Pygmy or Habrosus Corydoras?

[sugarkube]

Hi all,

I'm upgrading from a 5.5 gallon (has a few white clouds and glowlight tetras in there right now to help me with cycling, will plan to rehome them) to a 10 gallon and I'm trying to figure out what kind of corydoras to get. My plan is to get a Betta centerpiece, about 10 ember tetra and 5 or 6 corys. I will need to purchase online because none of the local stores near me have anything in stock.

Pygmy corys seem much more available (and cheaper) online, but from all the videos I've seen of them online their mouths are TINY and I mostly see them swimming around mid-water instead of staying on the bottom...plus with their tiny mouths are they going to be any good at actually cleaning up stuff on the bottom? With my research, I'm really loving the Habrosus because they definitely seem like they stay at the bottom and maybe get only slightly larger than the Pygmys, but they're out of stock nearly everywhere online.

Thoughts? Thanks everyone for any advice or support 🙂

Edited December 2, 2022 by sugarkube

[Zenzo]

I would think that a group of pygmy Corydoras would be better than Habrosus in a 10 gallon tank with that stocking. Either would probably work though.

Keep in mind that Corydoras are not "cleaning" fish, so you will need to make sure that you accommodate their diet requirements regardless of which you choose (meaning that you will need to make sure that you feed something that is appropriate for them and reaches the bottom). 

Good luck, and have fun with your new 10 gallon!

[lefty o]

i agree with 5 or 6 in a 10g, the pygmy's are a better fit.

[TOtrees]

I've kept pygmy in the past and currently have a few schools of habrosus in various tanks. I think the habrosus are more in line with what we think of as typical cories (whiskery sand sifters, mostly on the bottom), just smaller. I have some in a tank with some adolfoi and the size difference is striking. The pygmies are less specialized or confined to the bottom of the tank, but that's where they hang out and retreat to most of the time. 

Personally, I'd go with the pygmies because I think you'll see (and therefore enjoy) them a lot more. They just seem more outgoing. Start with 5 or 6, but if the tank runs well don't be afraid to bump it up to 10 or 12. They're really small, with a correspondingly small bioload. 

Whichever one you choose DO make sure you feed good high quality sinking food for them (avoid foods with grain products in the first 1-2 ingredients). I find that where I have cories with swimmers, feeding just the cories works well. Eg I intentionally choose foods that are too big for the swimmers to eat, so they sink and the cories start breaking it down, and the swimmers get all they need from the particles that are released.