DevonCichlid Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 So I've been keeping fish now since roughly 2010. Mostly cichlids, seemed to be all I could keep alive for a while hah. I could never figure out why people would rave about Corie's, they just kind of seemed to be there. I would buy one at a time and they last through everything really. I finally decided to get a medium sized group of Sterbai, I liked the looks of them and thought they might be fun to watch as a group. They have been a lot of fun. Recently I picked up 20 pygmy cories and put them in a very simple tank with some plants, cardinal tetras, another bigger Cory and a bristlenose. Last night when I fed them and just sat there and watched something went off in my head. I get it now. They are truly amazing to watch. Its taken a few years but it all makes sense, I guess it took a large group of them for me to get a true sense of appreciation for them. I don't know where I go from here (probably a bunch more of them now) but I see why people were talking so passionately about Cories. Would like to hear any similar thoughts or stories too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Haha I have also just got the Cory bug. I think I have close to fifty orange and green lasers in a tank. Hilarious to watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syno321 Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 So I've been keeping fish now since roughly 2010. Mostly cichlids, seemed to be all I could keep alive for a while hah. I could never figure out why people would rave about Corie's, they just kind of seemed to be there. I would buy one at a time and they last through everything really. I finally decided to get a medium sized group of Sterbai, I liked the looks of them and thought they might be fun to watch as a group. They have been a lot of fun. Recently I picked up 20 pygmy cories and put them in a very simple tank with some plants, cardinal tetras, another bigger Cory and a bristlenose. Last night when I fed them and just sat there and watched something went off in my head. I get it now. They are truly amazing to watch. Its taken a few years but it all makes sense, I guess it took a large group of them for me to get a true sense of appreciation for them. I don't know where I go from here (probably a bunch more of them now) but I see why people were talking so passionately about Cories. Would like to hear any similar thoughts or stories too. Were they pygmaeus or hastatus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonCichlid Posted November 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Good question. Gotta check my invoice when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonCichlid Posted November 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Pygmeus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Hi, welcome to Corydoras Anonymous, I've been a member for around 5 years. Not to worry there are many support groups, ie: this forum, planet catfish and corydoras world to help keep the compulsion to blindly purchase every cute, quirky, and charming catfish you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Just got the bug. But having rare plecos breed will always make me smile. Have yet to breed Cory's but soon enough. I will get to it when work stops interfering with my life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beverly Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 After my 55g low-tech planted tank has cycled, I'm thinking of keeping corys, too. Plants will all be rhizome types that won't need substrate, but I will need minimal substrate for the corys and for esthetics. What substrates would you folks suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 What substrates would you folks suggest? Sand! If you can find a black sand that isn't slag, that looks best IMO. However, a bag of PlaySand is also great and VERY affordible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candi Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 About a month ago I picked up about 30L of sand from Burnco. Nice looking sand, couldn't beat the price! I paid $3.78 for the pile, and had leftovers when I filled up my 55G. Has to be washed beforehand, but, what sand doesn't? way better than $1/lb from the LFS that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beverly Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 I really like vacuuming substrate to keep detritus (and phosphate) to a minimum which I believe keeps algae at bay. Sand is kind of difficult to vacuum, isn't it? What do you folks do with sand do to keep it clean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 The detrius sits on top of sand so you just vacuum over top of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperShawn Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I would recommend pool filter sand. I use it in all my Cory tanks and is obvious Cory safe. A 50 lb bag is about $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beverly Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 About a month ago I picked up about 30L of sand from Burnco. Nice looking sand, couldn't beat the price! I paid $3.78 for the pile, and had leftovers when I filled up my 55G. Has to be washed beforehand, but, what sand doesn't? way better than $1/lb from the LFS that's for sure. Hi Candi, I've just checked the Burnco site looking for sand. Which specific sand did you buy, and what colour was it? How much did you have leftover? If you have enough left over to scant cover my 75, and if you're willing to sell it, I might be interested : ) _____ Thank you for the recommendations : ) Your comments have got me thinking about my experiences with substrates over the years. I've had sand beds in reef tanks and most detritus is rather quickly consumed by bacteria and is so small afterward that it settles into the sand bed. Only, you don't really notice this happening until the (usually) white sand bed develops a dark layer about an inch or so below the surface. By the time you notice this, it's a bit too late to do much about it, though I used to regularly use a turkey baster to blast water into the bed. This resulted in crud clouding the tank. This clouding didn't cause problems for the corals or fish, and much of it would be pulled from the water column by mechanical filtration and exported from the tank by cleaning the filter media right away. My 110 gallon goldfish indoor pond was one of my first setups. I did the recommended lbs. of substrate per gallon and ended up with about 2" of gravel. Even with the GF being relatively small, under 4", vacuuming the gravel was problematic. Eventually, I removed all but a scant layer and vacuuming became so much easier and efficient. So maybe I'll do a scant layer of gravel for this tank. I was looking at Top Fin Premium Aquarium Gravel compared to the Marine brand in Petsmart the other day. I tried doing online research on both products, but there's very little information on what coats either product, if anything. The product bags themselves don't say anything relevant. The Marine brand looks like it has no coating, but the gravel is larger in diameter. The Top Fin product has smaller, smoother and shinier gravel. It could either be tumbled to achieve the shiny quality or be coated with something or just found naturally that smooth and shiny. Both Top Fin and Marine products are natural in colour which is tan-ish and, well, looks natural. Plus, for the price of one bag to scant coat the bottom the the 75g, it will save me the cost of driving all over the place for any other substrate. Or, so I think at this moment. Thanks, again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Play Sand is available at pretty much any hardware store. If you're worried about detritus getting into it, keep it to a 1/2" layer or so. If you want it any deeper, pick up some Malaysian Trumpet Snails - many of us will give you a bunch for free - as they live in the substrate during the day, keeping it clean and turned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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