I messed up and need advice

Ok so first I want to clear some things up. I know I messed up on this one. I am new to aquariums but I do know about the nitrogen cycle. I’m sure people will be upset but trust me I’m more upset with myself, any advice will be appreciated.

So I got a betta fish the other day and here was the set up (thanks to the advice of a big brand pet store, I now know to never trust their advice) they told me to get a 1.6 gallon tank for my Betta. I cycled the aquarium, put a betta moss buddy in there and added my fish a few days after treating the water and letting it cycle. My betta has been doing great for a couple weeks now after not wanting to eat for the first couple of days. I thought he may be scared or lonely so I looked up good fish that could live with Bettas and saw Cory cat fish. I went to the pet store and asked if they were ok to put together and wanted to purchase one once he told me it was ok. He told me they like to have company and asked the size of my tank and I told him. He told me I should buy two emerald Cory cat fish which I did. I also bought a new 5 gallon tank as he told me I should get them a bigger home if I could afford it.

I got home and added the 2 Cory cat fish and set up my new 5 gallon tank to cycle. I added some stuff from the old aquarium to the new 5 gal to help with the cycle. Everything was going great until I decided to read up on what I had just done. After seeing that 1.6 gal was not near enough even for my betta fish let alone adding 2 Cory cat fish I freaked out trying to salvage the situation. I couldn’t find anything on how long it would take for complications to arise so I decided to take the 2 Cory catfish out immediately and put them in the new 5 gal tank which has only been running for about 12 hours. I’m sorry but I am more attached to my betta at this point. While I put the betta in a temp container to get the corys out I decided to do a water change which really stirred up the food at the bottom from when he was eating (i tried removing the food after a while of him not eating but some got to the bottom anyway). I cleaned the tank the best I could this late at night in a panic that I’m going to kill all my fish.

Right now I have my betta back alone in his 1.6 g tank since I know it is cycled. The Cory cat fish are in the new 5 gal tank with the moss buddy from the old tank and some gravel at the bottom. everything seems to be ok right now but I am prepared for a total disaster. Should I do anything else? Should I just leave everything alone? I still need to finish setting up the 5g tank and am thinking of getting a 10 g for the corys if they survive and moving the betta into the 5g if he survives in the future. I just don’t really know what to do right now.

 

First of all, we have all followed bad advice at one point or another when it came to fish keeping. So don't feel too bad! At this point, I would keep up on water changes every week to keep the ammonia levels down on both tanks.
I personally would eventually go ahead and get a 10g and get more corys later- they prefer a lot more of their own kind to be completely happy (their minimum requirement in general I think is 10g anyways). However at this point, breathe and just keep an eye on things. Does a 1.6g have a filter at all? I have never had one that small.

 

A 1.6 isn't great, but isn't terrible for a betta as long as you stay on top of water quality. It's better than a .5g bowl or other alternatives.
I would say, since you're already in this situation, move everything into the 5g tank, all decor, everything and keep the fish in there until you get a bigger tank. Cories are schooling and need large numbers to do well, the larger the better generally. So if you can't get them new homes, you should probably invest in something like a 20g long and get around 5 more and you'll be in good shape.
If that isn't possible, a 10g with 3 more would probably be ok.
You can move your cycle to the 5g by moving everything over, the more stuff you move over the stronger your cycle will be and the larger volumn will be able to better handle the bioload over the 1.6 alone.
In all seriousness, a betta can handle the stresses of a cycle much better than the cories, so they would be better off in the 1.6 if the 5 isnt cycled, which is why im suggesting moving your cycle over.
Regardless, the most important aspect is making sure your ammonia or nitrites don't climb up too high during anything you choose, so check those parameters and do water changes accordingly.

 

To be honest, I don't think you're looking at this from the proper perspective.

My reading of your post is that recently you set up a tank and put in a betta. You can't set up a brand new tank and expect it to cycle, as in, "added my fish a few days after treating the water and letting it cycle."

Cycling takes weeks. I'm not sure what you mean when you say, "I know it is cycled."

I haven't seen anything about your water test readings. Cycling is 100% about your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You can't see any of those toxins, can't smell them, can't feel them. If you don't have a test kit, you can't have any idea whether you're cycled, or if not, what stage your cycle is in. How do you "know" the tank is cycled?

If you don't have a test kit, I'd recommend an API Master Test Kit. Test strips are notorious for being unreliable. Once you start testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, you can see what's going on with your cycle and when it is complete. If you use bottled bacteria (I won't for several reasons), it still won't "instantly cycle" your aquarium even though that's how it's advertised. If you think the tank is cycled because you added bottled bacteria, that's not true.

 

correct, bottled bacteria just helps jump start your cycle and is more forgiving meaning less ammonia spikes hopefully.

