Serpae tetras and peppered corys together

[Catfish Lover]

I posted a thread on this a few weeks ago but I'm concerned about the corys. It's a 55g with 22 serpaes and now 11 peppered corys, it was 5. The serpaes are obviously known for being nippers but supposedly this aggression is curbed if in big enough group which I have. The problem I'm having is that they are not nipping at the corys but always seem " interested" in them always seemingly hovering over them and I think this is making them uncomfortable forcing them into hiding under my driftwood and another branched tunnel I have for them. The tank is pretty heavily planted with a bunch of floating plants. Now I know corys love dark spots but this hiding during the day just doesn't seem normal to me. They will come out after lights out. My lights should not be too bright for them, running a dual T5 normal output along with all those floaters, so it's already super dim in the tank. So should I re-home the serpaes if you think they're the problem or is this normal behavior from the peppered corys?

As I mentioned I only had 5 corys for a couple weeks and figured if I increased them they would be more comfortable and roam around more and not be as shy but it's not working it seems. I may see 2 or 3 at a time when lights are on. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Coyne]

I cant think of a reason why Serpae Tetras and Corys cant be homed together in the same tank. I would even go so far as to say that Serpaes arent all that aggressive. I have a small school of 6 and, while they might "play" among themselves, they leave the smaller, shy Harlequins and the flowing finned Lyretail Mollies alone.

Unfortunately, I dont have any advice to help you with your shy Corys.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I cant think of a reason why Serpae Tetras and Corys cant be homed together in the same tank. I would even go so far as to say that Serpaes arent all that aggressive. I have a small school of 6 and, while they might "play" among themselves, they leave the smaller, shy Harlequins and the flowing finned Lyretail Mollies alone.

Unfortunately, I dont have any advice to help you with your shy Corys.

Thanks for the response... Things are much better. They're coming out to eat in the morning and the serpaes are not bothering them. They were never nipping at them, just seemed to be interested/stalking a bit and thought that made the cories uncomfortable. Reading up on peppered cories they do seem to be a bit more shy than say the bronze/albinos which are VERY playful and out and about in my other tank. I think I just need to give them more time to adjust. It would have bothered me if they didn't come out when the lights were on knowing food was out for them.

 

[Canary bird]

Thanks for the response... Things are much better. They're coming out to eat in the morning and the serpaes are not bothering them. They were never nipping at them, just seemed to be interested/stalking a bit and thought that made the cories uncomfortable. Reading up on peppered cories they do seem to be a bit more shy than say the bronze/albinos which are VERY playful and out and about in my other tank. I think I just need to give them more time to adjust. It would have bothered me if they didn't come out when the lights were on knowing food was out for them.

How strange , my corys are the opposite ! My peppered are out always digging in the sand , never bother when I approach the tank,always chasing about , my bronze (In another tank) feed , dig but as soon as I approach they hide in the boat !
Hope they are ok now you have strength in numbers lol.

 

[rmiller]

Now that they've made friends with their new classmates they should come out of their shells more. You might also consider adding more hiding spots, plants, caves, driftwood, whatever your tank is decorated with. For some fish, knowing they have a hiding place near by makes them more willing to be out in the open.

 

[Catfish Lover]

Now that they've made friends with their new classmates they should come out of their shells more. You might also consider adding more hiding spots, plants, caves, driftwood, whatever your tank is decorated with. For some fish, knowing they have a hiding place near by makes them more willing to be out in the open.

They have a nice cave and big piece of driftwood so they're fine as far as hiding places. I'm pretty heavily planted but plan to do some rearranging with the plants and adding a huge amazon sword. Maybe that can distract the serpaes even more. Honestly I think I'm just panicking a little and need to give them more time to settle. The first batch of cories have only been in 17 days and the new batch 2 days. Cories are also notorious for taking awhile to settle into a new tank, just hope no one stresses out to the point of death.

 

[rmiller]

Sounds like you're doing fine, let them settle. Try not to disturb the tank too much. Tho a new plant will make everyone happier.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Cat...

Your Tetras have likely figured out that the foraging Corydoras are uncovering leftover food. My Fancy Guppies have done the same thing with my Corys. Over the years, it seems like the Guppies pass this little bit of wisdom on to the next generation.

We have no idea how smart these fish really are and I'm surprised at how they seem to figure out how to follow another species in order to get a little food.

Tetras are more concerned with staying in a school for protection, then to cause other fish problems. The Corys are the most peaceful fish I've had and they live such a long time. I can't think of a better "Community" fish.

B