Putting dwarf chain loaches in a 29 gallon

[kingmed]

I have a 29 gallon that has presently homes 14 pygmy cory's and 1 female cherry shrimp. The fish store that I got these at also has dwarf chain loaches for 9.99 each, could I house these along with the pygmy cory's and if so how many could I have in a 29 gallon?

[Emma Turner]

Hi kingmed,
Personally I would advise against it, as Sids can sometimes be overly inquisitive towards Corydoras and it is not unheard of for them to pick at their eyes. I don't want to sound alarmist, as I'm sure there are fishkeepers who have had no issues with this combination, but there are many who have. You might want to consider adding some more cherry shrimp, and possibly some small mid-top dwelling fish such as some of the Microrasboras, for instance, instead.
Hope this helps,
Emma

[Eyrie]

Other thing to consider is that the sids will beat the corydoras to food every time and pig out on it, leaving the dwarf corydoras with very little.

[kingmed]

Thanks for the reply I think I'll take the advise of you all and find something else for the tank. Would the dwarf chain loaches work O.K. in a 55 gallon tank?, and if so how many could I put into the tank. How many should be the minimum for this size of tank if I decide to go with them, I really like the way they look, not crazy for the 9.99 price but they are pretty neat. Also I have 4 yo-yo's in a 55 with an upside down catfish, 2 cory's and 1 spotted raphael, I will probably need to house some of these bottom feeders to my 55 when it get established in a few months, which ones should I move out of the tank?, I know that the cory's should be in groups of 5-6 or more, I'll be getting more soon.