Amazing Goodwill find!! Help with ideas?

20 L = 5.2 gallons.
All I can say is keep an eye on the water parameters by doing extra water changes to your normal routine. I would normally not recommend even a ten gallon footprint for corydoras. And choose not to keep them in tanks under 40 gallons in schools of 8 plus myself.

If i remember this thread right 20 L = 20 gallon long in this case

 

If i remember this thread right 20 L = 20 gallon long in this case

Yep!

 

I was just reading through the beginning and....
if you really want an oddball cool looking tank. I would do a river scape Biotope with hillstream loaches.
Big rocks at the bottom with some wood and something like annubias or crypts. Wow that would be a crazy cool tank.
Hillstream loaches would take the place of a pleco type fish so I would honestly go with that

 

The 4 peppered Cory cats have settled in nicely! I added a layer of sand to the tank before adding them and moving the decorations around to avoid any of them bruising themselves on gravel. My betta doesn’t mind them in the slightest. He isn’t even protective over food, and happily shared half an algae wafer with the gang. I was wondering where I should go from here in terms of stocking that would work with my current fish, and I’ve also heard that I should up the amount of corys I have from 4 to either 6 or 8. The guy at the pet store told me 4 was fine but upon further research I’m not so sure if that’s true. I definitely want to have shrimp in the tank, and I was going to have snails but these corys are vicious snail eaters!! The pet store put the corys and snails I bought in the same bag and let’s just say I only came home with the corys. So snails are not an option. I definitely don’t want to overstock the tank, but I want to have a nice looking community. I really like chili rasboras, but I’m not sure if they would be the best fit. I know that I would like something personable, since the corys and the betta have a a lot of personality already

 

Guppies? I’m not sure if they have personality or if they are just constantly following you to beg for food lol.

 

Guppies? I’m not sure if they have personality or if they are just constantly following you to beg for food lol.

Little bit of both lol

 

I feel like guppies would be too boisterous for a betta, especially if it's a chill type betta.
Are you looking for another schooling fish/nano fish?
I know neon tetras are more on the chill side, and they make black neons and green neons as well and many members here have those other color varieties and recommend them often.

 

You could do freshwater or brackish water pufferfish. I am obsessed with them right now. They are pretty CUTEE. Or if it is a 15 gallon, You could do about 20 ember tetras or endlers (males). There are so many options. I would keep the betta in the 6 gallon

Why not both?

Brackish Endler tank. I keep mine at almost low marine (1.018) Tank is much easier than any freshwater tank I have had. Water changes, occasional glass scrub. Worst is cleaning the salt off the lid due to evaporation.

 

My glowlight tetras have always been pretty chill in terms of schooling fish. They aren't extremely colorful but I think they add a nice pop to the tank. Mine have always been pretty interactive. The only thing is, they don't really school unless they're stressed, they kind of just break apart and explore the tank, occasionally chasing each other around or swimming about in groups of 2 or 3.

 

I think I’m going to stay away from guppies just because I don’t know how my betta would react to their temperament, I haven’t found a tetra that I’ve really liked before as I’ve always thought of them as kind of boring, but I recently saw rummy nose tetras and I think that they are pretty cute. I was thinking about some Kuhli loaches but I wouldn’t want them to compete with my Cory cats for food. So far I really like rasboras, I think that the chili and harlequin color scheme is really cool. I’m going to my LFS today so I’ll see what they have there. Also, as far as feeding my Cory cats, I’ve heard that they absolutely love bloodworms, but so far all I have fed them is algae wafers (although they all did get some mystery snails on arrival smh) I was thinking of attempting to tong feed them some live bloodworms instead of letting them hunt for them on the tank floor, as I’d like to be able to control the amount of food my betta ends up stealing from the corys. Is this a good idea? I usually tong feed all my other fish so I figured it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
Here are some photos of the tank!




The tank does sit in front of an east facing window, which was a decision on my part as I wanted plenty of algae growth when the tank started. I honestly don’t mind algae in the slightest and I’m sure my corys don’t either! Although they don’t tend to feed on algae I’ve definitely seen them munch down on it along the substrate. The indirect light has also been a big help since my current light for the tank is super outdated. Also just got a sponge filter for the tank!

 

Lambchop or Glowlight rasboras. They have the same requirements as Harlequin rasboras and are super duper peaceful. Highly recommend them. Look at mine!

 

Lambchop or Glowlight rasboras. They have the same requirements as Harlequin rasboras and are super duper peaceful. Highly recommend them. Look at mine!

What about galaxy rasboras? I like the glow light rasboras, but they are all out of stock on Aqua Huna.

 

FYI, Corys are mostly carnivorous so they won’t eat the algae.

I have a betta community in my 29g and my betta doesn’t even care about the guppy FRY. I know guppies are a debated tank mate for bettas, but I definitely consider it possible, especially in a 20 long.

 

FYI, Corys are mostly carnivorous so they won’t eat the algae.

