CorydorasEthan

After careful consideration, I moved the pearl gourami to the 29 gallon. To my surprise, it worked quite well, and he hasn't been bothering the other fish yet. He is so big now that the endlers are a bit frightened by him, and swim away when he comes near. I left the flying fox in the 10 gallon for now, since he is still small. Now he doesn't have to worry about competition with the gourami, but he absolutely hates the adult guppies, so I will probably just donate him to my LFS soon. The gourami with some cories during feeding (not nipping, yeah!). It's nice finally being able to watch him coexist peacefully! (Sorry for the blur on the cories the camera doesn't seem to be picking them up very well) He is also showing a lot more color and finnage from when I first got him! An overall look at the 29 gallon tank currently. Still too many guppies lol. Thanks for reading!

There are many fish from subtropical regions that would work perfectly. I keep my tanks at 72 Fahrenheit, and my endler's livebearers, pearl gourami, siamese flying foxes, and cories thrive. This being said, it does depend on where you get your fish. So some safe options I would say are danios and white clouds (as mentioned above), paradise fish, rosy barbs, variatus platies, or cories. The cories I would choose in particular would be peppered cories (Corydoras paleatus), since they are most adaptable in my experience. Here is a list by Cory: I hope this helps!

Definitely! You have the chance of breeding the pygmy cories in an species tank (they don't eat eggs or fry, just provide some moss to spawn in).

I sold off 50 guppies from my 29 gallon aquarium to my local store yesterday. The tank is a lot less crowded now, but there are still a lot of guppies!

UPDATE: The Java fern on the wood is growing in really well now. It's creating the kind of jungle effect I was going for. Unfortunately, all of the surface lilypads on the dwarf lily died out (I think their own leaves blocked out their light, combined with the duckweed). However, it seems as if two more plants have sprouted from the bulb, so maybe I can get them to grow back. Also, I spent a long time scraping off all of the algae on the front glass, which is why it is easier to see the fish. Thanks for reading!

My cories acted just the same as your's and I wondered if they were okay at first too! I've noticed pygmy cories are very shy for the first few months that you have them. Once they find their favorite spot, the whole group will just sit there most of the day. Although you can't tell that they eat, they do find scraps throughout the day and night which keep them happy. Eventually, they will grow more comfortable and start to venture out of their hiding spot after a few months, swimming midwater, playing together, or maybe just exploring on their own. Also, cories will keep their pelvic fins (the paired fins underneath their bodies) together while they sleep. I think they use these fins to sort of prop themselves up on the substrate while the rest. I hope this helps, and good luck!

Congrats @Colu, @quirkylemon103, @Patrick_G, those CARE packages were well deserved!

Sorry for the (very) late response, as I haven't been able to post for a while. I would agree they would work out just fine!

Hey there again! I haven't been able to get on here for a while, so I apologize for the late response. No updates on the tanks as of yet, except that everyone is doing fine! I have not gotten rid of the gourami nor the flying foxes yet, as it seems that simply time has cured their behavior. Once they got territorial things sorted out, they seem a lot more calm to each other and the other fish as well. Thanks for asking!

Definitely my cories. I love their behavior and patterns, and I can't wait to expand my collection!

No problem! I think those plants would work out fine. I would also include some kinds of plants that can make a sort of jungle in the tank, since it will make the fish feel more secure. Maybe dwarf sagittaria?

Yep!

I think this would be a great idea! In my experience, I find that once pygmy cories get comfortable in their aquarium, they will spend a lot more time midwater provided there is sufficient plant cover around this area as well. In fact, I think an addition of a few more cories would work out fine. I would up the number to at least 10. Added bonus with these extra numbers is they will feel safer and are more likely to occupy the midwater region.

Yep this is the Siamese algae eater (Crossocheilus siamensis).

Indeed! I had my first try of breeding them several months ago. Let's just say it wasn't too successful, but I got a few babies from it. Anyways, welcome to the forum @smoore. I look forward to seeing your projects progress!

I like the idea, but if you did this you'd have to keep in mind that they like to dart up to the surface for air, and this multi-level system may hinder them from being able to breathe.

