How many armor catfish for your aquarium?

How many armor catfish for your aquarium?

Panzerwelse or also Corydoras are with the most popular ground-near aquarium inhabitants. No wonder they bring life into every aquarium thanks to their lively species and adapt to almost every tank style thanks to many different breeding forms. Apart from their behaviour and beautiful colours, Corydoras are useful aquarium inhabitants who keep the bottom clean and loosen up the sand thanks to their bristles – perfect for plant-rich aquariums with sandy bottoms. But how many panzer catfish can you keep in your aquarium? – We show you suggestions for many different pool sizes.

That’s how many tank catfish you can keep in your aquarium:

About the table: If you have the choice between armored catfish and dwarf armored catfish thanks to your tank size, you must decide for one of the animals.

basin size	Quantity of tank catfish	Number of dwarf tank catfish
54-60 litres		10-12
100-125 litres	8-10	12-15
180 litres	10-15	15-20
240 litres	12-15	18-22
From 300 litres	15-20	22-30

 

What does the number of armored catfish for your aquarium depend on?

In general, the number of armor catfish you can keep in your aquarium depends on many different factors and of course differs from tank size to tank size. Below we show you how many Corydoras you need for your pool size.

How many armoured catfish in a 54-60 litre aquarium?

As described in the overview table above, only 10-12 dwarf armored catfish can be kept in a quite small 54-60 litre aquarium. Dwarf armored catfish exist in many different breeding forms, for example dwarf armored catfish (Corydoras pygmaeus), marbled dwarf armored catfish (Corydoras habrosus) or chessboard dwarf armored catfish (Corydoras Habrosus). The number of animals to be used strongly depends on the structure of the tank. If, for example, thanks to many decorations and plants, only little free floor space is available in the pool, it is advisable to use only a few animals (at least 10) – if more free floor space is available, 12 animals can also be kept. In addition, other aquarium inhabitants close to the bottom must be taken into account: if, for example, cichlids can be found in the aquarium, nestrobbing Corydoras should be avoided altogether. Even though it is often reported in forums on the Internet that even large regular armored catfish can be kept in a small 54-60 litre aquarium, I would advise against it, as these become clearly too large with a body length of 5cm.

How many panzerwelse in the 100-125 liter aquarium

With an edge length of just 80 cm, even 112-120 litres of aquariums are relatively small and therefore offer only a small footprint. Nevertheless, this tank is large enough for regular armored catfish and offers space for 8-12 animals. These are available in many different breeding forms, as for example as Julii tank catfish (Corydoras julii), metal tank catfish (Corydoras aeneus) or panda tank catfish (Corydoras panda). Of course, dwarf armored catfish can also be kept: 12-15 animals cause no problems. The number of armor catfish you can keep in your 100 litre to 125 litre aquarium depends on the structure of the tank as well as the other tank inhabitants. The more free floor space available, the more tank catfish can be held – follow the above values. If other tank inhabitants close to the bottom are already integrated in the aquarium, you should rethink the attitude of Crydoras in small 100-125 litre aquariums.

How many armoured catfish in a 180-240 litre aquarium?

The relatively large 180-240 litre aquariums with an edge length of 100-120 cm and a regular depth of 40cm offer a large floor area which results in a stocking of 10-15 armoured catfish. Tank catfish are available in many different breeding forms, for example as Julii tank catfish (Corydoras julii), metal tank catfish (Corydoras aeneus) or panda tank catfish (Corydoras panda). Of course, dwarf armored catfish can also be kept: 15-20 animals cause no problems. The amount of armor catfish you can keep in your 180 litre to 240 litre aquarium depends on the structure of the tank and the other bottom inhabitants of the tank. In well structured tanks with some hiding places like roots or caves, but enough free floor space up to 15 tank catfish can be kept – if there is only little free floor space the stocking should be reduced to 10 Corydoras. In addition, the needs of other tank inhabitants close to the bottom, such as cichlids spawning near the bottom, must be taken into account. If tank-catfish swim permanently into the precinct of the animals, these will break off its brood-care after short time.

How many armoured catfish in a 300 litre aquarium or larger?

In large aquariums with 300 litres or more, many tank catfish can logically be kept. In the 300 litre aquarium itself, 15-20 animals are unproblematic and give a very nice picture when you graze the ground in the group. Regular armoured catfish exist in many different breeding forms, for example as Julii armoured catfish (Corydoras julii), metal armoured catfish (Corydoras aeneus) or panda armoured catfish (Corydoras panda). Of course, dwarf armored catfish can also be kept: 20-30 animals cause no problems. The number of animals depends as with all other basin-sizes also on the structure of the aquarium and the other basin-inhabitants. If there is a lot of free floor space available, which is also characterized by some hiding places such as roots or stones and is not too densely planted, up to 20 animals can be kept. In such large aquariums, however, special attention must be paid to the other aquarium inhabitants: on the one hand, animals can be kept in large aquariums that might eat armored catfish (this is especially important for dwarf armored catfish), on the other hand, the needs of other tank inhabitants close to the ground must be taken into account. For example, many cichlids spawn close to the ground and break off their brood care if they are permanently disturbed by armored catfish.

Panzerwelse in the aquarium – further facts about the likeable Corydoras

As mentioned above, tank catfish, for example, are very important when planning a sandy bottom in the tank. Corydoras constantly dig through the sand with their bristles and thus loosen it up. Without armored catfish (and without snails) the soil would harden and eventually lead to the death of plants.

Even if I always try to avoid the term “cleaning fish”, there is no way around it with tank catfish. Corydoras eat everything from plant remains to dead animals that can be found on the ground and keep it clean. Nevertheless, it is important not to get any fish in the hope to have to clean less. Just Corydoras, as described above, permanently dig up the sandy soil. This leads to dirt, which is under the sand, being stirred up and then deposited on the top layer of sand. An ugly sight that can only be removed by changing the water once a week and sucking off the dirt on the top layer of sand.

In the aquarium tank catfish show a very interesting and lively reverberation. Especially when one can observe larger groups of 15-20 animals, which leads to the fact that the shyness of the animals almost completely disappears, this gives a very nice picture.

By the way, in our large collection of articles we show you which fish you can associate with with tank catfish for many different aquarium sizes.