OT Way OT Cory Cats

[reptileszz]

Hi all, thank you all for the advice with the frog and the cory cats. It took me the better part of the day overall but here is what I came up with so far... It's a 10 gallon tank. I rinsed sand again til I was blue in the face. I "cleaned" out my turtle tank Fluval filter and stole some of the bio max bead things in there and part of one of the pads that had PLENTY of good bacteria on it and put that in the new underwater filter by Fluval. I bought 3 new plants plus 2 marimo moss balls. I used about 5 gallons of the water from the frog tank plus new treated with Prime. Then I went fishing in the frog tank. AND THE FROG IS STILL IN THERE! Caught the 3 cory cats with no problem at all. I was envisioning destroying all my artwork in there and having to redo all my planting but no, they came very peaceably. They seem happy in the new tank. They are rooting around in the sand where there is nothing to eat and ignoring the shrimp pellets I bought them.

I think I got this right now. I hope. Here are a couple of photos. I hope its ok to post this here since it is sooooo OT!

Thanks,
Carole


The first one was my first attempt at decorating. The second one is what I settled on. And the 3rd one is the three amigos. Now, since my filter should be all precycled and whatnot, if I take readings and they are ok should I go get a couple more cats to make them happy in school or should I wait and make sure its all good?

Thanks again!

[Jenste]

Very nice! I believe the cories you have are Axelrod Cories aka Pink cories.

edit: looking again I can't tell if they are bandit cories...

What were they labeled as? Just curious as you will want to get the same species when you up the school.

[reptileszz]

Very nice! I believe the cories you have are Axelrod Cories aka Pink cories.

edit: looking again I can't tell if they are bandit cories...

What were they labeled as? Just curious as you will want to get the same species when you up the school.

I was looking all over for the receipt so I could write down what they are and its gone. I know where they are in the store so I think I am going to go tomorrow and get 2 more. I have read anywhere from 4-6 is a minimum number. 6 might be too much for a 10 gallon when they get bigger so was thinking 5 altogether?

Thanks!
Carole

PS testing frog water now. Then on to fish water

[reptileszz]

Very nice! I believe the cories you have are Axelrod Cories aka Pink cories.

edit: looking again I can't tell if they are bandit cories...

What were they labeled as? Just curious as you will want to get the same species when you up the school.

I think Axelrod is what it said on the tank now that you say it. It definitely began with an A but I looked at like 6 different kinds and couldnt remember which I settled on. How I can lose a receipt in less than 24 hours is a wonder.

Thanks,
Carole

[reptileszz]

OK, ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates somewhere at or under 40ppm which is better than the frog tank. I wonder about that biowheel... pH is high at 7.6 but I am reading on forums that a lot of people say they are fine with that. The literature says 7 but people keep them at 7.6-7.8 so hoping its all good.

Thanks!

[Jenste]

They will be fine at that pH. It is a good guide and you should always avoid the extremes but chances are your local pet stores have similar pH to you and they do not change the pH from tank to tank so their stock are all accustomed to it.

[Felis]

They will be fine at that pH. It is a good guide and you should always avoid the extremes but chances are your local pet stores have similar pH to you and they do not change the pH from tank to tank so their stock are all accustomed to it.

I agree. A lower value might be better, but the most important thing is to keep the pH as stable as possible! Swings mean much more stress to fish than a not-that-optimal, but stable value. Good luck with your cats (Corys are among my favorite fish, by the way )

P.S.: I´m glad that you chose sand rather than gravel; they´ll enjoy this!

[rodsboys]

Ph is not as important as stability. The PH from the tap here is 8.3. People breed all the same stuff here that anyone else breeds including discus. I myself have spawned numerous "low PH" fish with no problems.

[rodsboys]

If your parameters are good I'd say go ahead and add the rest of your school.