Future Idea Wondering...

**ekfishlover2011** · 03-19-2013, 02:08 PM

I got rid of my Grandma's 2 yr old bleeding heart Tetra a few weeks ago, after he killed my beautiful show quality shubunkin, Ducky (and several other fish throughout the 2 yrs). Since Ducky died Petri has been having more issues with her blindness (he seemed to guide her, it was cool) so im planning for when she dies.

Stock when Petri dies or i can find a special needs home for a blind goldfish will be (ones with * i already currently have):

*3 - Julii Cories
3 - Panda Cories
3 - Bandit Cories
*1 - Upside-Down Catfish
**Those guys all school together, im surprised the upside down catfish has been joining, but he does. :)**

*10 - assorted mollies
*1 - clown pleco

I might even up the cories to 5 each. Now my new centerpiece fish i want is a Bolivian ram, thats what Grandma likes and from my research so far it seems like everything would do great in my tank at about 75 degrees and since i only want one ram there would be no issues with aggression. Im also seeing that the Ram will eat the molly fry, which i want that to happen.

Are there any issues with this stocking that im not finding? Its a 75 gal with and AC110 and an AC50, lightly planted, heavily filled with hiding spots with still alot of open space.

**ameliaaahx** · 03-21-2013, 07:37 AM

IMO 3 is nowhere near enough for a school of cories. I would say 6 is the absolute minimum and 8+ is preferable. Why wouldn't you just stick to one species of cory instead of trying to cram 3 species in? Different species of cory don't school together unless they are feeling insecure and nervous.

Upsidedown Catfish (if you have the true species) are also schooling fish are need a group of their own. If he's been following your cories around he's obviously nervous and is seeking the security of a school. He would be much much happier if you got him a school of his own.

No problem with the Clown Pleco, although do note that they need driftwood in their diet.

Also, all of the fish you have mentioned apart from the mollies are bottom-dwelling fish. You should balance out your stocking with a school of upper-mid dwelling fish like Harlequin Rasbora or Cardinal Tetras. They are dozens of species which would work.

And just thought I'd add that the reason your Bleeding Heart was being so aggressive was probably because it was kept on its own. Some schooling fish have a tendancy to turn into terrors and turn on their tankmates when they are not kept in schools -- Tiger Barbs, Serpaes, Black Skirts and Bleeding Hearts are all prime examples. If she had been kept in a group she would have very likely left the rest of your fish alone.

**ekfishlover2011** · 03-22-2013, 01:42 AM

The bleeding heart was originally in a school, but he decided to murder all of his friends and then pick off others as well. His behavior is what caused me to not give him a new school. Then after 2 years i couldnt take it anymore and finally gave to a small fish store. Hopefully they find him a nice place and maybe he will stop being mean :)

Okay, so say i get rid of my upside down cat as well, and IME cories have schooled together but not in tight nervous school, just in a casual chillin' school as long as they are same size and shape and i cant stand repetitiveness so i like getting different patterns. I worked hard to find the correct size and shape ones all in one trustworthy place. I have 2 pieces of driftwood for Panic the clown pleco, he does indeed love his wood. If i filled top with some black neons would that be better? Maybe 10-15 of them with my mollies should look good right? Or maybe 10 black neons and 10 bloodfins, because i really like those two together, idk why.

Is it normal for mollies to school? I cant find that anywhere online, but 70% of the time at least i find all 6 of my current mollies together or at least within the same general area as eachother.

So are bolivian rams bottom dwellers too or are they bottom to mid? I have plenty of space that if they are bottom dwellers Panic makes his own burrows in tiny spaces, the cories like the ship and the ram would have the whole fake log, planted area under stick, the bleeding heart's old hideout, or the space behind giant plant behind ship.

Side question: What kind of fish is the one in your avatar? I think ive seen that in my fish store too, is that one nice, or is that a more aggressive cichlid for cichlid only tanks?

**Honey Badger 1** · 03-22-2013, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by ekfishlover2011

IME cories have schooled together but not in tight nervous school, just in a casual chillin' school as long as they are same size and shape and i cant stand repetitiveness so i like getting different patterns.

