Corydoras Problems!

[Wingman-Goose]

Hi,

I have been keeping fish for about 3 years properly. In this time I have kept numerous different fish and accept that at times mistakes will be made and some fish will be lost. However, I would say other than losing discus due to a bullying problem and the odd tetra when I have bought large batches I have generally had very healthy / thriving fish.

That is apart from Cory's. I have tried several different kinds of Cory's and never seem to have any success. I have probably lost about 25-30 Cory's over 3 years and have about decided that I will not buy any again despite really liking them. Apart from 4-5 Sterbai which are around 2-3 years old I never seem to be able to keep them for longer that a few months ( Mainly Pandas and Julii where problems have been had ). Generally they seem to go from fine to the point of no return overnight.

Would be very interested to see if anyone else has suffered the same problems as myself or whether they are a fish I am destined never to have any success with?

Thanks

 

[Haileyjade]

I have only kept albinos, but I've always been quite successful.

What do you feed them? What size is your tank? How many do you keep at a time? What kind of substrate do you use? What are your water params? Any other bottom dwellers that you keep?

 

[Wingman-Goose]

I have tried different variations. They have been in a 45 gallon and some in a 90 gallon. I did make a mistake by putting several different kinds together and they over competing for food.

However, I have had the same problems when I have had them in a tank as the only bottom dwellers as well. I keep nitrates below 40 and have no nitrites or ammonia readings. I check temperature is compatible with the fish I have.

The substrate is Oliver Knott Nature Soil.

 

[Haileyjade]

Cory's are omnivores, and while they do eat leftover food, it is good to supplement their diet. Mine enjoy algae wafers and shrimp pellets, and really like the frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp I offer a couple of times a week.

They need stable water parameters. Sometimes the ph/hardness at the pet store is quite different than the home aquarium, and this has caused losses in my experience. They also do not tolerate salt, and medications can be hard on them.

 

[Coursair]

Panda Cories are a cooler water species also. Many are lost due to heat.

Julii or C trilinieatus (usually sold as julii)
are usually hardy, but if they are WC they may need deworming.

 

[xsryman]

i have only purchased 4 corys in the past 2 years and i still have them. they even managed to hatch one fry. i have the peppered cory. love'em

 

[bkiggy]

Some are more hardy than others. In my 40g I have 15 (mixed) species of Cory's. In my 30g cube I have Pygmy species. The only ones I have found hard to keep alive is Albino. They tolerate salt just fine. I always add a little to WC every week. My PH is about 6.5. Temp 78*
I have regular aquarium gravel. Feed them very high quality food! I use NLS, frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms, and New Era are all good food !!

 

[Aqualady40]

I have 4 green, 4 panda, 4 sterbai, 5 julii, & 6 albino ....all do fine. I noticed you said you keep nitrates below 40 ...my marker for nitrates is 20 so anything over that is way too high IMO....maybe try keeping trates a bit lower and see if that helps get you some of these active little boogers alive in there...good luck