Panda Cory in a 20 gallon high?

[Mikon77]

Hello! Today, I added a centerpiece fish to my very first aquarium, (a flame dwarf gourami I have named Heinrich). He is very curious and seems to be adjusting very well, and is even putting my black neon tetras in their place!

I'm now looking for the final set of fish to add to my aquarium and I'm wondering if panda corys would do well in a 20 gallon high. The reason I'm looking into pandas is because my local Petco only carries pandas and emeralds. I heard pygmy corys are great, but I don't really want to order fish online and pay a massive shipping fee. Money is pretty tight.

Would a group of say 4-5 panda corys be ok in a 20 gallon high tank, or is there another fish that would do just fine? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I currently have in my tank...

5 black neon tetras (I had 10 but they are very aggressive and have been killing each other.)

1 dwarf gourami

2 nerite snails

[TJ _isme]

The panda cories should do fine as long as you make sure they get fed, the other fish might eat all the food before the Cory’s can get any. So if you make sure they get fed they should be pretty fine, I like to feed my cories at night so they can get it without the other eating it all.

also make sure they have plenty of places to hide like tons of plants and rock structures and they should be fine

[Mikon77]

On 4/21/2024 at 12:54 PM, TJ _isme said:

The panda cories should do fine as long as you make sure they get fed, the other fish might eat all the food before the Cory’s can get any. So if you make sure they get fed they should be pretty fine, I like to feed my cories at night so they can get it without the other eating it all.

also make sure they have plenty of places to hide like tons of plants and rock structures and they should be fine

Awesome! I’m having to vacuum up excess food, so that shouldn’t be an issue. So do you think I should add more plants to my tank? I’m always seeing people say the more plants the better, but I’m worried about overcrowding them.

Edited April 21 by Mikon77

[madmark285]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:41 PM, Mikon77 said:

I don't really want to order fish online and pay a massive shipping fee. Money is pretty tight.

FYI, I had good luck buying from  Aqua Huna , they have a $12.99 flat rate shipping charge. For the three orders I made with them, they shipped them out on Monday night and I receive the orders on Wednesday afternoon.  I live in western New York.

My last order was ~$100 so I saved $7 in sale tax.

On 4/21/2024 at 2:03 PM, Mikon77 said:

I’m always seeing people say the more plants the better, but I’m worried about overcrowding them.

Most of the small tropical fish we buy come from protected areas of lakes and river. Those cute little black neon tetras may become lunch if they venture into open waters. From the Seriously Fish website on neons: "small characids are often found in extremely clear water where submerged vegetation proliferates."

The fish may prefer a dense jungle of plants in a corner of your tank. 

[Mikon77]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:40 PM, madmark285 said:

FYI, I had good luck buying from  Aqua Huna , they have a $12.99 flat rate shipping charge. For the three orders I made with them, they shipped them out on Monday night and I receive the orders on Wednesday afternoon.  I live in western New York.

My last order was ~$100 so I saved $7 in sale tax.

I’ll definitely have to check them out! I was originally looking to get a honey gourami, but from the website I found, the shipping charge was around $60 for one fish!!! 
 

As for the plants, I’ll definitely be adding more then! I was just worried because the plants I have now aren’t really growing much. I’m worried that when they do grow, there won’t be much room left for the fish.

Edited April 21 by Mikon77

[mynameisnobody]

@Mikon77 Dans fish shipping is usually $40, not sure why it would say $60 for you. If you stick around in the hobby long enough, you’ll learn that you get what you pay for. 

[Mikon77]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:52 PM, mynameisnobody said:

@Mikon77 Dans fish shipping is usually $40, not sure why it would say $60 for you. If you stick around in the hobby long enough, you’ll learn that you get what you pay for. 

It may not have been Dan’s, I was looking around and may have gotten them mixed up with another vendor.

I’m just worried about spending that much on a fish that may not adapt well to my aquarium.

While on the other hand my Petco has a 30 day policy on fish. If the fish ends up dying within 30 days, I just need to bring it and a sample of my water for either a full refund or a replacement.

Edited April 21 by Mikon77

[madmark285]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:50 PM, Mikon77 said:

I’ll definitely have to check them out! I was originally looking to get a honey gourami, but from the website I found (Dan’s Fish) the shipping was around $60 for one fish!!! 

Aqua Huna has the right idea for shipping, just use USPS Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box.

On 4/21/2024 at 2:50 PM, Mikon77 said:

I was just worried because the plants I have now aren’t really growing much. I’m worried that when they do grow, t

A suggestion, buy a group of plastic plants from Amazon now, remove them when your real plants get big. 

[Mikon77]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:07 PM, madmark285 said:

Aqua Huna has the right idea for shipping, just use USPS Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box.

A suggestion, buy a group of plastic plants from Amazon now, remove them when your real plants get big. 

I’m looking more on Aqua Huna and they definitely seem like the way to go! A group of 6 Pygmy Corys is really affordable! I’ll add some more live plants and wait a week or two before getting some pygmies!

I’m just worried if they would adjust well to my water since they aren’t from local sellers.

Edited April 21 by Mikon77

[anewbie]

IF you check the for sale area of this forum you will see that @cinnebuns is selling some home raised panda.

 

[macdaddy36]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:03 PM, Mikon77 said:

So do you think I should add more plants to my tank?

You can if you want to, but that Amazon sword in the middle should fill up the space pretty quickly.

[Mikon77]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:54 PM, macdaddy36 said:

You can if you want to, but that Amazon sword in the middle should fill up the space pretty quickly.

That’s the main reason why I’ve been holding off on other plants. The sword in the middle was labeled a dwarf sword plant. The one in the far left corner behind the Java Fern was labeled as a true sword plant. It has yet to show any signs of growing. I’ve also added some frogbit and hornwort, and they are also growing extremely slowly, despite other people claiming they are fast growers.

Edited April 21 by Mikon77

[TJ _isme]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:03 PM, Mikon77 said:

Awesome! I’m having to vacuum up excess food, so that shouldn’t be an issue. So do you think I should add more plants to my tank? I’m always seeing people say the more plants the better, but I’m worried about overcrowding them.

You can fit WAY more plants and rock structures, I like to make rock structures and then super glue lots of Java fern and anubias.

doing this gives the Cories lots of rocks and plants to hide in while still looking nice

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Give it time and those Sword will engulf your tank. Slowly, though, and you can always trim them. 
 

This is my 20 high probably 6 months ago. I regularly have to trim these swords back. 
 

55 gallon. The MASSIVE Sword on the left side is the first aquatic plant I ever bought. Started in a 10 gallon, then got moved to a 29 and I never touched it. Eventually, it took over the 29 so I moved it to this 55, and it has continued to take over. This Sword is 4 years old at this point.