Cory catfish are the most common bottom dwellers that aquarists prefer to add to their home tanks. They like to live in a community tank with other fish.
However, keeping corydoras and cichlids together is the common query beginners, and aquarists raise. So, Can cory catfish live with cichlids? Let us find out.
Cory catfish cannot live with cichlids as cichlids are aggressive fish and will hunt down your cory catfish. Living with cichlids, they will come under high-level stress and become prone to diseases and parasites. Instead, consider keeping your cory catfish with peaceful fish like molly and guppy.
This article will discuss whether we can keep cichlids and cory catfish together in a tank, and also, we will discuss the ten best tankmates of your corydoras. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Can I keep my cory catfish with cichlids?
Keeping cory catfish and cichlids together is not a wise decision.
We don’t recommend keeping them together as they are not compatible tankmates for each other.
Cichlids, especially African cichlids, are the most aggressive freshwater fish and prefer to live among themselves and don’t like to live with other types of fish.
Some suggest that you can keep dwarf cichlids with your cory catfish, but we recommend not keeping any type of cichlids with your cory catfish.
Cichlids are aggressive among other fish species and each other species.
They are very territorial and will not let your cory catfish live peacefully in a tank.
There are many fishes that will live peacefully with your cory catfish.
So, don’t consider keeping cory catfish with cichlids.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live With Bettas?
What are the reasons behind not keeping them together?
Cory catfish are peaceful fish and prefer to live with other non-aggressive fish.
Keeping them with cichlids will result in your cory catfish coming under stress.
Cichlids are aggressive fish and will constantly keep bullying and chasing your cory catfish.
Your cory catfish will not fight back and will keep running and hiding from them.
By constantly running and hiding from cichlids, they will come under stress for a long time and will become prone to various diseases and parasites.
Also, cichlids like African cichlids prefer hard water, meaning they like to live in water with a pH level between 8 and 8.6, whereas cory catfish prefer soft water.
Cichlids and cory catfish will not be good mates for each other, and we strictly recommend not keeping them together.
Also read: Do Cory Catfish Need A School?
10 best tankmates of corydoras
Cory catfish are peaceful fish and will love to live and swim with other non-aggressive fish in a community tank.
Adding aggressive fish will stress them out and become prone to various diseases and parasites.
They are so peaceful that they will not fight back against aggressive fish and will keep running and hiding from them.
So, consider adding only peaceful and social fish to your cory catfish tank to create a great community tank.
These are the ten best tankmates you should consider adding to your corydoras tank:
- Guppies
- Mollies
- Platies
- Shrimps
- Snails
- Zebra danios
- Neon tetras
- Rasboras
- Swordtails
- Gourami
All these tankmates will live peacefully with your cory catfish, and your cory catfish will thrive living with them.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live With Plecos?
Cory catfish ideal living conditions requirements
Cory catfish are freshwater fish and prefer to live in clean water conditions.
Even a slight amount of ammonia and nitrite can make your cory catfish suffer from a life-threatening condition.
Ensure to maintain ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm and nitrate below 20ppm to prevent them from various issues.
Providing a stable water temperature will make them thrive.
Ensure the water temperature is between 70-82 °F, and consider adding a heater to your corydoras tank to keep the water temperature stable.
The water pH level requirement of cory catfish is between 7 and 8.
The TDS level of your cory catfish tank should be between 400-600ppm.
Also, cory catfish prefer water hardness between 5 and 19dGH.
Provide your cory catfish with their ideal living conditions, and they will thrive.
They are schooling fish and like to live in a large groups of their species.
So, ensure keeping them at least in a group of 5-6 of their own.
They will love to live and interact with other non-aggressive fish in a community tank as they are social fish.
Consider keeping them in a large tank and adding soft sand as a substrate, as they are bottom dwellers and remain at the bottom of the tank most of the time, scavenging on the bottom and searching for food.
A 20-gallon tank is the minimum tank size requirement of a cory catfish.
You can house 5-6 cory catfish in a 20-gallon tank.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live In Brackish Water?
Conclusion:
Cory catfish and cichlids cannot live together as cichlids are aggressive fish.
Keeping them together will make your cory catfish come under stress because of constant chasing and bullying.
Under stress for a long time, Cory catfish will become prone to various diseases and parasites.
Cichlids can even hunt down your cory catfish.
Your cory catfish will hide most of the time when there are cichlids present in the tank.
So, we don’t recommend adding cichlids to your corydoras tank. Instead, consider keeping your cory catfish with peaceful and social fish like guppies, neon tetras, mollies, platies, and zebra danios.