You can't go wrong with a 50 gallon Corydoras tank! This would certainly be a fun one. Do several groups of cories to create variety, or just a ton of one for an awesome display. Pygmy cories would work great for the latter. As for plants, I find that water sprite and dwarf aquarium lily bulbs work great with sand. I hope this helps, and good luck! I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Remember to keep us updated!

How old is the swordtail? All males have a gonopodium, though they take three or four months to fully develop their tail ornamentation. If your fish is older, maybe it is a fish that just happened to lose its sword? Or maybe it is a platy male, as platies look very similar to swordtails without swords. Any pictures?

Hm this is odd. I didn't know that flame gourami (a type of dwarf gourami) are big enough to eat neon tetras. How big were the neons, and how big is the gourami? Any pictures?

Here's a few suggestions: guppies, endlers, corydoras (try different species than you already have to make things more interesting), neon tetras, honey gouramis, otocinclus to name a few of my favorites for a peaceful tank.

Hey there! Yep you got the facts right in your key identification points! However, I believe that not just two of the cories are C. trilineatus, but all of them. They all have the trademark trilineatus patterning on their body - reticulated pattern of bold black markings on the head with a distinctive black line going down the center of the body. The cory that you showed in the second picture doesn't seem to be full grown to me, so it might develop its full patterning sometime in the future. Additionally, all of their snouts are somewhat rounded. The reason why some have longer snouts is purely genetic - I think it just varies depending on the individual. For example, my two albino cories are both definitely C. aeneus, yet both their snouts have different lengths. Another thing is that Corydoras barbels are flexible. They sometimes point down and sometimes straight, depending on what the fish is doing. Of course, it does vary between different species, and it is true that with longer snouted cories, the downward facing barbels are more pronouced. However, your cories seem to have similar barbels and snout shapes to other short-snouted species (like C. paleatus, C. sterbai, C. habrosus, etc.), suggesting they are indeed C. trilineatus, which is also a member of the short-snouted group. Here is an article on the different types of Corydoras-type catfish. It is really interesting in understanding of behavior and identification. I highly recommend it. https://corydoras.zone/fish/corys/corydoradinae-corydoras-lineages/ Example of C. paleatus (close relative of C. trilineatus) with a similar snout shape. So with this I can conclude that your cories are all C. trilineatus. The reason the two may not follow the others around is because they are older and don't play as much with youngsters (they look bigger more mature from the pictures). Also, from what I can tell, at least one of them is a female who might drop eggs soon, so it might be the smaller males following her instead! Here is an updated identification list in case you need it in the future: C. julii have a more dotted pattern around their full body, with sparser markers, giving them the appearance of having a slightly lighter coloration overall. Their lateral line is not solid, but rather a series of black marks. Round snout. C. trilineatus have a reticulated pattern of black marks around their head. Thick dark line going down the middle of the body (lateral line). Many vertical strips along the back and flanks, giving the impression that they have three lines going horizontally down the body. Round snout. C. leopardus has very fine markings along the head, and reticulated pattern on the upper half of the body. Slightly golden coloration. Very pointy snout. Wow it was fun and refreshing answering this Corydoras identification post. Sorry for the semi-long read. Anyways, I hope this helps, and good luck!

Yep definitely emperor tetras (Nematobrycon palmeri). I would say that they are fine right now in the group of three (there should only be minimal if any territorial issues since they are juveniles), but they will definitely appreciate larger groups, as they are tetras and (as you mentioned) they feel more secure this way. About your question with the cycling process however, I am not too well-versed in this topic, but I'll give it my best shot anyway. I would check your water parameters and see if the nitrite levels are not ideal. If you have very low amounts, it will probably be okay to add more fish. I hope this helps, and good luck!

I have to say, the whole soundtrack for Jedi: Fallen Order is really good. Here's one of my favorites from the game: Full soundtrack:

Also, I'm just curious, but what is the plant in the back right corner of the tank? Also, what kinds of fish do you have in there? Thanks.

Nope I haven't gotten it yet. Additionally, I don't think I will be able to keep the tank anymore after I do use it. But we will just have to see. Anyways, great looking tank you got there! I really like the setup. I will keep this advice in mind when I do eventually get the aquarium. Thanks!