# can I move panda cory to my shrimp tank and put small size pleco in 90g?



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Hi,

so far I lost 7 panda cories in my show tank. I think I lost them because of water temp (80-84F). 

3 cories in my 90G tank are doing ok except they lost beard(?). I think the gravel is not round enough. 
Can I move them to shrimp tank? I read that it's shrimp safe but am not sure if they will get to shrimplets.
The shrimps tank temp has been stable at 76F but it's not matured tank yet (just cycled about 2 weeks ago).

I'm also thinking of adding small size pleco (that will stay small when it's flully grown)because of diatom build.
I think my show tank is almost fully stock now (6 bolivian rams, 2 apistogramma agassizi, 19 neons, 9 dwarf rainbow, 10 yellow phantom tetras, 6 guppies). I understand adding pleco will increase huge bioload. can i add 1-2 plecos?


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## blurry (May 10, 2010)

I would recommend you not to put a Corry with shrimp unless it's the pygmy. Diatom Otto would do better than a pleco


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

thanks blurry! I read that Otto is very senstive to water (. like high temp that I have..) would it be ok?


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## Canadian731 (Jun 25, 2013)

IMO panda cories are the most sensitive fish I've owned, I was only able to keep 1 out of 4 alive and the 1 committed suicide Inbetween the tank and a breeder box


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## Livyding (Feb 6, 2013)

I wouldn't recommend an otto except in a tank that's been cycled for 6+months due to their sensitivity in general, and plus, they don't eat anything except that bright green algae. They won't touch diatoms.

Honestly, any fish that you put in there to get rid of the diatoms is just going to make the problem worse, since diatoms are a sign that your tank isn't fully cycled. Plus, once the algae were gone, you'd be left with fish that you never wanted in the first place, and have to either cook and feed them zucchini or cucumber every day or watch them starve to death... 

Personally I love my plecos (L10as and BN plecos) but I didn't get them to clean my tank for me... That's what an algae scraper is for.


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## Livyding (Feb 6, 2013)

FYI, your pandas lost their barbels because of secondary infection due to high nitrates. Gravel doesn't make corys lose their barbels... 

That's a common misconception. Lack of gravel vacuuming + dirty water = lost barbels and sick/dead corys. 

You might find that keeping them in sand makes it easier to keep the tank clean though because with gravel it's hard to see how much stuff is in the cracks in the gravel... Sand is pressed flat by the weight of the water which makes it a lot easier to vacuum up the crud and keep the tank clean for the corys which might be where the myth that gravel = lost barbels comes from...

As for the shrimp question, I keep pygmy, panda, and bandit corys all together with cherry shrimp which breed constantly, and none of the cats have so much as touched any of the shrimplets. Predatory behaviour from corys is totally unprecedented.


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## blurry (May 10, 2010)

Livyding said:


> I wouldn't recommend an otto except in a tank that's been cycled for 6+months due to their sensitivity in general, and plus, they don't eat anything except that bright green algae. They won't touch diatoms.
> 
> Honestly, any fish that you put in there to get rid of the diatoms is just going to make the problem worse, since diatoms are a sign that your tank isn't fully cycled. Plus, once the algae were gone, you'd be left with fish that you never wanted in the first place, and have to either cook and feed them zucchini or cucumber every day or watch them starve to death...
> 
> Personally I love my plecos (L10as and BN plecos) but I didn't get them to clean my tank for me... That's what an algae scraper is for.


To deal with your Diatom check out these threads http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/how-get-rid-brown-algae-diatom-bloom-27928/ 
Oto do eat diatoms www.otocinclus.com - Home of the Dwarf Suckermouth Catfishes


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

thank you livyding for info. you always help me a lot (eg bolivian rams lol). Is 10ppm too high for panda cory? 
sidenote: I ended up getting 2 apistogramma agassizi for bolivian rams. Ended up swapping them with my rasboras


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Some things to consider: Your panda cory's likely died in the 90gal due to either poor water quality or an uncycled tank. Therefore, swapping them into another uncycled tank will also likely not help them out. The damaged and lost barbels are an example that the water quality is too poor. So I am wondering - what filter are you using? How often do you clean it? How big are your water changes? How frequently do you do water changes? If your substrate is gravel, how frequently do you vacuum it? These questions may help us find a potential problem!


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

I use the canister filter that came with when I bought the tank 2 months ago. It has been running 1 and half year before the purchase and I just transferred it. It has been PH 7.2-7.6 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 for 6 weeks. I vacuum gravel once a week, 30% weekly water change and it is just regular gravel. I measured it last night and it was the same (PH 7.2 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10). GH 3 KH 3.


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## Livyding (Feb 6, 2013)

Huh, well I stand corrected.. Personally none of the otos I kept ever seemed to eat anything except zucchini, but I didn't have much in the way of diatoms or green algae. Just what I'd read online elsewhere made me think they'd only eat soft, green algae-types. 

@jhj0112 No that's confusing to me... 10ppm isn't high at all. Could it be that the water at the bottom of the tank isn't making it all the way to the filter, so nitrates are building in the lower section? Put some flakes in the tank and let them fall to the bottom. Do they sit there on the substrate, or get swept away towards the filter?


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

maybe I should clean my canister filter? I have not cleaned for 6 weeks....


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## Livyding (Feb 6, 2013)

Yeah clean the canister filter, but also fiddle with the input and output to make sure that the current reaches the whole tank... 

Also what kind of tests are you using? Are you able to take your water your local fish store and have them double check for you?


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

I use API test kit.. I have not tried LFS yet.. I will do that later today..


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Make sure when you clean the cannister to wash your filter media only in tank water to not kill the beneficial bacteria!


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## barvinok (Nov 20, 2011)

I'd say your first guess was right- 80-84F is to high for pandas


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

OK, so I cleaned media with water that I took out from the tank. Wow! it was dirty...  as soon as I squeezed the sponge filter, water became brown! eww.. i did not clean ceramic balls as i was afraid to lose my gold ( aka BB). I also brought my water to pet superstore in surrey/langley.. it was same result as my test. no more cories for now 

I gotta look into otto or dwarf bristlenose pleco. ones(L144) that I saw Hector(foxtail)'s house were awesome! also, i just noticed green algae..

Thank you all [ especially steve and livyding! you guys and chris (effox) really help me alot]


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