KonaBoy

Hey everyone

Have had a rough go with my other tank, so I'm going to mainly focus on my 10 gallon tank with my CT Poe. Corie's seem like a good choice to go with him, and they'd appear to eat whatever managed to sneak by Poe's big mouth (Of course, along with algae wafers, shrimp pellets and vegetables occasionally) I was thinking 2 or 3 Albino's? I know they like to be in bigger school's, but have heard of many people successfully keeping just a few in a 10 with a betta. What do you think?

Cory

MissMTS

I would go for pygmy cories. I have some about a 1/2 inch long (they will be 1 inch full grown) in with my bettas and they get along nicely. Plus, you can keep them in the large groups they like to be in, due to their small size. You could put 7-8 of them in with Poe

KonaBoy

Ok, I'll look for those tomorrow and see if they have any. Also, I heard when introducing new fish, I should remove Poe, add the new fish, and then rearrange the decor and such to make it seem like a new "territory"?

chickadee

Yep you have it right but I would not get more than 6 Pygmies with him in that tank and you won't need algae wafers as they are not algae eaters. They are carnivores like your betta. They will eat shrimp pellets and will maybe eat an occasional slice of veggie but I have never had any luck with that myself with my cories. They also eat Hikari Sinking Wafers, Hikari Carnivore Pellets, Bloodworms (if you can keep Poe away from them), OmegaOne Veggie Rounds (contain Salmon), and any food that Poe may let fall to the bottom of the tank. I would not overfeed them but give them food several times a day. I give my little cories a pellet in the morning and then another midday and another at bedtime. (or a Sinking Wafer or a Veggie Round or Carnivore Pellet as I vary their diet) For that many you would need to give one piece of food for every 2 fish I believe each time you fed them. If you start to see the food build up on the floor of the tank then cut back to one piece for every 3 fish and try that until you find the right amount to keep them from making a huge mess although cories, like most catfish do like to play in their food and will scatter it.

Rose

KonaBoy

What if I can't find Pygmy's?

MissMTS

I know you can usually find them on aquabid for a reasonable price

KonaBoy

I'm in Canada though, so I think Aquabid may be out of the question, plus I'm in college, so the shipping will probably turn me off from it.

MissMTS

I know that many aquabid sellers will ship to Canada, but I do know that shipping can cost an arm and a leg (usually 20-30 bucks). Honestly, if you can't find the pygmies, I wouldn't do cories in a small group. They get pretty neurotic when you do that I would go for a clown or bristlenose pleco as a second choice. I have 2 bn's and I love them.

KonaBoy

What about Oto's? I don't have an algae problem, but if I threw in algae wafers every once in a while, would that work?

MissMTS

I have an oto in with my betta Buddy (I know they are supposed to be in groups, but it is a 2.5 gallon tank). You could do maybe four to five otos in with your betta and that would work fine. They love algae wafers. Another thing you can do is put a cup of gravel in water by a window. Algae will grow on the rocks and then you can add a few at a time to your tank as food for the otos. My little guy loves that

KonaBoy

Ok I'll have to look for some next time I'm out and about. Is 4 the group size I should aim for? I'll keep the rock/cup idea in mind. Thanks,

Cory

MissMTS

I would go with four so that you don't overstock your tank. Good luck with the little guys!

KonaBoy

Just browsing through the Cory Fishlore profile, and it says many people keep only one or two. Shouldn't this be changed if it's not good for the Cory's? http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Corydoras.htm
Also, what are the specific names of some of the smaller Cory's? I don't think Oto's would be a good idea, all the one's I've seen have looked pretty bad, so it's back to finding the right spieces of Cory. Thanks,

Cory

pamd

I got Habrosus Cories at an independent local pet store. They're pygmies and reach about 1.4" long. They're really cute little guys, but I'm not sure how hardy they are. I lost one of the three a few days ago.

There's lots of info about cories here: PlanetCatfish catalog.

(Mods: I hope you don't mind my posting the link to another board.)

chickadee

I have 2 Sterbas Cories that I got together as babies and they do just fine together with no others. They play together and do very well. I have also had at one time a single cory. It did not make me happy but when I got more of them to keep him company he did not want a thing to do with them. I think the trick is to get them all at one time. I think they do not pick up new friends later. He was full grown and did not like the foolishness of the babies when I got them. So the babies bonded and he stayed a single until he died. But they are healthy and seem happy and active with just the two of them and I see no reason not to allow them to be the two of them. They are like this...


http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=316 They are very active and entertaining to watch.

Rose

KonaBoy

So would two Albino, Bronze or Peppered work?

chickadee

The Bronze and Albino get quite a lot bigger than the Peppered or at least mine did. Almost 3 inches so I would perhaps get the Peppered if you can and you could get 2 of those easily with your betta in a 10 gallon tank and be happy. They get to 2.8 inches so with the betta being about the same size as they are you will have about 8.4 inches of fish in the 10 gallon tank. This is a good load as cories will create slightly more poo than the betta and not create too much bioload for your tank.

I think you will love them. Just do not expect them to be algae eaters as cories are not algae eaters contrary to popular opinion. They are carnivores with an occasional liking for veggies but usually will eat shrimp pellets or Hikari Sinking wafers or food like that. Here are the foods that my cories eat:

http://www.petsmart.com/compare/inde...yId=2769126&cp=

Rose

KonaBoy

So 2 Peppered would be fine? I have an entire jar of sinking shrimp pellets, so hopefully they'll like those

chickadee

Yes Shrimp pellets should be the major part of their diet. And 2 peppered cories will do fine. 3 is the recommended number but 2 will be okay together. They just need not to be single. You could probably even have 3 in there but you will be overstocked a bit and need to do more tank maintenance and water changes.

Rose

KonaBoy

I do at least 25% water changes weekly, should I okay up it if I'm getting 3? Also, are Albino's in the same class as pepper's? I see Albino's most often, and they have other Cory's, but they're not named, just, "Various" Cory's, will a majority stay small enough to have 2 or 3?

luna

chickadee

Well since I am the one that told you that it would be okay to put 3 of the Peppered Cories in the tank with a few more water changes and I meant that as twice as many water changes not necessarily based on the water tests. If your tests are running well with the schedule you are on now and having 3 Peppered Cories and One Betta in a ten gallon tank should be okay with twice the number of changes and doing testing on a regular basis like you are doing now.

Unfortunately the Albino and Bronze Cories are just enough larger in size to make them not the same type. They get to a full 3 inches and they would be just big enough to need to be kept to 2 maximum with the betta in the tank that size or risk seriously overstocking the tank. It may seem a small amount but it would be a whole inch difference and that is a lot in that size tank.

3 Peppered Cories + 1 Betta would be 10.9 inches of fish
3 Albino/Bronze Cories + 1 Betta would be 11.5 inches of fish

Up to 11 inches you may be able to handle with an extra water change but over that is too difficult to manage. So you need to keep the Albino/Bronze Cories to 2.

Rose

KonaBoy

Ok, so 2 Cory's would be fine right?

chickadee

Yep

KonaBoy

Well, I ended up with two Peppered Will post pictures later

chickadee

Good for you. I do not think you will regret your decision. I loved my peppered cory when I had him. I only had one but then I had him with my Sterba's and then he died but just because he got caught in a piece of decor.

They are loving and cute fish and I do hope you enjoy them.

Rose