Any concerns with L168 butterfly plecos in an acrylic tank? Only after I just moved my group into my 350 gallon acrylic tank did I think about potential consequences for the acrylic. They were previously in a 75 gallon since May and that tank shows no signs of acrylic damage. In that tank they have ...

Looking for up to 30 C. panda, preferably young-ish fish. I have a 120 gallon tank and I like to watch big schools of fish. I prefer to buy from breeders, especially if in the NJ/NY/PA area.

Very interesting. I didn't realize they are more omnivorous!

I recently got 4 zebra otos, from 2 different stores. They have been at the store at least a month (some of them have been there for two months). They're not super skinny but not super fat either. Given this I suspect they don't have any overly severe issues, but my default assumption is that these ...

Is there no fear of spines getting stuck in the net? I've sometimes heard that hand-catching is best, though how common this practice actually is I don't know.

Thanks all for the information. I actually received the fish a few days ago. Shipping was pretty tough on them; the water was foul and they had some bacterial and fungal issues. I've been getting them back into shape with IAL, frozen bloodworms, and clean water. Once they're in better shape I'll obs...

What is the proper way to transfer Corydoras from the shipping bag to the tank without getting shipping water into the tank? Hand catching?

Thanks for the information. I'm considering prophylactic deworming because in the past I've had issues where fish would slowly waste away over half a year or so despite good feeding and clean water. For example I recently had some Otocinclus that came from a vendor who feeds them medicated food that...

No one?

What drug is best for prophylactically deworming Corydoras of internal parasites? I'm getting in a school of 20 C. similis soon and want to make sure they're clean so they thrive and maybe even breed well for me. Some preliminary research of the usual drugs has come up with the following: Avoid: Pra...

No longer looking. Found a vendor who special ordered a big group for me.

What's the optimum temperature for this species' breeding, longevity? Cat-eLog lists a pretty wide range. Would around 74-75 F be good?

Decided to go with C. similis. Looking to get a group of ~20.

I am wondering what is the best color of sand to bring out the colors of this fish? Would white sand make it look washed out compared to black sand, or is there not much of a difference?

Would only be looking for one of the two (haven't decided for sure which one, but availability and price are factors). Probably around 20 fish.

Anyone breeding either of these in the US?

Anyone keep this species? How hard/easy is it? I'm hoping to get some for my 120 gallon planted tank but haven't kept cories in years so don't want anything too difficult. I can't seem to find many people's experiences online.

I guess the lack of responses is telling...

The substrate is ADA Aquasoil which is pretty soft and round. The bottom of the tank is more or less completely planted, with some spaces in between stems and rocks. A good portion of the bottom is very short hairgrass.

What are people's experiences with keeping sterbai cories at 24 Celsius (75 Fahrenheit)? The Cat-eLog lists this as the lower end of their range, but I fear they may be rather lethargic at this temperature. One of my goals for keeping cories is to have active fish that stir up detritus from the tank...

Has anyone kept Otocinclus cocama long term? Seems like most people I know can't keep them past a few months. Some years ago, in my early planted tank days, I had a few that were doing well for some weeks until I lost them to a CO2 accident.

Is it humane to keep cories in heavily planted tanks with no bare substrate? I'm hoping to eventually get a school for my planted 120 gallon tank. However the tank is covered almost entirely by either stem plants or dwarf hairgrass. The hairgrass is well established so I'm not worried about uprootin...

Hello all,

I've been keeping fish for over a decade now (specializing in planted tanks the past few years) but haven't really kept catfish besides basic Corydoras as a kid. Hope to learn a lot here.