Alyssa Holdwick Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 This weekend I plan to start setting up a 50 gallon tank! It will be the home for a group of corydoras and my albino bristlenose pleco, Casper. It will be sand, and I have two different anubias plants on rocks that will be moved over. I have plans to cut up a very large piece of eucalyptus root and putting moss on it but besides for that I haven't picked out any other plants! What plants do y'all think would work well? The only plants I'm firmly against are java ferns because I honestly hate how they look. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Hi @Alyssa Holdwick! Corydora tanks are awesome! I am not sure of your lighting, fertilization and other details but bolbitis is a plant I like a lot more than java fern. It grows slowly but will look large in a 50 gallon. Do you have a certain look or maintenance schedule you are going for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cys aquatics Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 how tall is the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssa Holdwick Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 So, ends up it's a 55, not 50 but it says its 20 inches high. I plan to get a fluval plant light but it may be stuck with the original plastic top led for a week or two if I can't find it in stores. I'm planning on NOT adding co2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 @Alyssa HoldwickDepending on the type of Cory some like flow and others don’t. This could affect your choices as far as filtration or just needing to add a powerhead. Eric Bodrock did an amazing talk that’s on the aquarium coop channel and discussed this in the setting of breeding them. I had a school of Habrosus and it was awesome to watch. I had 12 and wish I’d gotten 20-30. Can’t wait to see a 55 g with a ton of corys! This will be rad! Those Fluval 3.0s are great. Corys often like less light - mine hide under cover and come out as my light ramps down in The evening. I think you could wait and use the light it comes with and see how it goes. If you’re planting some moderate light plants you’ll probably need the 3.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssa Holdwick Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 @Beardedbillygoat1975I would try and use the light it comes with first, as that could definitely save money, but I really dont like the lid it's connected to. It's a pain to take on and off and unfortunately it's impossible to do water changes without taking it off. I have the same style lid on my 37 gallon and the only reason I still use it is because I wasn't able to find another lid that fit it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicAshhole Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Very excited to watch the progress of this. I love cories. It'll be a fun tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 On 6/14/2021 at 8:13 AM, Alyssa Holdwick said: This weekend I plan to start setting up a 50 gallon tank! It will be the home for a group of corydoras and my albino bristlenose pleco, Casper. It will be sand, and I have two different anubias plants on rocks that will be moved over. I have plans to cut up a very large piece of eucalyptus root and putting moss on it but besides for that I haven't picked out any other plants! What plants do y'all think would work well? The only plants I'm firmly against are java ferns because I honestly hate how they look. 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I agree with @Beardedbillygoat1975, the Eric Bodrock presentation is brilliant. I used it to help me with feeding my sterbai corydoras. I also agree that they enjoy dimmer light. I have a 40 gallon corydora tank and it is shaded by pothos and dwarf aquarium lillies and they are out all day. If you want a cheaper alternative and only want to grow low light plants, I would go with a finnex stingray over a glass top. That will help with the current lid issue and you know the light will be capable of growing plants. You should be able to grow crypts, most epiphytes (moss, anubias, bolbitis, buce, etc), hygrophilas, pennywort, and more. For the 37 Gallon, you can make a diy lid using polycarbonate greenhouse panels. You can do this for the 55 gallon as well if you really dislike the lids that much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Make it a multi-level tank, with more real estate for the cories to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 On 6/14/2021 at 2:36 PM, HH Morant said: Make it a multi-level tank, with more real estate for the cories to use. 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 The multi-level idea is to have covered areas where the cories can feel secure - maybe a 3-inch tall cave with a cover on top, made out of slate. The flat top would increase the amount of real estate available the cories. They would still have the substrate underneath, plus the top, You could make a third layer above that, The structures would not cover the whole aquarium, you can still have open areas of substrate. You could call it aquascaping. You could glue the rock/slate structures together so they would be easy to move around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy K Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 On 6/14/2021 at 9:02 PM, HH Morant said: The multi-level idea is to have covered areas where the cories can feel secure - I have done this and my corys use all three of the levels. When I discovered fry, i swapped the rocks for the cholla wood pieces seen here and the babies used it for refuge. I have seen an adult inside one of them and hope it can become a second breeding location if they hate the coconut hut. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiapeach88 Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 (edited) I can’t wait to see the progress of this tank. I have albino corydoras in my 36 and moving some from my 5 gal to my 10 gal upgrade with my betta possibly this wk. and love how much they are out all day with my plant cover. Pic of my 36&10 gal tanks. Haziness is from a water change the day I took the 36 gal. The slate tiered rock is actually prefab from big box store. My corys love sitting in mid level of it Edited June 15, 2021 by Georgiapeach88 Added pic of my tanks. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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