Goldfish with Corydoras?

[AzureJasper]

Hi. We’re partway through our fishless cycle and wondering if a fancy or fantail goldfish would be ok with some Corydoras? I know someone that has a black Moore goldfish and a couple of corys in a tank, says they get along and both are happy.

Our setup is 120litres, lots of plants and some driftwood, and a heater (as where we live it’s very cold right now, middle of winter)

 

[Aiken Drum]

If a small fish can fit in the mouth of a larger fish there is a big risk the larger fish will eat, or try to eat, the smaller fish. Goldfish get big, most corys stay small.

There is a risk with corys because they have barbs in their fins to protect them from being eaten. These barbs get stuck in fishes mouths and often end up with both the larger fish and cory dead. It happens a lot with goldfish, and if you spot it in time you end up having to cut the cory out the goldfishes mouth to save the larger fish.

You also need to consider that most corys are better in tropical temperature aquariums whereas goldfish are better in temperate temperature aquariums.

 

[Andy Sager]

Hi. We’re partway through our fishless cycle and wondering if a fancy or fantail goldfish would be ok with some Corydoras? I know someone that has a black Moore goldfish and a couple of corys in a tank, says they get along and both are happy.

Our setup is 120litres, lots of plants and some driftwood, and a heater (as where we live it’s very cold right now, middle of winter)

Realistically, Goldfish do better in slightly acidic water to barely alkaline (6.5-7.4 ) while most cory cats do better in slightly to medium alkaline water ( 7.0-8.0+ ) and depending on the specie of cory cat you get, the best temps don't really match. It's not usually a good idea to mix fish where their extreme acceptable levels need to be achieved in order to keep both. The extreme numbers are mainly for short periods of time, not continually.
There are other aspects you need to consider: Goldfish can be pretty dirty fish while Cory cats need clean water. Goldfish need a diet geared towards their lack of a stomach ( high vegetable content )while Cories need a meat based diet.
So all things considered, they do not make for a good mix if your intention is for them to live a complete life. There are better tankmate options for both species.

This might help you choose better goldfish mates. https://www.aquariumsource.com/goldfish-tank-mates/ ( You'll notice there is one specie of cory cat that made the list. Unfortunately they are expensive and rarely available. )

 

[AzureJasper]

Thanks for the input Aiken and Andy. You both helped me make sense of it.

Also I dunno if admin will see this, but the link Andy posted isn’t working (iPhone safari browser) - its adding the linked URL to the end of the forum URL, and it has ASCII characters instead of slashes etc, I was able to go to the link by typing it out (also all the links in the forum info docs page are also broken)

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks for the input Aiken and Andy. You both helped me make sense of it.

Also I dunno if admin will see this, but the link Andy posted isn’t working (iPhone safari browser) - its adding the linked URL to the end of the forum URL, and it has ASCII characters instead of slashes etc, I was able to go to the link by typing it out (also all the links in the forum info docs page are also broken)

It may be your phone's browser because on my Chrome browser, it worked just clicking on it. Glad you got to see the info tho. Hope it helped.
( btw, those Corydoras in the link are my favorite ones but I can't keep them because where I live, I can't keep my water cool enough for them for most of the year. :^s )

 

[AzureJasper]

After reading the linked article, and discussion with my 9yo who’s tank it is, we’re thinking of a bristlenose pleco to go with a fancy goldfish. I found another thread on here where someone suggested to get a female bristle nose - is that something we should consider (and is it curved bristles on the girls, straight on the boys?)

 

[Andy Sager]

After reading the linked article, and discussion with my 9yo who’s tank it is, we’re thinking of a bristlenose pleco to go with a fancy goldfish. I found another thread on here where someone suggested to get a female bristle nose - is that something we should consider (and is it curved bristles on the girls, straight on the boys?)

The two types of Ancistris in the article should work fine. Regarding genders, on the bristlenose, females tend to not have bristles or few if they have them and Males get the bushy face. For Rubber lips, Male Rubber Lip Plecos have a giant head, pectoral fins, and a slimmer abdomen than their female counterparts. Since you are not really looking to breed the fish, it won't matter which gender you get for the rubber lips. imo, the male bristlenose might excite your 9yo. This is a pic of my old male albino Bristlenose: https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/41382-albums14395-picture69622.html Notice the bristles. This is a female: https://fishkeepingadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/Female-Bristlenose-Pleco-1024x685.jpg