how big do cories get? I always thought they were small... don't know where I got that idea... but the other day I spotted a large one which made me think.

the problem is, I have one in a 2.5 (used to have two, one died) he appears to be doing well, he is the funniest fish in the tank! but now I am concerned that I have been cramping him.

on a funnier note, my friend who just got some fish was describing them to me, said "I have an upside down catfish" concerned, I said, "is it floating upside down? is it dead?"

she said, "no, he's an upside down catfish." I said "what do you mean?" she told me how he swims, apparently head down. I said, "is it a cory?" I think it is now, but just a funny story to pass along.

The 'Upside-Down' Catfish looks very similar to a Cory, but isn't one. It has longer whiskers, originates from Zaire, in Africa (Cory's are S. American), and it swims (wait for it...) Upside-down. And I would love some!

Cory's have a range of sizes, and there are so many different Cory' species! I'm not 100%, but I believe the larger can reach about 12cm (5in), but 5 to 7cm is more common. The larger of my C. aeneus are about the size of my thumb.

are they actually sold in the USA? (sounds too exotic... swimming upside down!) I have a hard time believing that she got her hands on one in Pierre.... (fairly small town) I'm pretty sure she went to wal-mart and got it there. hmm, I'll have to take a look at it!

Upside down cats are normally a pretty easy fish to get hold of in most places Layne,

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with some info about them, but again watch out because

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catfish which looks similar, but grows a bit bigger and isn't always as peaceful as the true upside down cat.

As for your cory's we couldn't say how big they'd get without knowing the type you have - my pandas should grow to be around 5cm, some like the bigger brochi's can grow 8cm+ and the scleromystax types can grow over 10cm, none of these sizes include the tails either . If you want a nice cory that stays small and looks nice in a shoal you might want to aim for some pygmy cory's like

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at just under 3cm or

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at around 3.5cm when fully grown.

o ya, it's an emerald green cory - I forgot the scientific name...

I think I have it in a too small tank. he's gonna be going to my ten gallon - he deserves it!

regarding synodontis catfish they ALL swim upside down & not just the nigriventris i have a few different synodontis spiecies & they all swim in the upside poition i have a 9 inch decorus that spends most of its time lying in the upside position so much so that people keep thinking its dead
the emrald green cory is not actually a true cory it is actually a brochis splendens (brochis have more rays in the dorsal fin) & is also known as an iridescent plated catfish & can reach the size of 4 inches but like corys they are a peacfull fish & should be kept in groups

i have owned, and still do own quite a few corys. i love them, they are funny, playfully, peacefull fish, that like the company of their own kind. they get on well with other types of corys but are happiest when they have a partner or playmates of the same variety.

2.5g is too small, 10g is just big enough for 2-4 corys in my opinion.

corys can be easily spooked i find so it is a good idea to give them little hidey holes and plants that they can seek refuge in. i have also noticed that some other bottom feeding fish can bully the corys and steel their food. i have mixed corys with plecs, rams, tetras and barbs. i found that the plecs, rams and barbs bullied the corys a lot and the corys spent most of the time hiding, poor things. the best fish to keep them with i recon are tetras or similar fish that dont feed off the bottom, this way the corys are happy to roam free and eat without other fish hastling them.

corys are a good indicator to the water quality and oxygen levels in a tank. if the water is poluted or even if u put certain types of treaments in the corys can suffer badly so keep the water very clean and only use treatments if u realy have to. it is better to put unwell fish in a hospital tank and treat them seperately. regarding oxygen levels, occasionaly corys will rise to the surface to gulp a bit of extra air that they can 'digest' internally. if the corys are going to the surface a lot, more than 2 or 3 an hour then the oxygen levels are a bit low and need to be increased. if they hardly ever go the surface then things are good.

they are great at helping keeping the bottom of the tank and plants clean. they dont eat fish poo but will eat any food that hits the bottom and will hunt down any food that collects amongst the plants.

they will eat most foods, flake, pellets, tubiflex, bloodworms, etc and it is good to give them a varied diet.

generally they remain fairly small, between 1-3 inches in lenght, some are smaller than others, plus they will grow big or stay small partly depending on how often u change the water, more water changes means more growth.

although i love exotic corys the common ones are great too. my pepper corys are probably the most playfull ones i have and get up to all sorts of funny antics. the albino ones i have have poor eyesight but are always the 1st to find any food that hits the bottom, hence they are the fattest too.

when buying corys, check that they look healthy and are reasonably active and most importantly dont buy corys that have little or no barbels as these are fish are not well and will probably die after a while. it is possibly for them to grow the barbels back if there is still a bit of barbel left, but if they lose all their barbels then they will eventualy starve to death as they use the barbels primarily to find food. i've heard that tubiflex is good for injured corys as this will help them grow back damaged barbels. plus one has to be carefull to choose gravel that is not so sharp and wont injure the barbels. they love sand or relatively round or smooth gravel.

i have also read that they prefer 'cooler' water (22-26c), if the water is warm they beging to get lethargic.

all in all the are fantastic little fish and next to my bristle nose plecs are my favs.

oh and they are a right little bunch of winkers

My Keyhole Cichlids like to chase the Cory's off, but the Cory's don't worry about the Bristlenose.

Quote:

have poor eyesight but are always the 1st to find any food

I've noted that you can drop a Tablet almost right on thier nose, and they won't even blink [sic]. But you can watch them 'smell' out the food, zipping upstream to find it. I'm probaly wrong, but I get the impression that the Barbels only come into play, once they've settled on a location.

We have no shortage of Up-Side-Down Catfish down here either.

Fishypaw, you say Cory's are easily spooked. In my Main Tank in the Lounge, yes, you need to approached slowly, or they'll all disappear. It's heavily planted.

My smaller tank, where we do the breeding, is not as heavily planted. And it's right in our foyer, next to the main door. You also pass through there, between the Kitchen and Lounge / Dining Room. Lot's of people traffic, door's banging, and whatever. Those Cory's don't even budge! I can have the lid open, and my hand almost on them, before they skedaddle.

I wish the one on my floor was playing possum. She looked no different to the ones in the tank, just a bit dryer...

Even when my tank was reasonably planted, as shown below, my Cory's weren't all that skittish. But I was in there all the time doing something or other. It was only when I set up the large tank, that I noticed them ducking for cover.

my most skittish corys are the largest, strangely enough. the 2 large albinos are the ones that dash for cover the most. trouble is when they dash off they tend to cause a chain reaction spooking the other corys. if i had another tank that was suitable i'd seperate them, but as is i just have to live with them being jumpy.