I've had one little corydora living with my goldfish for about 6 weeks, but since i got him i've read up on them and realised he should be in a shoal, and so i've decided to get some more. He is a peppered corydora, (C. paleatus)

1. does anyone know what is the minimum shoal size? ive seen different recommendations on different sites.

2. if i just plop the new ones in (after quarantine of course!) will they automatically shoal with him?

3. or would it be better if i introduced them all in a separate small tank and then after a few days put them all in the big tank.

4. will my goldfish be ok with the newcomers!-they've been fine with the little one, but they were all put in the tank at the same time, will it make a difference that these are later?

i ahve 3 peppered corys, and they were two seperate buys, and they shoal quite happily together, just came naturally. i think 3 minimum is fine

just a bit of warning. the corys dont grow much more than a couple of incj=hes but the goldies will grow big enough to eat them in time. please be aware that a goldies mouth can stretch pretty wide and the consequences may be a dead goldie.

And a dead cory

Oh dear, i had read that, but i was silly and thought because it said the cory's grow to 7cm long they wouldn't fit into a goldfishes mouth, but i forgot they would fit in headfirst!!!

How long would it take for the goldfish to get too big, are they alright for a year or two??

Could anyone recommend any other corydora like catfish that don't get too big, just big enough not to get stuck in my fishies mouth?

one of my tanks is a cory tank. I've got 5 different species in there (not including dwarf cories). they all shoal together. as far as how many to get, you should have no fewer than 3. Depending on the size of your tank, you should probably get 6 or more. remember, the more you have, the better they will shoal.

Ok, thanks. I am wondering though, as the goldfish are small, and so are the corydora's will they not grow together in size, obviously by the time the goldfish is big enough to 'accidently' get a fully grown cory stuck in their mouth, im assuming the cory would have died of old age, since don't they only live 2-3 years??? (sorry if that's wrong, i just got it off a website).

All ive read is don't keep a large goldfish and a young cory together, as they could get stuck, will mine be ok as they are all young and small, or should we not risk it?

Gee, I have had a little albino cory cat in with mine for along time. I don't even think I have ever seen them pay the least bit of attention to him. I named him Busy cause, well, he's is constantly busy!

I never thought about him being lonely. So I should get 2 more??

Just an FYI, my dad has had an albino Julii for about 13 years now. We've lost count on his actual age, but he keeps truckin'.