Dwarf Corys - mixing types ?

[dino21]

Hi,

We have lost a couple of our Dwarf corys ( Habrosus) over time and want to add some more but so far only locally found the slightly differently marked ones like the Hastatus or Pygmaeus.
If we added them, will they get on and even breed with our Habrosus ( which have bred in the past) or will they form their own group ?

 

[Simon Cole]

They cannot breed and produce fertile offspring. C. pygmaeus like to drift higher in the water, but equally they are a bit skittish, even in a group and species tank. I reckon they are also a bit smaller when fully grown. They will certainly get on together and the presence of C. habrosus should reassure C. pygmaeus if they get a bit nervous. For me, it would be just slightly harder to feed small amounts of food to them together because I am sure C. habrosus would get to the food first. Indeed, it is something I have noticed when feeding them Grindal worms, that they can struggle to compete with lots of cherry shrimp or other hungry fish species. But there will be no direct conflict between the three species and usually you can get enough food to all of them if you have put enough food in the tank. They have a tendency to love really small bloodworm, so it's well worth collecting them from tubs later in the year. Likewise they only take small whiteworms and small California blackworms (if they can catch the latter). They don't mind regular foods either.