emilai333

I would like to put either two otos or one cory cat in my 5g with my betta Ace. I have read in this forum that others have kept catfish species successfully with bettas if feeding is done carefully. If I put Amaethon the cory in with Ace, I would like to get two otos for the 10g. My roster for my tanks is in my signature, please give me some feedback on which of these two situations would be better. I would of course carefully observe the betta with the catfish, and if problems crop up with Ace I could switch him and one of the females to see if that would be a better situation - I have only had Ace for a few weeks, so I am not as familiar with his temperament, but he seems pretty laid back from what I have seen so far.

Thanks!

chickadee

With a 10 gallon tank and no smaller you could be able to put 3 Corydoras catfish in with your Betta, but I will say that the last few folks that I have heard of that have put Corydoras in with their Bettas have had less than stellar results. But it may have been the Betta and his personality and if you decide that Ace is pretty docile and laid back then perhaps it would work. Keep in mind though that you will have to have at least 3 Corydoras to make them happy and if you are going to have Otocinclus in that large of a tank they need at least 3 in their group also to meet the needs of the tank. I have personally had luch with Otocinclus but my tanks are not large enough for Corydoras and so some of the others may wish to address that issue.

It is going to make a difference that Ace has already bee established in the tank and you will be adding the catfish. I think the Otocinclus are much more tolerant of the stress of being chased and hassled and all than Corydoras are. I believe that Poefox has had some who were literally scared to death with all the bullying.

Rose

0morrokh

Cories need to be kept in groups of three. Ideally Otos should be too, although many people keep just two. Cories are too big for a 5 gallon, and if you want to keep Otos in there you will need to do a lot of water changes because they are really sensitive to nitrates. I would recommend a 10g for the catfish and Betta. If you decide to add catfish to the 5g, prepare for a bit of an angry Betta, since he doesn't know other fish are allowed to be in his territory.