Cory Compatability Question...

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yodafett

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 11, 2007
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Mattoon, IL
My wife and I are huge Cory fans. Our tank layout is in my sig. We've thought about adding a small group of smaller Loaches as well, just for more variety, but I'm curious about:
1) Compatability with Corys, since some Loaches, especially the Zebra Loach (Botia Striata) mention possible aggressiveness to other smaller bottom feeders.
2) Overloading my tank. I have never kept ANY loaches before. I am rather unaware of their bio-load, etc. I don't want to throw our whole tank off by adding a small group of a new species.

We keep our tank around 7.6-7.8 pH, which I know is a touch high for the corys, but it's steady, and our local water is high pH, so I've decided to keep it a touch high and stable, than always be treating it to lower it and have it bouncing up and down. It also has natural rocks, plants, and wood in the tank to help stabilize it.

Specifically, I'm looking at Kuhli Loaches, YoYo Loaches, and Zebra Loaches. Any advice/experience with those particular loaches and corys would be super appreciated!
 
Here's a good way to really keep the peace with botia and and most other loaches. Keep them in mismatched groups with either clown loaches a dominant shoal or Cory cats. Meaning;

3 CL and 2 Botia would be fine with your corys, however 3 zebra botia and 2 CL would mean aggression between all bottom feeders. Think of CL's keeping them in check. Please note that while both are small now eventually the CL and botia will out grow your corys. While I doubt they would eat them, it would be fierce competition for food and eventually your corys would go into hiding, unless they were a dominant shoal.. its very weird how you could play this situation. Either way best of luck!

Also be advised your kuli's and botia are diffrent shapes.. meaning they like worms...and guess what your kuli looks like... if you do mix them make sure your kuli is a little larger than your botia's. All in All I think you have a foundation for an awsome tank
 
Any loach would be fine except a clown probably just because they can grow to a foot or longer. Kuhli is on the very gentle side i personally like them. Corys are normally not harmed by tank mates unless they are overly aggressive or can fit in a tank mates mouth. But all the loaches listed above are fine. I had a bunch of red tailed loaches and tiger loaches without a problem. they are territorial though and chase each other around, no harm is done. Loaches are cool you will be able to hear clicking alot from their jaws. With a fifty gallon tank youll be more then alright to add a group of loaches.
 
Yeah, I was looking at Clowns, but they're waaaay to big for us right now. I was mostly leaning towards Kuhli and Zebras, thinking that since we have 7.5 Corys (1 baby that's currently hiding around, so we're hoping he hangs in there to be #8), maybe 3-5 Loaches would be a good addition, with enough shoaling for themselves but not overrunning anyone. That high of a pH shouldn't be an issue though? I don't want to get something too delicate and hurt them with harsh water changes... :(

Also, do Kuhli's eat snail eggs too? That's not a selling point per se, but definitely a bonus. Got a group of Java Fern from our LFS and 6 weeks later, I'm throwing away snails every water change. :(
 
The rainbow shark might get a little nasty though they are territorial. And me personally, i would not get clowns they grow pretty big i know it takes awhile but i would not keep a fish that grows a foot in a fifty gallon. The water changes wont be a problem its a very good move on your part to not add ph up or down, its more important to have a stable water supply. Stability is key in an ecosystem or in our tanks. They will handle your ph. might not be best for breeding purposes but if your just keeping them thats fine. Only ph change you need to have is for a salt tank because they need like 8.2 but in this case your good any other help you need just ask ill be here for you.
 
I was actually just coming back to ask about her. She's great with the corys and the plecos, in fact, she acts like their muscle on the rare occasions when the Barbs get to "uppity" and she'll chase them away from the cory's nest. I may want to add another rock or more wood so the Loaches have a place of their own though...

Thanks again for all the help and advice! :)
 
well the good news is that it takes 10 years for them to even think about getting big ( CL ) When going from PH of X (petstore) to Ph of 7.6 to 7.8 IMHO small botia and loaches in general are very sensitive when 4 inch or under and I recommend a drip acclimation. Once they are used to it they will be fine, the initial acclimation is the hard part, to me they are as sensitive as arowana if not more. ( Thats MHO though)

On a side note. Any loach will destroy snail populations... the love them. Don't forget to give 'em their veggies! Best of luck to you!
 
Good luck
 
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