Is This True? Corys and Goldfish.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Tank120

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
212
Location
Indiana
I read a passage in an article recently that stated that you should not keep catfish with goldfish, because when the goldfish try to eat the catfish, the barbs get permanently lodged in their throat and cause the death of the goldfish. Are they speaking about Fancies and Cory Cats? My fish are getting quite large, especially my orange Oranda. My Orandas have never shown any interest in the Cory Cats. I have 3 kinds. There are probably 15. I enjoy their antics and they are quite active. I enjoy watching them. None are supposed to get more than 3" and their barbs do not appear to be stiff. I have a very small baby Cory and the fish never bother him?

Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Your Fish

I read a passage in an article recently that stated that you should not keep catfish with goldfish, because when the goldfish try to eat the catfish, the barbs get permanently lodged in their throat and cause the death of the goldfish. Are they speaking about Fancies and Cory Cats? My fish are getting quite large, especially my orange Oranda. My Orandas have never shown any interest in the Cory Cats. I have 3 kinds. There are probably 15. I enjoy their antics and they are quite active. I enjoy watching them. None are supposed to get more than 3" and their barbs do not appear to be stiff. I have a very small baby Cory and the fish never bother him?

Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Hello Tank...

Any fish with a mouth large enough can potentially eat another fish. Wouldn't have thought Goldfish and Corydoras would be able to live together in the same tank because of their different water temperature requirements. Apparently, they can. You're right, the Corydoras barbels are soft and used for feeling, not defense. Corydoras are very peaceful. If your Goldfish are too, then I wouldn't fret over it.

B
 
Goldfish and corys can potentially be kept together. Goldfish do well in warmer water, especially fancies and many corys will tolerate temps at the lower end of the tropical scale.

Corys and many other catfish genuses have stiff, sharp pectoral and dorsal fin rays that they can use to lock themselves into hiding places. I have been on the sharp end of a corydoras pectoral fin several times and believe me, I wouldn't want to be a goldfish with a cory stuck in my mouth or throat! Large goldfish could possibly swallow a small cory no problem..... with disastrous results. So choose larger cory species or brochis species if you decide to keep them with goldies.
 
Sorry I haven't responded. I had surgery last week and haven't been around my computer.

I keep my heater at 68. There is a large suspended 6 bulb t-8 fixture about 3-1/2 feet from the top of an 120 gallon open aquarium. The light raises the temperature to 69 to 70 degrees. I know that Corys like 72 as a low, but in an effort not to raise the temperature too much from the comfort zone for my goldfish, I will not raise it any higher. Since I keep the water warmer, I have 4 pond aeration 3" long blocks for oxygenation and gas release.

I have always had Corys with my goldfish and have never had a problem. The fish has to get pretty big before he could get his mouth around my one of my Corys.
 
I totally agree with other answers.Many people think they can keep goldfish with tropical fish but this is totally incorrect.They both have different temperatures and sometimes different water parameters.
 
You are certainly correct. Most tropical fish, I would never consider adding to my tank. Thankfully, Cory Cats and Goldfish overlap in some parameter areas, either higher or lower. I have found that a healthy, non-stressed Cory can withstand and adapt easily to suboptimal conditions.

I have a 120 gallon open top tank. The filter is a FX5 filter. All three stages are filled with biomedia. The only filter media I use are coarse and fine filter material over the bio material. I always clean my media with tank water. I am diligent about water testing and changes.

The tank was initially setup and cycled for freshwater use 3-12 years ago. Most of my Cory's have resided in the tank since then. They are wonderful bottom cleaners. I do supplement their diet with shrimp pellets. They love water changes. They will swim from top to bottom as fast as they can several times. They are fun to watch because they are always active.

I acclimate my fish over a much longer period than suggested (3 hours) and the room is always dimly lit with no tank lights on.

Right now pH is the problem for my fish. It naturally runs high which the goldfish tolerate very well, actually love. The Cory's should have a much lower pH but have adapted. I am currently working on a RO, tap water combination that will lower the pH while stabilizing it too. I tested water professionally for 10 years. PH follows alkalinity. Alkalinity is the pH buffer. Trying to use chemicals to maintain your pH causes many stressful fluctuations for the fish so I will not go this route. The RO water has a pH of 6.6 (without the resin canister), while my tap water pH is 8.2. This tells me that the RO water probably also has a low alkalinity. I need to get an alkalinity test kit to be sure. If I can find the right combination of the two, I should be able to accommodate the Corys and Goldfish by maintaining a healthier pH. It will take at least one complete tank water replacement over time before I can start very slowly adding the combination, when I find the right one. Right now I am just doing daily 10% water changes so as not to affect the parameters too drastically.

I also keep Plecos with my goldfish. I just sold a 10" Pleco to my LFS ( I know the size because he insisted on measuring before making an offer. My Pleco was spotted with good healthy green coloration. He was beautiful. When the LFS put him in the tank with the other plecostomous, they dulled in comparison). I loved him but he had to go. He was a perpetual waste factory.

I still have much to learn and was thrilled to find this group. I have investigated others and they were a laugh. The moderators and members here have a wealth of information. I have made mistakes along the way and lost a beautiful large bicolor Oranda because of it. I was very attached to her and it was a tragedy. I have learned the important lesson that you do not result to chemical or antibiotic treatment until you have tried Epsom salts for swelling and salt for many parasites and bacteria. I also learned from JLK that test strips are not reliable. She was certainly right. My test strips said everything was dandy. When she highly suggested a good liquid test kit, I abided. She was so right. Nothing about the liquid test agreed with the strips. The liquid test is accurate and should be trusted. The test strips are in the garbage :)

I will continue to make mistakes but thanks to this group, I think that they will be fewer :)
 
Thank you Tim. I certainly know what a slime coat is and am extremely careful to make sure that my fish are able to maintain an excellent layer. I do appreciate the link and your time to post it. You have expressed excellent points. I merely stated what has worked in my own personal tank. I encourage each member to research the requirements of fish and plants before adding them to your tank. You will also find the moderators and many members to be an excellent source of information. Reference material is often sorely lacking in situations that you may experience. This site has a wealth of information.

