Caught the Corydoras bug

[luenny]

I think you can get those at flower shops - try Far East Flora. But remember to clean them. Soak them for a few days and rinse them first.

[illumnae]

how's the tank setup luenny? My plan for the future is a Peruvian biotope type tank with Corydoras aeneus 'Goldline'/arcuata/panda, Zebra oto and marbled hatchetfish with a pair of Apistogramma bitaeniata (what's an illumnae tank without apistos right? ). Not necessarily a breeding tank, but fine sand with lots of wood and smooth rocks and slightly higher flow via a sump tank (for more oxygenation).

How does that sound?

[iwishweallcouldwin]

how's the tank setup luenny? My plan for the future is a Peruvian biotope type tank with Corydoras aeneus 'Goldline'/arcuata/panda, Zebra oto and marbled hatchetfish with a pair of Apistogramma bitaeniata (what's an illumnae tank without apistos right? ). Not necessarily a breeding tank, but fine sand with lots of wood and smooth rocks and slightly higher flow via a sump tank (for more oxygenation).

How does that sound?

splendid

[Quixotic]

May put in some freshwater crayfish/lobster but that is still uncertain. I don't know if those will survive soft slightly acidic water or not.

Not only that, they will eat just about anything, plants and fish if they are able to get hold of them. I don't know if Corydoras would be eaten but there could be risks.

Why not go with something along the lines of illumnae's idea, not necessarily a Peruvian biotype but general South American setting, with South American fish?

[luenny]

I was thinking keeping something that will utilize the wood for shelter - which is also why I thought of lobster (since small shrimps are cory food). Well, I'm open to suggestions of other suitable fauna that uses wood a lot.

[CK Yeo]

Be careful about the fine sand: Do not use too thick a layer to prevent compacting and hydrogen sulphide buildup.

ck

[illumnae]

I was thinking keeping something that will utilize the wood for shelter - which is also why I thought of lobster (since small shrimps are cory food). Well, I'm open to suggestions of other suitable fauna that uses wood a lot.

hypancistrus sp. plecs can use the wood as hiding places (you'll hardly see them unless you have moonlights as they don't like to come out in the day). apistos can also use the wood as a cave to spawn in. do note however that apistos will probably chase them out of the area when brooding. This may or may not suit your purposes as it does mean that your cories will be in the open alot more often

[doppelbanddwarf]

Lobsters are definitely a no-no. I'd a panda cory eaten alive within 5 minutes of introducing the cory into the tank years ago. I was really traumatised by the sight of a half eaten cory struggling to swim away.

[luenny]

The sand part is ok. I'm not so worry about that as I am having not very think layer and the cories are good at shifting them about. So far I have another tank with half and inch of fine sand about a year or so without problems of compacting.

Hmm ... lobsters eat cories huh? Darn! I thought they would do a good job decorating the top of the wood as they like to climb to the top of the wood from time to time.

As for the other suggestions, plecs hide a lot and apistos is another bottom dweller so not what I want. Well, I guess I'll just stick to cories only for now - if only I can make up my mind about which cories to choose. Anyway, with the driftwood arrangement like that, they should swim up the surface every now and then. I notice that they do swim near the surface of the driftwood upwards when they're foraging for food.

[illumnae]

My corydoras duplicareus like to swim up and perch on the wood every now and then, as do my zebra otos...perhaps you could consider an oto colony? or a dwarf panaque species? They eat wood, so you may see them out eating your wood instead of hiding all the time. alternatively, hatchetfish are surface dwellers that can add interest to your tank (make sure you have a

My alternative setup - Rio Negro Biotope: Corydoras adolfoi/duplicareus, starlight bristlenose, blackwing hatchetfish and dicrossus filamentosus (maybe green neons/cardinals if the tank is big enough). Maybe some amazon frogbits with long roots, and either a 70W MH or 2x36WPL single point light source about 1/3 lengthwise to make the tank look more natural?

[I like to plan things REALLY early...]

[iwishweallcouldwin]

How about wood shrimps?

[luenny]

Wood shrimps do come to mind but I don't really know what they would eat in a non-planted tank without lights. There wouldn't be much algae in the water column for them. Do they eat other stuff like frozen blood worm or tetra bits?

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Never kept these interesting shrimps before but here's some info on them: http://www.petshrimp.com/bambooshrimp.html

[doppelbanddwarf]

How about some Nannostomus eques? One of my favourite pencilfishes. They swim at a 45 degrees angle and look really interesting.
The profile of the fish at fishbase: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...y.php?id=10754

[CK Yeo]

Yes! Nannostomus eques! They will look good in a shoal.


ck

[Vandecruz]

very nice cories you guys got there, like to share the cories i am keeping now with my L134 so far but they will be shifting soon to comm with my new coming plecos



(Edit: Discussions of Corydoras aeneus "Venezuela Black" have been moved here, http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=46366)

[luenny]

Ok, the driftwood is finally able to sink and I've put the sand and the pebbles in and top up the water. After 2 days, the water cleared up enough for me to take these photos. The water is kinda yellowish due to the tannin from the driftwood. Will be adding ketapang later to make it a bit more yellowish.

1st picture - What it looks like with the pebbles and sand with water.


2nd picture - Here's what it really look like. Took out the flash and use high ISO to show you what it should really look like. I only put light on one side of the tank - I can do that because I don't intend to put plants. Anyway, with the light at the side, I manage to create a side that's light (to emulate sun light) and another side that's slightly darker (to emulate shade). Since in nature it is seldom lit up evenly. Anyway, with this I hope the cories will not just hide under the wood but will also come out to the shaded side. And if the shadow is soft enough, hopefully, they'll eventually be brave enough to play in the bright part. Am I making (fish) sense? Ok, the photo.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

I love your tank! Can already picture the cories shoaling all around! Good tank for apistos too

[illumnae]

wow amazing setup luenny! Your cories will love you for providing them with such a home. Perhaps you can try getting wild cories?

[luenny]

Hi Clint and YX,
Thanks for the comment. And yes, I'm getting wild cories. Already booked. Still waiting for the farm to acclimatize them. Will be getting in 2 weeks time.