I have a betta community in my 29g and my betta doesn’t even care about the guppy FRY. I know guppies are a debated tank mate for bettas, but I definitely consider it possible, especially in a 20 long.

Interesting! I’ve started feeding them bloodworms but they seem to enjoy the occasional algae wafer. Maybe I’ll look into guppies as well.

 

What about galaxy rasboras? I like the glow light rasboras, but they are all out of stock on Aqua Huna.

Galaxy rasboras are doable. I don't know much about them though.

 

I just picked up a school of 6 X-ray tetras since my LFS was going to throw them out, and they have gotten along well with my betta so far! I’ve heard that they can be fin nippers but they seem to have enough space for themselves and are friendly with food being present. AqAdviser says I’m about 68% stocked. I think that this is perfect in my opinion as the only other thing I wanted to add was shrimp. But I’d like some other opinions on this and if people have any experience with X-ray tetras and bettas together. So far in the 20 long I have:
1 Male Dumbo Betta
4 Peppered Cories
6 X-Ray Tetras
Random amount of Ramshorns snails
Is this a good stock?

 

I would add more peppered cories. A usual school is 6 but more is better. They act more normally with higher numbers of the same type.

 

I would add more peppered cories. A usual school is 6 but more is better. They act more normally with higher numbers of the same type.

I will probably get two more Peppered cories. If I up the Cory stock will I still be able to get shrimp? I’m afraid to overstock the tank honestly.

 

I think so, shrimp have almost no bio load.

 

Also, Is it possible to mix species of cories? Like would I be able to get a group of panda cories and they would get along fine with the peppered cories?

 

The tank is 20 gallons I believe? You don’t have room for another species of corydoras on the substrate. Two more peppered is already pushing it. A corydoras is a cute little thing until you see the size of an old adult. These fish were having time in a shop tank as their humans went on holiday when a snapped this shot. The smallest is approximately shop size and the big female is the size of a mans thumb. It’s always remotely possible for one or two babies to survive every 18 months in an established tank. Also panda corydoras will interbreed with some species. Even if not successful at breeding it will mess with the dynamics of a group to have two small groups in the same tank.

 

The tank is 20 gallons I believe? You don’t have room for another species of corydoras on the substrate. Two more peppered is already pushing it. A corydoras is a cute little thing until you see the size of an old adult. These fish were having time in a shop tank as their humans went on holiday when a snapped this shot. The smallest is approximately shop size and the big female is the size of a mans thumb. These albinos are the same species as bronze corys. It’s always remotely possible for one or two babies to survive every 18 months in an established tank. Also panda corydoras will interbreed with some species. Even if not successful at breeding it will mess with the dynamics of a group to have two small groups in the same tank.

The tank is a 20 gallon long, and the Cory catfish species I keep are dwarf peppered corys. I won’t mix species I was just wondering if that was even possible. If two more peppered corys is pushing it then is the tank already overstocked? However My parameters have been stable and my fish have enough space for themselves. I’m just worried I’m not doing the right thing

 

30 inches x 12 inches is a reasonable footprint for a group of corydoras.

A dwarf peppered corydoras is not a name i am familiar with. A quick google suggests its one of the dwarf species if not a pygmy? There are hundreds of species of corydoras in the hobby.

In my opinion it’s often more about what looks nice and pleasing to the eye than wither it can be done.

Having made a few mistakes myself and ended up with two schools of cories in the same 50 gallon tank I was just try to avoid you finding yourself in the same boat.
I don’t keep any corydoras long term in anything smaller than a 40 gallon / 3 foot.
Yes you can put multiple species together apart from the look and potential breeding issues there is nothing stopping you.

A don’t think a dwarf and a standare size is a good idea in the same tank . The dwarves seem to be slow eating?

 

The tank is a 20 gallon long, and the Cory catfish species I keep are dwarf peppered corys. I won’t mix species I was just wondering if that was even possible. If two more peppered corys is pushing it then is the tank already overstocked? However My parameters have been stable and my fish have enough space for themselves. I’m just worried I’m not doing the right thing

I think the issue is that cories need lots of open area to dig in the substrate. A 20 long has a larger footprint than a standard 20 so you should be fine with 2 more. That will leave room in case you do end up with some eggs surviving over time. You just don't want to overcrowd the area or they wont be comfortable and have enough area to scavenge.

 

I think the issue is that cories need lots of open area to dig in the substrate. A 20 long has a larger footprint than a standard 20 so you should be fine with 2 more. That will leave room in case you do end up with some eggs surviving over time. You just don't want to overcrowd the area or they wont be comfortable and have enough area to scavenge.

Alrighty! I’ll get two more peppered corys here’s some photos of the tank as of now

 

Looks good! Just a note (forgive me if this has already been said) but your betta may eat shrimp. I'd buy a few to test if he bothers them before committing to more. I'm sure you've heard this before but I say this since my betta once devoured $60 worth of shrimp basically overnight. So maybe get 3-4, give em a couple days, and if he leaves them alone you're good to go get more!