# Cory Cat only tank



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I'm sure it has been done but could be a little boring as a whole aquarium since they hang out on the bottom. There won't be any activity in the mid and top level.


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## Aqualady (Jan 14, 2013)

Blackheart, I had been thinking of the same thing...my cories are always moving around the tank, top, mid, and bottom...they are always on the go.....I have some sterbai that love playing in bubble curtain, albinos love going back and forth swimming, etc....try it you may like it...


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## Method (Feb 13, 2011)

Corydoras pygmaeus, hastatus, or habrosus would work since they swim at mid-level as well. My LFS usually has pygmaeus for $2 a fish, so a large school is definitely possible. My pygmies school with my otos and it's quite fascinating. I'm actually getting ready to put together a 75 gallon riparium with only pygmy cories, otos, rcs, and my favorite farlowella.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

20 long or 40 breeder are great for this. they are shallow and long. that is what corry breeders use all the time. most either do pool filter sand or bare bottom for breeding tanks and plants


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Method said:


> I'm actually getting ready to put together a 75 gallon riparium with only pygmy cories, otos, rcs, and my favorite farlowella.


Would Cories bother RCS? Because I was thinking of setting up a tank of Cories and RCS, too.



wicca27 said:


> 20 long or 40 breeder are great for this. they are shallow and long. that is what cory breeders use all the time. most either do pool filter sand or bare bottom for breeding tanks and plants


yeah I have a 40 gallon breeder tank, I'm not planning on breeding them really though.


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## Aqualady (Jan 14, 2013)

I placed cory eggs in my RCS tank and they did not eat the eggs although they kept the eggs clean and free of fungus....ty RCS


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## Method (Feb 13, 2011)

Two things you'll repeatedly see on this forum: 1) There are NO 100% shrimp-safe fish except for otos. 2) BUT pygmy cories shouldn't bother the adults. Shrimplets will be somewhat safe as long as they have sufficient hiding places. 

I have not yet kept these two species together, but I'll let you know what happens when I do.


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## mnemenoi (May 28, 2012)

I saw a tank full of Corydoras melanistus and after careful observation spotted about 4 Brachyrhamdia Imitator mixed into a school of 30 Corydoras. It was certainly odd and I pointed them out to the owner as a strange oddball. Just something out of the norm, but your thread revived that initial impulse to set the entire shoal up as a show tank for fun.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

the long shallow tank works great for most smaller schooling fish. gives them room to swim in that big school


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I have a 29 gal with Weitzmani corys and one panda cory. Those are the only fish in the tank with the exception of 3 zebra otos. Plenty of action in this tank. And the Weitzmanis breed.


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

mnemenoi said:


> I saw a tank full of Corydoras melanistus and after careful observation spotted about 4 Brachyrhamdia Imitator mixed into a school of 30 Corydoras. It was certainly odd and I pointed them out to the owner as a strange oddball. Just something out of the norm, but your thread revived that initial impulse to set the entire shoal up as a show tank for fun.



I sold those to aquatek in Austin haha. I'm pretty sure those are my cats whoever has them now. I really hope they're doing okay. I really miss them. Just didn't have the space what with going to UT and all. 

Here's one of the B. imitator when it was a wee lad. They grew to 3-4" in a month or two! 
















And the C. melanistus variety that I kept them with. Very fascinating fish. 



There are actually many species of brachyramdia and they each copy a specific species! A tank housing corydoras and their imitators would be neat but they generally tend to be very cryptic so you won't see them out much.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

My main school of 6x cory sterbai share space in my 37g tall aquarium and they're routinely out swimming in the middle third of the tank with frequent forays up to the very top. A long low footprint would maximize the floor space available and give you more room for larger schools--and really large schools create completely different social dynamics than small ones--but you can also maximize their use of a taller tank with your hardscape and plant choices. 

The larger leaves of my amazon sword, the large surface of my mother java fern and the billows of xmas moss that create whole elevated meadows (commonly populated by my cherry shrimp) are all favorite foraging and resting spots for my sterbai. I'd be tempted, if I were to re-do my 37g tall, to line the back with large manzanita branches and do these moss pastures all up and down the back of the tank--the cories are constantly swimming thru the spaces between the moss pads and sniffing thru the tops looking for trapped food particles.


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## cjskier (Nov 21, 2013)

Method said:


> Two things you'll repeatedly see on this forum: 1) There are NO 100% shrimp-safe fish except for otos.


Im really not sure why people say this. Yeah shrimp are bottom of the food chain, but there are plenty of fish that won't eat shrimp, especially adults. I guess it a case of "i read it online, so it must be true!".


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## susankat (Oct 14, 2007)

I've got about 50 cories in a 40b. 30 of them being sterbai. One of my favorite tanks. The cories are usually all over the place during the day.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

cjskier said:


> Im really not sure why people say this. Yeah shrimp are bottom of the food chain, but there are plenty of fish that won't eat shrimp, especially adults. I guess it a case of "i read it online, so it must be true!".[/QUOTE
> 
> They say it because it is more often true, than not.
> With large enough adult colony ,and plenty of places to hide,,more than a few will survive, but baby shrimp's are on the menu for many fishes.
> If you doubt what you read,,then toss some high grade shrimp in with nearly any of the common tropical's, and then place a few more in another tank with no threat from predation, and observe the difference in shrimp population over time.


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## Aqualady (Jan 14, 2013)

susankat said:


> I've got about 50 cories in a 40b. 30 of them being sterbai. One of my favorite tanks. The cories are usually all over the place during the day.


Would you happen to have a video?


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

susankat said:


> I've got about 50 cories in a 40b. 30 of them being sterbai. One of my favorite tanks. The cories are usually all over the place during the day.


I also had a lot . I transferred a clay pot cave while tank was cycling from one of my outside water troughs into a 29 gallon tank which I was planning to do a pair of bristlenose and it had cory eggs inside which I did not notice .

25 hatched while tank was cycling and did great (well a few died but most lived). When they got to 1/2 inch I traded them at pet store

I kept 2 which were very light colored.


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

Blackheart said:


> Has anyone ever done a tank with just cory cats?


 
I didn't do it on purpose and was only raising the fry but they are great as far as if you use pieces of driftwood that reach the top of the tank they will swim all the way up and enjoy all areas of the tank.

Might as well also throw in some kuhli loaches , lol but the corys by themselves are non stop.


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

Jeffww said:


> I sold those to aquatek in Austin haha. I'm pretty sure those are my cats whoever has them now. I really hope they're doing okay. I really miss them. Just didn't have the space what with going to UT and all.
> 
> Here's one of the B. imitator when it was a wee lad. They grew to 3-4" in a month or two!
> 
> ...


Pretty cats. Never heard of B. imitator


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