Moving the corydoras

[George Thompson]

I have 2 corydoras with my common GF and shubunkin. I've been advised
that this was possibly a little silly. The tank is getting a bit too
small for the GF and I'm considering moving them.

I have a spare 6g tank to house them in. I've put in a heater (which is
currently bringing up the tank water from damn cold to usable. I've
declored and added a thin layer of gravel & airpump.

I've thrown in a bit of bogwood which has been soaking for about 1 year
(never seems to stop giving off that tannin) & I've been told that the
corydoras will benefit from natural chemicals in the wood. This and
they like hiding under it. I'm not sure about the chemical info... it's
probably salesman cr*p.

From my research, I understand they quite like a current (which I
cannot at present provide), and a place to rest. They also like plants
(which I have none of at present) and they like living in numbers of 5-6

The tank is quite small (compared to my GF tank). My experience was
that I needed about 10g per GF. Can anyone tell me where I'm about to
go wrong? How many g's per Cory? Would it be needlessly cruel on my
wallet (ie bigger tank) to add another 2 fish to keep them company?

I eagerly await your comments and critisms!

[Carlos]

i assume this are common corys (small ones) there are many kinds, the common
is very small, so consider like 2 gal per cory. Yes they like acid water
and yes they will benefit from tanins and all that provides the bog wood, I
will recomend plants for that aquarium, cryptos (low light ones), on the
kind that you have a small aquarium and trying to keep it as low tech as
possible and not much to invest on new lights.

about current i dont know, but i think if you provide a little current not
so much as to exhaust them, it will be fine.

best of luck

"George Thompson" > wrote in message
...
> I have 2 corydoras with my common GF and shubunkin. I've been advised
> that this was possibly a little silly. The tank is getting a bit too
> small for the GF and I'm considering moving them.
>
> I have a spare 6g tank to house them in. I've put in a heater (which is
> currently bringing up the tank water from damn cold to usable. I've
> declored and added a thin layer of gravel & airpump.
>
> I've thrown in a bit of bogwood which has been soaking for about 1 year
> (never seems to stop giving off that tannin) & I've been told that the
> corydoras will benefit from natural chemicals in the wood. This and
> they like hiding under it. I'm not sure about the chemical info... it's
> probably salesman cr*p.
>
> From my research, I understand they quite like a current (which I
> cannot at present provide), and a place to rest. They also like plants
> (which I have none of at present) and they like living in numbers of 5-6
>
> The tank is quite small (compared to my GF tank). My experience was
> that I needed about 10g per GF. Can anyone tell me where I'm about to
> go wrong? How many g's per Cory? Would it be needlessly cruel on my
> wallet (ie bigger tank) to add another 2 fish to keep them company?
>
> I eagerly await your comments and critisms!

[Gail Futoran]

"George Thompson" > wrote in
message
...
[snips]
> I have a spare 6g tank to house them in. I've put in a
heater (which is
> currently bringing up the tank water from damn cold to
usable. I've
> declored and added a thin layer of gravel & airpump.

Filter?

> I've thrown in a bit of bogwood which has been soaking for
about 1 year
> (never seems to stop giving off that tannin) & I've been
told that the
> corydoras will benefit from natural chemicals in the wood.
This and
> they like hiding under it. I'm not sure about the
chemical info... it's
> probably salesman cr*p.

Me either, but I like the driftwood in the tank and the
color of the water.

> From my research, I understand they quite like a current
(which I
> cannot at present provide), and a place to rest. They
also like plants
> (which I have none of at present) and they like living in
numbers of 5-6

I've kept 4 Corys in a 10 gallon tank with gravel, power
filter, plastic plants, no driftwood, infrequent partial
water changes (I'm doing MUCH better now on that!), high pH,
and those little suckers just kept on keeping on. Corys can
be very tough.

Currently I have 4 Corys in a 30 gallon tank, 3 in a 20
gallon tank. Both tanks have driftwood and live plants.
The fish (and their tankmates) seem quite happy. I haven't
noticed them spending any time near the power filter (the
only source of current); instead they seem quite content
resting on sand beaches at the opposite end of the tank from
the power filter, although they'll hunt food all over the
tank when they're in the mood. There are fake caves in the
tank and they will sometimes hide in those or behind other
decorations. I think they do like a hiding place.

> The tank is quite small (compared to my GF tank). My
experience was
> that I needed about 10g per GF. Can anyone tell me where
I'm about to
> go wrong? How many g's per Cory? Would it be needlessly
cruel on my
> wallet (ie bigger tank) to add another 2 fish to keep them
company?

The usual rule of thumb is about 1" per gallon. If yours
are common Corys (e.g. Bronze) they will get to about 2", so
three of them would pretty much max out your 6 gallon tank.
You might think of upgrading to a 10 gallon at some point so
you can add some other small tropical fish for interest.

Gail

[George Thompson]

> The usual rule of thumb is about 1" per gallon. If yours
> are common Corys (e.g. Bronze) they will get to about 2", so
> three of them would pretty much max out your 6 gallon tank.
> You might think of upgrading to a 10 gallon at some point so
> you can add some other small tropical fish for interest.
>
> Gail
>
>
>

Definitely 1" atm, if that :- ) they're babies! I'm currently doing a
10% water change every two days as the tank is relatively new. No salt,
smooth gravel & bogwood. Temp is about 22'c and the fish are adjusting
today to their new enviroment. We'll see how they go. I know 6g is
small, but it was my old hospital tank & when I move out, I'll upgrade
the tank. I'm not rushing out to buy any more until I begin to get the
tank planted. at the moment they're all dwarfed by the size of their
new tank. I dropped in a fair bit of food this morning, and they seem
to be perminantly attached to it. Looks like they were a bit hungry!

[Gail Futoran]

"George Thompson" > wrote in
message
...
> > The usual rule of thumb is about 1" per gallon. If
yours
> > are common Corys (e.g. Bronze) they will get to about
2", so
> > three of them would pretty much max out your 6 gallon
tank.
> > You might think of upgrading to a 10 gallon at some
point so
> > you can add some other small tropical fish for interest.
> >
> > Gail
> >
> >
> >
>
> Definitely 1" atm, if that :- ) they're babies! I'm
currently doing a
> 10% water change every two days as the tank is relatively
new. No salt,
> smooth gravel & bogwood. Temp is about 22'c and the fish
are adjusting
> today to their new enviroment. We'll see how they go. I
know 6g is
> small, but it was my old hospital tank & when I move out,
I'll upgrade
> the tank. I'm not rushing out to buy any more until I
begin to get the
> tank planted. at the moment they're all dwarfed by the
size of their
> new tank. I dropped in a fair bit of food this morning,
and they seem
> to be perminantly attached to it. Looks like they were a
bit hungry!

I tend to overstock - a bit. So I force myself to think in
terms of mature size, else I'd have a dozen baby Corys in my
20 gal. along with all the other fish. :) Right now your
Corys should be fine, and since you're planning to upgrade
the tank eventually, I'm sure they'll be comfortable in
their new quarters.

Gail