# Cory vs. Loach (which one does what?)



## swylie (May 10, 2007)

I have limited Cory experience, having only had _C. sterbai_ for maybe a month or so. They happily eat most food that falls to the bottom, but they don't seem to like vegetables or algae, and they're less inclined to eat algae wafers than shrimp pellets or whatever. I guess they eat what the tetras and danios miss, so they keep my aquarium clean in that regard. I like them because they're so cute though. They're incredibly cute to watch.

Edit: Oh yeah, my cories are 100% peaceful.


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## Geoff C (Aug 1, 2007)

Id say corys are the way to go for cleaning up the gravel, they spand all day at it. I find that loaches do it occasionally but mostly spend time playing around and relaxing.
As far as peacefull goes they are both very peacefull but I lean towards corys being the more peacefull of the 2, Ive never seen or heard any sort of aggression coming from a cory.

good luck with your new tank:thumbsup: 

geoff.


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## JustOneMore21 (May 23, 2006)

My Loaches tend to play alot more than the Cories do. Also, my Yoyos are pretty active and will dart around the tank, sometimes barrelling over plants.

I just prefer Cories to Loaches because they are cuter, smaller (can have more), and they are very peaceful. Some loaches can get fiesty with other fish and out compete other bottom feeders for food.

I wouldn't get bottom feeders just for cleaning though. They are called bottom feeders because they eat/feed on the bottom, not because they should be put to work. They do a nice job eating leftovers, but you should also give them food of their own in the form of bottom feeder wafers or pellets. Cories are great for occupying the bottom level of a community tank.


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## newshound (May 9, 2005)

JustOneMore21 said:


> My Loaches tend to play alot more than the Cories do. Also, my Yoyos are pretty active and will dart around the tank, sometimes barrelling over plants.
> 
> I just prefer Cories to Loaches because they are cuter, smaller (can have more), and they are very peaceful. Some loaches can get fiesty with other fish and out compete other bottom feeders for food.
> 
> I wouldn't get bottom feeders just for cleaning though. They are called bottom feeders because they eat/feed on the bottom, not because they should be put to work. They do a nice job eating leftovers, but you should also give them food of their own in the form of bottom feeder wafers or pellets. Cories are great for occupying the bottom level of a community tank.


I only keep loaches but I would say I agree with not getting "bottom feeders" for "cleaning".
justonemore21 is right on the money.
keep your tank clean by having filteration that creates a cross flow. Moving everything on the floor to one side (the filter intake).
I love loaches but they are not good for certain fish. I think loaches need cleaner water then cories...but I could be wrong...:thumbsup:


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

I feed algae wafers. Now it's wrong to have a bottom feeder be a bottom feeder? lol

I get fish because I like them. If a certain one that I like serves a purpose as well, so what? Both my dogs will protect me, but I'd love them just the same if they wouldn't.


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## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

I can't say I'm very neutral on this one. Loaches rule!


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

I keep both, and both exhibit behaviour that are fascinating and unique. It is hard for me to say I prefer one type of fish over another, since it is so subjective. 

For cories, I keep 6 panda cories and 6 bronze cories. I would say they do a great job of cleaning the substrate--however, I do not keep them as primarily garbage eaters but rather as pet fish that need special individual care. So I feed them a variety of shimp pellets, vegetables and algae wafers. However, they mostly go for shrimp pellets and ignore the veggies. They are quite slow when it comes to recognizing there is food. They need to almost circle and do a round through the tank before finding the food.

For loaches, I keep 6 botia kubotais. They are great snail eaters, and have an insatiable appetite for almost all types of foods. They tend to dominate the food over the cories when it comes to feeding time on the bottom, so I have to make sure there is enough food to go around. I feed them shrimp pellets as a staple food. However, they are so smart that they will have dibs on basically any type of food that's thrown in the tank if they like it.

Loaches, from what I have observed through my kubotais, are that they are more playful and sociable than cories. They are inquisitive by nature and seem much more aware of their surroundings.

Cories on the other hand are a lot less worried about territory and will bumble around all day long sweeping the substrate. They do not have any concern about their surroundings as long as they feel safe.

For both types of fish, the most important thing is to realize that they need to be in groups in order to feel safe and normal. You will come to find that the more of one type of species you keep, either loaches or cories, the more unique behaviour you will see come out.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

If you like cute fish, go with cories. On the other hand, I think loaches have more personality. If you keep inverts, though, you'll want to avoid loaches


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

I keep shrimp with loaches. My guess is smaller shrimps get eaten, larger shrimps go untouched. However, say good game to snails.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

I decided on Corys. With my old setup, I had both. I wanted to just do one or the other with the new (smaller) tank. I picked up 6 little guys today.


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Congratulations!

What kind of cories?

Happy new years!


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Schwartz!! They are adorable. I got 4 juvies and 2 kind of in between, changing pattern still.


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## newshound (May 9, 2005)

forddna said:


> I feed algae wafers. Now it's wrong to have a bottom feeder be a bottom feeder? lol
> 
> I get fish because I like them. If a certain one that I like serves a purpose as well, so what? Both my dogs will protect me, but I'd love them just the same if they wouldn't.


so many stores tell the customers that "bottom feeders" basically eat crap from the other fish.
A scavenger ("bottom feeder") need real food on a consistant basis. Not the scraps/poop left over from the other fish. Your filteration should keep the tank clean.
Like I wrote I only keep loaches.


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## rasetsu (Oct 11, 2007)

I've had emerald corys, bronze corys, peppered corys, albino corys, and now panda corys. Only loaches I've ever had were clowns and the have pretty much the same shape as corys. Corys are cute and the do a good job of kicking up poop and other debri off of the gravel so the filters can suck them up. I need some loaches to eat my snails, but I'm afraid of them eating all my amanos too.

There aren't very many tropical fish that actually eat poop if any at all.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

newshound said:


> so many stores tell the customers that "bottom feeders" basically eat crap from the other fish.
> A scavenger ("bottom feeder") need real food on a consistant basis. Not the scraps/poop left over from the other fish. Your filteration should keep the tank clean.
> Like I wrote I only keep loaches.


Let me clear this up then. I know corys and loaches don't eat fish poop. I never thought that.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

You can always try the Indonesian Poop Eating Coryloach!











:hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :drool:


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

:hihi: :hihi: :hihi:


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Schwartzii are neat. I have two (used to be 3, but one was found dried up behind the tank...) and three Bronze corys.
They definitely have more personality than loaches, and stay somewhat smaller, but loaches are great for abolishing snails in a matter of days!
From what I've seen, corys don't go for algae tablets, but loaches sometimes will. Both love the sinking pellets (shrimp pellets, etc) and I'm sure the clown loaches ate some baby cherry shrimp, but I've never seen the corys show any aggression or eat any fish/shrimp.
My vote is for cory!



forddna said:


> Schwartz!! They are adorable. I got 4 juvies and 2 kind of in between, changing pattern still.


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