Cory and Pleco Recommendations

MelBud29
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Hi All!

I’m currently planning a new tropical tank to go in my living room hopefully starting set up around or after Christmas if all goes well, with stendker discus and a group of community fish to go with them ideally.

I’d love a group of corys, as I know discus can be messy and a ground cleanup crew would be fab (plus they are just adorable!j but I want to make sure they will be ok at a higher temp that the discus will be kept at - probably around 27-28.

Lots of discus tanks seem to have sterbai, but I’ve also seen recommendations for a C48 being happier at warmer temps? I’ve not heard of this species before, has anyone got experience on these at all?

I’m also hoping for a pleco, again lots of recommendations for bristlenose (which I am fond of, having had one before) but I would like to explore other options as well?

Thanks so much!
Ruth
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Sterbai all the way!! 😁
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I have Sterbai in with my Discuss and they are very healthy and happy little cat's.
I also have C.trilineatus and they have bred and managed to bring up two babies, also very happy in my tank.
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Gingerlove05
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I think the temp for discus would be too warm for a BN longterm.
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My tank temp is 28, I have a black male BN, had him for about 4 months so far he looks healthy, BN in general are hardy in the plec land so fingers crossed.
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Stephen
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Corydoras and BN plecs generally prefer cooler water (22/23C) than discus (27/28/29C).
If you're planning on a discus tank then make sure the other fish are tank water temperature compatible.
There are very few corydoras that will adapt to the higher temperature, Sterbai cory are one.
There are quite a few plecos that will be suitable (not the common Bristlenose). Mega Clown Pleco, Zebra Pleco, Queen Arabesque Pleco, Starlight Bristlenose (L183), King Tiger Pleco, Orange Spotted Pleco (LDA031), Spotted Orange Seam Pleco, are all suitable at the higher temperature.

How big is your proposed new tank going to be?

All the best
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That's a nice list Steven, I don't think I've seen any of them for sale in my local shops, I've seen one Zebra pleco at a price of £400 gulp.
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plankton
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Is it you that has the harder water and getting Stendker discus?

The C48s are lovely (often sold as kanei, but they aren't) and will take the higher temps. However you'll need to keep an eye on the parameters as they don't like ammonia at all and ammonia is more toxic in harder, alkaline water. ;)
They don't appear to spawn in tanks, unless someone like Lee has managed it yet. I have three and they are a bit lazy unless you approach the tank, then they're gone like lightning!
Corys do have a problem digesting beefheart, so, if you feeding the discus with it, you'll have to supplement the corys' diet. but not bloodworm as discus have a problem with that......
MelBud29
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Wow thank you for all the advice! I will check out those plecos and corys. Seems like sterbai are going to be the hardiest, the 3 stripe look lovely too! I’m not planning on any breeding, unless it happens accidentally of course!

Gorgeous BN Pleco fan!

Yes I’m in a hard water area and the tank I’m looking to get is a 240l juwel. I need to get a test kit to officially check out my water, but I’ve been going off the figures on my water supply website for now. As my LFS Stocks Stendker, and they have said they keep theirs in hma treated tap water, that was my plan too. I don’t really want to go to RO if I can help it.

Food wise, I was planning on starting with the Stendker goodheart and discus flakes, and not giving bloodworm - I read that’s pretty much addictive for them and not great heathwise! Good to know re the Corys with that though, I will def be getting a range of foods to suit all inhabitants of the tank, thank you.
MelBud29
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Thanks for the pleco list Stephen, having had a initial look, the Zebra seems like it might be a good fit, liking higher temps, being an omnivore and not growing too big. I’m also fairly certain I have seen these at my LFS recently too. I’ll do some more research, but that’s been really helpful, thank you!
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