Although, my tank has been converted to a freshwater goldfish tank for 3-1/2 years, I am still learning from the advice I find here. Frequently, being faced with a new situation and learning to solve it leads to a wealth of information and overtime, experience to maintain a near perfect environment for your fish. Unfortunately, you may still experience loss. Fish, like humans may fall prey to unexpected illness. Sometimes despite your best efforts, you may suffer loss, but by being exposed to a plethora of information you will be able to spot and react more quickly with the proper care and reduce loss.

Tim and I PMd the rest of our conversation. He initiated a good, solid and healthy conversation about freshwater fish care. He is very knowledgeable. I enjoyed our debate. He is an extremely nice individual. Thank you Tim :)

Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Tim, I didn't realize that you are only 14 years-old and so experienced with goldfish. Wasn't I surprised.
 
If you ever need to move your Corys be careful. They sometimes can sting you with their spines. You might get mild swelling. Nothing to worry about.

From Wikipedia:
"The Poison of the Corydoras

Many species of Corydoras have a poisonous self-defence mechanism against being eaten by much larger fish. All Corys have very sharp fin spines and some seem to give off a low level toxic chemical into the water when frightened or highly stressed.[2] This toxin is believed to be only mildly irritating to people and only if the person is stressing and handling the Cory with their bare hands and is stung.[3] [4]

Self-Poisoning
A rare but recorded event is that at least some some species of Corys appear to be capable of releasing a poisonous mucus from its gills when alarmed which causes itself and other fish in confined volumes of water to rapidly die. Species believed to show this trait are C. adolfoi, C. arcuatus, C. melini, C. metae, C. panda, C. robineae', C. rabauti, C. atropersonatus, C. sterbai and C. trilineatus. This ability is poorly researched and other Corydoras species may be affected. [5][6]"

Self poisoning only tends to happen in small shipping bags when stressed. They don't kill off tanks of fish.
 
Thank you. I have never heard that before. I couldn't find much information that actually pointed out which varieties. All I could find was that they are family: Callichthyidae. I have Green, what I believe to be False Julli and another type of green with darker irregular spots. I have never had any dead by the time we got home so I am very uncertain as to weather I have a variety that could produce toxin. Now I am curious and will try to do a more detailed search. Again, thank you :)
 
False julii can be several species. It's a bad common name. The one that is often sold as C julii is Corydoras trilieatus or Three Lined Cory.

If you compare them the true julii have tiny spots on their face , not the reticulated lines like the other look alikes.

Planet Catfish has lots of photos and info.
 
I believe my little guys have spots and a line but I will try to get a picture of them during the morning feeding frenzy. I have had 2 of the varieties for 3 years so I don't remember for sure. The last ones we bought, for sure are green Corys.

Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
If you ever need to move your Corys be careful. They sometimes can sting you with their spines. You might get mild swelling. Nothing to worry about.

From Wikipedia:
"The Poison of the Corydoras

Many species of Corydoras have a poisonous self-defence mechanism against being eaten by much larger fish. All Corys have very sharp fin spines and some seem to give off a low level toxic chemical into the water when frightened or highly stressed.[2] This toxin is believed to be only mildly irritating to people and only if the person is stressing and handling the Cory with their bare hands and is stung.[3] [4]

Self-Poisoning
A rare but recorded event is that at least some some species of Corys appear to be capable of releasing a poisonous mucus from its gills when alarmed which causes itself and other fish in confined volumes of water to rapidly die. Species believed to show this trait are C. adolfoi, C. arcuatus, C. melini, C. metae, C. panda, C. robineae', C. rabauti, C. atropersonatus, C. sterbai and C. trilineatus. This ability is poorly researched and other Corydoras species may be affected. [5][6]"

Self poisoning only tends to happen in small shipping bags when stressed. They don't kill off tanks of fish.

I have read this before..... no science here at all. I have been "stung" a couple of times. It. Is painfull, but IMO only because the pectoral spine is extremely sharp..... a bit like sticking yourself with a pin or needle. I have experience of importing manny of the species mentioned and would doubt the presence of poisonous slime. Why would.a.fish have the 'ability' to kill itself? The use of phrases like 'appear to have' and ' seem to give off' are testament to the unreliability and misleading content of this passage.

Many important icthyologists have studied.corys.for years.... I am certain solid evidence would have been found and researched - scientists like a good toxin :D
 
I looked more closely at the False Julii in my tank. They do have spots on their faces and pretty much everywhere else too :)
 
Stress toxins. Under stressful conditions (such as being chased with a net and bagged) some Corydoras species emit a toxin from glands at the base of their gill covers, an effective defense mechanism when a predator is bearing down. In the confines of a shipping bag, Cories can poison themselves, Ian Fuller notes in the January/February 2013 issue of Amazonas.

http://www.plecoworld.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=250

http://www.corysrus.com/smf/archive.php?topic=51.0

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...l-topic-prestressing-fish-for-shipping/page10

The last link the person named Frank is also known as Coryologist http://msjinkzd.com/news/a-visit-with-frank-falcone-what-a-fish-room/

I found Ian's original article in Amazonas magazine, but link isn't working. If you look on Amazonas' site, the sample mag has the article.
 
Back
Top Bottom