It's not really about what you like, but what the fish need to thrive. Corys need their own kind to thrive. They will make do with similar, but that isn't really thriving, that is just surviving. I'm sorry you don't like repetitiveness, but your fish do.
Rams are bottom dwellers that will occasionally go into other area's of the tank, and they will decide where they want to be regardless of your plans. If they decide they want the corys ship they will take it, and the corys would appreciate more of their own kind to help deal with the stress.

**Lady10Godiva** · 03-22-2013, 04:58 AM

Ameliaas avatar fish is a krib. I almost bought one the other day actually. I believe they reach 4 " and are cichlids. I remember ameilia saying they were a little aggressive, I believe she rehomed hers.

**ameliaaahx** · 03-22-2013, 05:25 AM

Yep, Lady Godiva. My Kribs got on well with bigger fish like swords and my gourami but they chased and nipped my Harlequin Rasbora and my cories. Altho I hear some people keep them in community set ups, I wouldn't recommend it. Bolivian Rams are bottom-dwellers and as Mommy mentioned, they may very well evict the cories from their prefered cave.

I stand by what I said earlier -- stick to one cory species. They will be much happier. You not liking "repetitiveness" is basically you being selfish and putting your own wishes before the needs of the fish. If you rehomed the Upsidedown cat you could maybe have 2 schools of cories, 6-8 or so each (I assume this is a 4-foot tank?)

I worked hard to find the correct size and shape

Again -- cories of different species will not school together unless they are feeling insecure. Just because they all look similar to you doesn't mean they'll school together. It's like putting a Neon tetra, a black neon tetra and a glowlight skirt tetra together and saying, "they'll school together because they're all tetras and are sized and shaped similarly". They won't (unless they're frightened).

**ekfishlover2011** · 03-24-2013, 09:09 PM

Well then it would be quite some time before i get more cories and i would only have 3 for who knows how long, as the store i got the juliis from hasnt been able to contact their fish provider for quite some time and i had bought the last 3 fish in store expecting them to be fine to mix with others from my other favorite bigger store that has everything except the juliis (they only carry trilineatus, not julii) and the bronze and albinos lately. :(

**ameliaaahx** · 03-24-2013, 10:53 PM

So you're certain your cories are TRUE Juliis? Because like 95% of cories which are sold as julii cories are actually C. trilineatus, the False Julii / Three-Lined Cory.

TRUE Juliis have spots all over them and the black spot on the top fin is smaller. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=378

FALSE Juliis have reticulated squiggles all over them and a bigger black spot.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=508

Otherwise, have you tried LiveAquaria or Aquabid?

**luke-ns** · 03-24-2013, 11:10 PM

Like the others said you should definitely stick to 1 species of cory cat, that way they school and look so much better and more natural, i have 8 albino corys and just watching them follow each other about is just awesome.. such an active fish weather its day or night :) if you need them in a hurry, you should maybe try on the internet there are plenty of respectable fish breeders/importers that can have your fish at your house the next day :) good luck :)

**jaysee** · 03-24-2013, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by ameliaaahx

IMO 3 is nowhere near enough for a school of cories. I would say 6 is the absolute minimum and 8+ is preferable. Why wouldn't you just stick to one species of cory instead of trying to cram 3 species in? Different species of cory don't school together unless they are feeling insecure and nervous.

I agree. However, the size of the tank plays a large role in whether or not they school, IME. I had 3 incomplete schools in my 90, and they each did their own thing. I didn't want the ones I had, let alone more (I've given them away). I moved them to a 45 gallon and they seemed to school from time to time. In my opinion, it only seemed that way because of the smaller space - there certainly wasn't anything in the tank to make them insecure, and I had had them for about 4 years. This is behavior I've observed in other types of fish as well - heterospecific "schooling" in smaller tanks and not in larger tanks. I've played a lot of musical tanks with my fish, which has provided a great deal of insight, and changed what I thought I knew about certain fish. Tank size really plays a large role in the behavior of many kinds of fish.