CorydorasEthan

Great idea! I have yet to try those out as well. Is your one pygmy cory you had left still alive?

I haven't seen pairing off in the pygmy cories yet, but I have seen it with the albinos, bronzes, and peppers in the same aquarium. Additionally, the otos in the tank seem to follow the same behaviors among themselves, with a male following a female. I will keep an eye on the pygmy cories though!

@HonourWest Welcome to the forum! The community here is supportive and very helpful. Good luck with that betta of your's. If you have trouble with the sickness, we can help!

Yep me too! This one and another (I think it's a boy/girl pair) always swim together or separately midwater foraging or exploring or something while the others are resting or hiding.

Thanks! I have tried using isolation and reintroduction (with slight rearrangement) before, and it worked for a week or two, and then the fish developed their same behaviors again. Yeah I was thinking rehoming to an LFS would be my best option. I really like the gourami, and the flying foxes are great for the hair algae, but yeah with as much problems as they are causing, I might be better off just giving them away. Maybe only rehoming one of the two in the 10 gallon would work fine? Thanks again! If anyone has any other suggestions, you are certainly welcome!

A new shot of one of the pygmy cories swimming midwater. I saw the whole school hovering like this just yesterday, but there was too much reflection to get a good shot.

Okay I've mentioned this a couple times before here on the forum, but I've never really asked for suggestions on the matter. So I have a few fish that bully others during feeding time. Here's a little more on them: The pearl gourami was shy at first, but quickly realized that by biting other fish or charging at them would drive them away from food. He especially hated the corydoras in the tank. He has done this since, so I had to remove him from the 29 gallon community and into the 10 gallon makeshift setup. This is obviously too small for a gourami like him, and now he shares it with some breeding guppies and a flying fox (more on him later). He continues to harass the flying fox (especially during feeding, but also due to territorial reasons), and he chases the larger female guppies during feeding. The flying foxes used to fight, so we left one in the 29 and moved the other to the 10 gallon with the guppies and gourami. The one in the 10 gallon chases guppies when they get too close to the bottom during feeding, and is always chased by the gourami when he himself gets too close. The one in the 29 is blind on one side, and at first was peaceful, but then developed a similar technique to the gourami, which is chasing the other fish - mainly the cories - away from their food by nipping their tails. I have tried feeding when the lights are out (for the cories), and it works, but the flying fox continues to bully them even when it isn't feeding time. Same goes for the 10 gallon with the gourami and flying fox. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? I don't have any more tanks or room for tanks. Should I rehome the bullies? If so, where to? Thanks!

Yep! I plan on getting rid of a few more guppies (they are still very numerous) first of all. Then, I have to figure out a plan for my Siamese flying foxes and pearl gourami, as they just don't fit in my setups anymore. I'll be posting a thread on this shortly. Then, I plan on semi-restocking the aquariums. I want to try out tetras or rasboras or something, maybe platies. And definitely more pygmy cories too. As for other long-terms plans with my hobby as a whole, I have yet to decide on something. I'll make sure to keep you'll updated when I do find something!

Almost! I am still in slings for another week, but they should be better by then.

Thanks! Oh okay yeah that's the bag! But now that you mention it, a hammock for cories would definitely not be a bad idea! I might start experimenting with that!

If you haven't already seen the post, I got rid of around 50 guppies out of this tank just recently - I sold them off to a local store. I plan on getting rid of some more, as it didn't seem to make a difference in the crowdedness of the aquarium! Another update. The pygmy cories in the tank finally seemed to have grown comfortable. They no longer hide all day, and I can sometimes see them just hovering in the water in the upper half of the aquarium like a tetra would. Additionally, they don't even hide or scatter when I come near the tank. Here's a picture of one (sorry if you've seen it before):

Hey guys! I'm back! The reason I haven't posted in a while is kind of complicated... I am taking a PE course over this summer, and we happened to be playing handball-baseball (some kind of hybrid sport) one day. To keep things short, I ran into the wall at full speed (aimed for the crash-pad but had to dodge). I ended up fracturing my elbows and bruising my wrists, so I have a sling on each arm. It has been kind of hard to move my arms (and consequently, type) lately. Thankfully, they are supposed to be healed very soon. So anyway, I will began posting again. I have some updates on my tanks and fish lately, so be sure to check those out on their respective threads if you want. Thanks!

