in person before, but I heard they are about the same size as panda cories. How much do they cost in your area?

Nice! Pygmy cories are great! I can see yours school around a lot. Mine used to stay out in the open until I offered more hiding places other than small river rocks and plastic plants. Once I introduced a large piece of driftwood into the aquarium they would always stay there and rarely come out. Now that I have real plants, they like hanging out with my school of peppered cories under the sponge filter, Java fern, and water sprite. They are a bit less shy now. Anyway, good luck with your cories!

Wow! Great shot! You seem to have the same type of community tank as me, with various Corydoras and guppy/endlers. I hope to upgrade to at least a 55 gallon soon so I can get more cories though. I only have a pair of aeneus females, a lone venezuelan male (I thought he was a bronze when I got him I just recently figured out he is different now), a school of C. pygmaeus, and a group (pair and their offspring) of C. paleatus. Hope to get more aenues, venezuelans, pygmies, and maybe get a different type too like Brochis splendens, C. trilineatus, C. panda, or laser cories when I upgrade my tank.