How many corey cats?

Question

I just started with a 20 gallon aquarium. Having wonderfull luck with 15 fish ( all spicies of tetras) The people at the pet store said not to get a catfish until about 6-8 weeks . I was reading about albino coreys, they seem to be social and playfull so would 2 be the best bet for the personality of the fish or would it be too many?

Answer 1

Hi,

I think they are telling you not to get a catfish for 6-8 weeks if this is a new tank. If you just started this tank out, and your nitrogen cycle is not complete, I think thats the reason they want you to hold off. Most likely you have ammonia and nitrite present in your water, and exposing those cories to that condition would be more harmful then anything else. That's my guess as to why they are suggesting you to wait. Your population seems to be ok. It's a little heavy, but those tetras are not massive waste producers, and if you have filtration in excess of 20 gallons, I think you'll be fine. There might be some space issues down the road as those tetra's reach adult size, but if your tank is a 20 long, you should have enough swim space. If it's a 20 high I think you'll run into spacial issues down the road, and probably would be better off with a 30 gallon, or maybe a 35 long.

If all goes well, and you have your tank conditioned post cycle, if you want cories to help police up the uneaten foods if you have that, then cories would go good in groups of 3-5. Three a bare minimum, but I think they thrive better in a pack of five. Give the grouping a little more space though so you avoid crowded conditions down the road.


Doing so isn't as bad as it seems. You can take the filter from that 20 and just transfer it to the new bigger tank allowing you to move most of the population almost instantly. Then you have a 20 gallon set up that you can use for treatment if anyone gets sick, or quarenntine for new additions to avoid spread of disease.

JV

Answer 2

Get 3, they prefer to be in bigger groups, but you might be pushing the capacity of your tank with 4. They are not at all aggressive and 3 of them will complement your Tetras nicely!

P.S.: For anyone who hasn't figured this out yet, the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule doesn't make any sese at all! If you followed that, you could put a fish like a Bala Shark (which get a foot long) into a 12 gallon tank, if you did that, the poor fish couldn't even turn around! There are too many exceptions to the rule. Tetras are not messy fish, they do not poop all over the place like Plecostomus. 15 Tetras that are each 2 inches long, would probably make the same (or less) amount of poop than a 24 inch Plecostomus. 15 Tetras and 3 Corrys is fine, don't listen to the "one inch of fish per gallon" crap, just use common sense, it is something a lot of fish people lack apparently... [cough cough, the answer above mine cough cough]

Nosoop4u

Nosoop4u

Answer 3

Cories are great fish and are very playful. I love mine. They're like little fishy puppies, tumbling over each other all the time. They do best in groups of three or more because they are social.

Before you get them, check how big all of your fish will grow to be. Most tetras grow to be 2 inches or more. With the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule (very popular) you're already overcrowding your tank. The more crowded your tank is the faster the water quality declines so you'll need to change the water a lot more often to keep the fish healthy. Plus you're more likely to have algae problems. Keep this in mind before you get more fish. Cories are scavengers but contrary to popular belief do not eat poop and will not decrease the amount of water changes you'll need to do.