I agree about the 10 gallon tank. If you can get a 10 gallon for the cories, that would be awesome. However, if you really are interested in cories, I'm gonna go out in a limb and say jump into a 20 or 30 gallon tank

-larger tanks are more forgiving about water parameters because there's more water volume
-cories behavior does change when they when they go from 3 to 5 or 6, much more active & entertaining
- most ppl end up making the jump into larger tanks anyway, so save yourself cost long term by having to buy less tanks.

I have 2 community tanks with cories & bettas ( 38 & 20 long) . my male betta just looks at them & then ignores them. the other tank is female bettas mostly which are largely more passive in temperament. If your betta is aggressive, then he'll be fine in a 5 gallon with a snail


This past spring, 2 of my co-workers took some emerald green cories ( my 38 gallon tank ended up with 14+ cories up from 6 after several spawning cycles). My co-workers both got 20 long tanks and just have the cories & snails in their tank. I , myself would add tetras, but they like just snails & cories.

*don't worry, the cory eggs end up on side of tank & pretty easy to remove if you don't want babies.

Good luck!

 

Hey please don't panic! I think much has been said here.

I would probably keep a bottle of Seachem prime and master kit handy just so you're on top of ammonia spikes in the early days!

 

While you should look into a larger home for the cories, there's always the option of taking the cories back to the store and just focusing your time on the betta. Fish have a way of slowly creeping up on you with their needs, and the small costs of everything add up.

While a larger tank is always better, the betta would do fine in the 5 gallon. Just make sure it's cycled before you move it.

Still want the cories? In the end, ask yourself how serious you want to get with the hobby. Are additional fish something you want? If so, you likely should look at something larger than the 5 gallon. A 20 gallon is a great starting size for beginners without going too over the top. Just keep in mind the costs and know that starter kits usually come with poor quality equipment that you'll likely want to upgrade. I always recommend just buying the tank and equipment (heater, filter, etc.) separately.

 

First of all, we have all followed bad advice at one point or another when it came to fish keeping. So don't feel too bad! At this point, I would keep up on water changes every week to keep the ammonia levels down on both tanks.
I personally would eventually go ahead and get a 10g and get more corys later- they prefer a lot more of their own kind to be completely happy (their minimum requirement in general I think is 10g anyways). However at this point, breathe and just keep an eye on things. Does a 1.6g have a filter at all? I have never had one that small.

It does have a filter and a small heater, Very very small. everything seems to be ok as of now.

While you should look into a larger home for the cories, there's always the option of taking the cories back to the store and just focusing your time on the betta. Fish have a way of slowly creeping up on you with their needs, and the small costs of everything add up.

While a larger tank is always better, the betta would do fine in the 5 gallon. Just make sure it's cycled before you move it.

Still want the cories? In the end, ask yourself how serious you want to get with the hobby. Are additional fish something you want? If so, you likely should look at something larger than the 5 gallon. A 20 gallon is a great starting size for beginners without going too over the top. Just keep in mind the costs and know that starter kits usually come with poor quality equipment that you'll likely want to upgrade. I always recommend just buying the tank and equipment (heater, filter, etc.) separately.

I have some terrariums with reptiles already. I’m not worried about the time or the cost requirements. I definitely will be getting a 20 gal soon as it is definitely a hobby I would like to pursue and get better at.

Hey please don't panic! I think much has been said here.

I would probably keep a bottle of Seachem prime and master kit handy just so you're on top of ammonia spikes in the early days!

I will make sure I have some handy. Thanks!

correct, bottled bacteria just helps jump start your cycle and is more forgiving meaning less ammonia spikes hopefully.

I agree about the 10 gallon tank. If you can get a 10 gallon for the cories, that would be awesome. However, if you really are interested in cories, I'm gonna go out in a limb and say jump into a 20 or 30 gallon tank

-larger tanks are more forgiving about water parameters because there's more water volume
-cories behavior does change when they when they go from 3 to 5 or 6, much more active & entertaining
- most ppl end up making the jump into larger tanks anyway, so save yourself cost long term by having to buy less tanks.

I have 2 community tanks with cories & bettas ( 38 & 20 long) . my male betta just looks at them & then ignores them. the other tank is female bettas mostly which are largely more passive in temperament. If your betta is aggressive, then he'll be fine in a 5 gallon with a snail


This past spring, 2 of my co-workers took some emerald green cories ( my 38 gallon tank ended up with 14+ cories up from 6 after several spawning cycles). My co-workers both got 20 long tanks and just have the cories & snails in their tank. I , myself would add tetras, but they like just snails & cories.

*don't worry, the cory eggs end up on side of tank & pretty easy to remove if you don't want babies.

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. I definitely am kicking myself for buying these smaller 2 aquariums instead of just getting a 20 gal. I definitely learned my lesson and will be getting at min a 20 gal next time.