Okay I did a bit more searching and found that some sources say no, while other say that yes they are indeed plant safe. I guess it really depends on the environment they are kept in and how often they are fed, and maybe also the individual tastes of the fish, so I can't make a sure estimate on whether or not your plants are going to be eaten or not.

Welcome to the forum! As has been mentioned multiple times previously, gourami such as the pearls and honeys are great options. Couple this with a group of slower shoaling fish, like a smaller tetra, barb, or rasbora of some sort. They would provide excellent contrast to the single gourami. Top it off with a pleco or group of otocinclus at the bottom for some extra movement that won't distract much from the pverall view of the aquarium. Added bonus is that they will help keep some algaes in check. But if you did not want these, opt instead for a nerite snail, which would make a great addition to the laid-back theme you are going for. Contrary to my go-to peaceful community stocking plan, I would not recommend Corydoras catfish for the aquarium, as I've noticed that gourami (mostly the pearls) really like to pick on them during feeding time. I hope this helps! I look forward to seeing how the aquarium turns out!

What are your water parameters? I don't know too much about Demasoni, but one thing I do know is that they are Lake Malawi cichlids, meaning that they're water parameter requirements are different from most of the other fish in the tank. In addition, (again, only from minimal research) I read that they don't play well with most classic community fish like the ones you already have in the aquarium. So from this, I would advise against the Demasoni altogether. An alternative might be a pair of kribensis, Apistogramma, or Bolivian rams if you wanted some small, colorful cichlids for your planted community. I hope this helps.

The first one looks like a pond snail or a bladder snail. Given the size, I'd say a bladder snail. The second looks like a ramshorn snail. I think they would both survive in the tubs.

When I think of a South American community, my mind immediately goes to a flooded forest sort of biotope in Brazil - with fallen logs and decaying plant matter, and plenty of marginal vegetation. Huge shoals of characins swimming around midwater, while all sorts of wierd and wonderful catfish and cichlids swim below. Fish I would choose for this sort of setup are some kind of smaller tetras - neons, cardinals, rummynose, pristellas... something like that. Get a big school of those (or a couple schools) going in the tank. Pencilfish would work well too. Hatchetfish would be a good addition, but only if you plan on doing more of a stagnant pool/slow-moving stream sort of habitat. Get a bunch of Corydoras catfish, maybe C. aeneus, C. adolfoi, or something like this. Then of course, some plecos or otos to scour the wood. Finally, top it off with a pair of dwarf cichlids. Of course, this is only one type of biotope found in the Amazon basin. Here is a link to another thread by @Logan Kemmerer on a Peruvian biotope, in which I also gave a few suggestions. If you need anymore suggestions, I'd be happy to draft a design and stocking plan for the tank! I hope this helps!

So were the corydoras able to eat peacefully?

Yeah I agree with @James Black it is an x-ray tetra. Also known as the pristella tetra, because its scientific name is Pristella maxillaris.

I've had this problem once with one of my tanks before. I don't know how to get rid of them, as the betta we had didn't eat them. So eventually we just threw the duckweed out.

Yep I think it will work out fine.

Yes I've noticed labyrinth fishes like gourami and bettas will forage along the bottom when they see other fish eating there. What might help is a log or rocks or something from the Co-Op (if I remember correctly that is your local store). Maybe the cholla wood, coconut hut, or just a piece of driftwood?

Try turning off all of the lights in the room while you feed so that it is very dark. He shouldn't be able to locate the food this way. More obstacles like plants or caves help as well. The cories will be able to get into small spaces (like tight caves) while the betta might not.

Here's a thread on my situation with my pearl gourami. Also try getting the sinking food to more hidden areas where the pygmy cories hang out more so that they can find it while the betta might not be able to access it.

This happens all the time with my corydoras. Since they have such great temperaments and won't hurt another fish, they are not usually capable of competing for food with more aggressive, territorial, or voracious fish. I find that feeding the cories their sinking foods before the lights go on (maybe 10 minutes before the lights go on) and after the lights go out is best, as they can locate the food while the other fish cannot. This enables them to get their fill in without bullying from other fish as well. I hope this helps, and good luck!