# Let's Compare Corydoras habrosus & Corydoras pygmaeus



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

How about both?
I had pygmaeus first. They were active at first but then became shy and I never saw them. So I bought habrosus to draw out the pygmaeus.

The tank is buzzing now. I have a little canister filter on the 10 g. It seems to keep the tank healthy.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Floated the idea of a 20L with 15 of each but I was given the death stare. Apparently, multiple tank syndrome has its limits in my home.

Maybe I could do 15 of one and six or seven of the other...


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

mistergreen said:


> How about both?
> I had pygmaeus first. They were active at first but then became shy and I never saw them. So I bought habrosus to draw out the pygmaeus.
> 
> The tank is buzzing now. I have a little canister filter on the 10 g. It seems to keep the tank healthy.


I guess all batches differ. I always see my 9 pygmaeus playing around in my 20g. They even breed and school with the mixed microrasboras I have in there.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

Habrosus has a much more interesting pattern. Pygmaeus is really plain. But I haven't seen C. habrosus available recently, while C. pygmaeus has. I also believe they are the same size.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Maybe video is what you need to make up your mind 

Here are the pygmaeus in action at first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bg7ObIU60w

Here are the habrosus in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMgbVrnJC_k


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

I have both species and am familiar with them. C. habrosus gets up to about 1.4"-1.5". C. pygmaeus is about 1"-1.2" tops. 

Will likely be selecting from my current stock or ordering from Rachel when she has them in.



ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> Habrosus has a much more interesting pattern. Pygmaeus is really plain. But I haven't seen C. habrosus available recently, while C. pygmaeus has. I also believe they are the same size.


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## dr.tran (Oct 8, 2007)

I have both but habrosus tends to swim out in the open more for me. Pygmaeus tends to be shy. Unless I combine the schools in 1 tank. Then they like to school out in the open a lot more. But this is all my personal experience. A lot of people tell me their pygmaeus isn't shy


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## Ulupica (Nov 4, 2011)

I much prefer the habrosus. Mine are more active and outgoing. They tend to be out and visible all the time and I like their color/pattern better.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Since I didn't mention it earlier, C. habrosus is my pick because of the way they look.

But I'm looking for opinions on both and appreciate what everyone has had to say.

mistergreen: I love how minuscule Dario Dario appear next to Cories!


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

The pygmys are cute when the school together, which is always.  They'll school with the other micros in the tank as well (rasboras and danios).

In smaller tanks, I believe they are less shy.


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## rrastro (Jun 14, 2012)

I've never had either.
I do have c. hastatus and they are great. Very curious once they are comfortable in a well planted tank. They get along swimmingly with shrimp (terrible, I know). Lots of activity in midwater which is important for me because I have a very tall tank.


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## Fishumms (Apr 21, 2010)

I have two fish tanks with these corys in them. One is a 30 gallon. I have a school of 5 pygmaeus and 3 hasbarosas and 14 other corys and 8 neon tetras. The hasbarosas are for the most part more active. They compete agresively with even the largest species of cory in there without a problem. Despite being way less then about half their size. The pygmaeus usually stay to the midwater, popping in and out of cover. They don't school so much as stay near one another. I have noticed that sometimes they will school with the neons for a little bit. Just swim around the tank for a bit then get interested in looking for food again like a regular cory. Initially they were very shy, but now I see them actively competing for bits of food as well. It has taken about 5 months. Both species seem to react in typical cory fashion during feeding time, all of them converging on any pieces of food on the bottom all at once. This is all in my 30 gallon.

I have another tank that is a 2.5 Fluval. I have 6 pygmeaus and a betta in there. It is basically my "leftovers" tank and so it's a big mess of tangled green plants. They seem to love it. In this tank they have never been shy. They are constantly active, and they do not show any signs of schooling. 

As for which I like better, I'd say the pygmeaus. The habsarosas are very similar to other corys in the way that they behave. They stay near the bottom just kind of touching everything with their barbels, but pygmeaus are a little more interesting. They do that kind of cory stuff, but they also swim around kind of like a mid water fish. And they are very cute when they group together.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

If you like the size of the pygmaeus and the pattern of the habrosus why not try the Aspidoras pauciradiatus? 
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=383


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

As mentioned above, I already have both species on-hand.



ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> If you like the size of the pygmaeus and the pattern of the habrosus why not try the Aspidoras pauciradiatus?
> http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=383


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## jimko (Aug 17, 2007)

I'd go with pygmaeus from the two choices, but the one that is harder to find is hastatus. habrosus tends to get a little larger, mine was like an inch and a half full grown. It's one of the pygmies, but is the larger one of the three available. pygmaeus and hastatus are the smaller of the three. The smaller ones are a little more shrimp safe.

If you are interested in hastatus check Aquabid, Art from Daly City is selling some on Aquabid that are breed in the US. I got some and they are really healthy.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

I love C. hastatus! I should get some regardless for one of my tanks.

Their tail spot is great and makes them a bit more striking than C. pygmaeus, I think.


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

mistergreen said:


> Maybe video is what you need to make up your mind
> 
> Here are the pygmaeus in action at first.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bg7ObIU60w
> ...


Those guys look really stressed out.


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## bud29 (Sep 30, 2012)

I like both, but panda cories are my favorite


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## Robotponys (Sep 7, 2011)

How are panda cories different from sterbai, bronze, and peppered besides size?

Personally, I like sterbai better based on looks and they can supposedly take more heat. I would love to get some sooner or later.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

somewhatshocked said:


> I love C. hastatus! I should get some regardless for one of my tanks.
> 
> Their tail spot is great and makes them a bit more striking than C. pygmaeus, I think.


Good luck finding hastatus. I think they've been overfished.



ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> Those guys look really stressed out.


Camera shy?


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## rrastro (Jun 14, 2012)

jimko said:


> If you are interested in hastatus check Aquabid, Art from Daly City is selling some on Aquabid that are breed in the US. I got some and they are really healthy.


+1.
Art's hastatus are the best and his customer service ain't too shabby.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Pretty sure we'll be going the C. habrosus route. Probably gonna order a handful of pygmaeus, though, for variety.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

I like the pygmaeus just cause they stay really small.....momma shrimp is bigger lol. They kinda dance if you hold music up to the tank it's really awesome. Also my blue rili population is booming so they don't really harm my shrimp.


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## NeonRob (May 1, 2008)

rrastro said:


> +1.
> Art's hastatus are the best and his customer service ain't too shabby.


I just received some hastatus from that person (Sweetlove48) selling them on aquabid a couple of weeks ago. The first name I got was Dulce, not Art, but whatever. It's still probably the same person. They arrived quickly and healthy. He kept calling them Hazzies. LOL! It was a good experience.

I own all 3 of the dwarf cory species and I can't make up my mind which one I like best. They all have their own great qualities.

Here's my young group of pygmies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkWxVJ2JeBI&feature=plcp


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

i'm looking for hastatus personally. thanks for the reference.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

i just got the Pygmies for the first time. i put 5 in my 20l gudgeon/rcs breeder. i loved them so much i bought 5 more for my super tiger tank. in the process of dumping out the LFS water out of the bag 4 went down the drain :-( (i've never felt so bad in my life). so i took one from my 20L so that my survivor wouldn't be alone, and now i never the 4 in my 20l


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

i think the moral of the story is that pygmies are sensitive


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

OMG... someone else in NY also had the same thing happen with one cory going down the drain during a pour... DOH! 

moral of the story, be extra careful with extra small things


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