I have really wanted to keep some of these little guys, but haven't great luck. Last year I bought three, and was keeping them in an unheated tank with three White Cloud mountain minnows (since I had read that the panda corydoras are native to high mountain streams and actually prefer cooler temperatures). Two didn't last long, but one survived for several months-- all winter-- and then died as soon as the weather turned hot in June.
I'd like to try again, but I don't want to just keep killing the poor little things! So . . . I'm wondering whether the problem was the summer heat? We always turn on the AC if it gets up to 80 in the house, so it never gets hotter than that . . . and I think the LFS had panda corys in tanks that were at 80 degrees anyway. Could those temperatures kill them?
I've also considered whether it might have actually been the temperature fluctuation, rather than the actual temperatures, that were problematic. In winter, our house ranges from about 68 degrees in the daytime to 65 at night (not much of a change), but in summer it might go from 80 in the daytime to 70 or even a bit lower at night.
Still . . . I read somewhere else online that temperature fluctuations from day to night are actually closer to a natural habitat and that the panda corys are happier and healthier with some fluctuation.
Anyone else there had some experience with keeping them in unheated tanks and want to comment?
(I know they are supposed to be extremely sensitive to water conditions, so perhaps the fact that this guy made it through the winter and then died in June was just a coincidence, and had nothing to do with temperatures?)
I'd like to try again, but I don't want to just keep killing the poor little things! So . . . I'm wondering whether the problem was the summer heat? We always turn on the AC if it gets up to 80 in the house, so it never gets hotter than that . . . and I think the LFS had panda corys in tanks that were at 80 degrees anyway. Could those temperatures kill them?
I've also considered whether it might have actually been the temperature fluctuation, rather than the actual temperatures, that were problematic. In winter, our house ranges from about 68 degrees in the daytime to 65 at night (not much of a change), but in summer it might go from 80 in the daytime to 70 or even a bit lower at night.
Still . . . I read somewhere else online that temperature fluctuations from day to night are actually closer to a natural habitat and that the panda corys are happier and healthier with some fluctuation.
Anyone else there had some experience with keeping them in unheated tanks and want to comment?
(I know they are supposed to be extremely sensitive to water conditions, so perhaps the fact that this guy made it through the winter and then died in June was just a coincidence, and had nothing to do with temperatures?)
