Ten Gallon Check And Questions

First, I would like to thank everyone for responding to my endless questions. I have grown more as a fish keeper in the last two weeks than in the two years I have been in this hobby.

Now to the question:
I have a ten gallon with a top fin ten filter (no flow issues), 50 watt heater, coral hide, 5 silk plants, betta log and rocks. I also have round blue gravel. My stocking is:

1 very mellow male betta
2 albino corycats
1 Golden Mystery Snail

I am aware of the fact that the albinos would do better in a twenty long, but they are healthy and active, but sometimes they look bored, laying at bottom at Tank. There not sick, but just bored. Also I don’t have room for a bigger tank. I also know that they are herding animals, but I don’t think I would be able to add others due to my stocking (unless y’all see otherwise). The betta is very peaceful, and gets along well with the fish. I feed him zoo med betta pellets (he won’t eat anything else) along with frozen bloodworms and freeze dried dalphina, and mystery shrimp. For the cories I feed them tetra CoryWafers Shrimp and Potato. The snail I feed Tetra PlecoWafers Zucchini, but he won’t eat the blanched zucchinI I feed him (any tips?). Everyone in the tank gets along and is very active. I use Seachem Prime and water parameters are perfect.

I was wondering:
Any tips on getting the snail and fish to eat blanched zucchini/veggies?
Am I able to add another Cory?
Can I do anything to make life more fun for my albinos?
Anything I am not doing correctly?

Critiques are welcome, thanks in advance

 

You could probably add more corys if they were dwarf/pygmy ones but albinos really shouldn’t be in a 10 gallon because they grow 2” usually. I would see if you could switch that around.

 

You could probably add more corys if they were dwarf/pygmy ones but albinos really shouldn’t be in a 10 gallon because they grow 2” usually. I would see if you could switch that around.

C. Aeneus grow to be about three inches, and mine is just at that point.

 

Albino cories get to around 3". Because you don't have a space for a 20 long; I would rehome it to a LFS, LPS, local aquarium club, friend, or sell it online.

 

I understand, but I’ve grown very attached to them as I’ve had them for a bit. Is there anything else I can do?

 

Oh...You should not have posted the picture of your 10 gallon on that beautiful stand that has plenty of room...a 20 tall is only four inches longer. Busted...lol.
Seriously, I think you are fine with what you have. Since childhood, I only had one or two cories in a tank. They seemed happy and they thrived for years. When I first started on this site I was guilted into thinking I was doing a huge disservice to my cories. I added one more to my 20 gallon community to bring it up to 3 (A site I trust will only sell the minimum amount of fish that they consider necessary for a proper shoal. For example, neon tetras you must buy 6. For cories, you must buy 3) Anyway, there was no change in the cories activity. They were still their comical selves but they would not group together. So for the new 55 gallon community, I succumbed to popular opinion and bought 12 gold lazers. I will see two here, maybe three there but usually one over there, Oh! there is another over there...you get the picture. My cories are comfortable. They do not need to group together for security as they would in the wild. They do not need to follow each other around thinking that someone is getting food meant for them.
Don't stress your tank trying to make something happen that very possibly will not happen.

 

Yes, I get it. You're attached to them and you don't want to leave them. But the cories have a life and they require a bigger aquarium and more in their school (they are social fish). How they are cared and treated is much more important than you getting attached to them. I'm sure you don't want to have these guys have a shorter lifespan and I'm sure the cories want a bigger space to swim. These guys need a minimum of a 20 long, 10 inches longer than an average 10 gallon aquarium. I would rehome them.

 

OK, thank you for all your answers!

 

The reason you didn't see a difference is you need 6 , 5 the least and they become more social and active. Everyone told me I needed 6, I had 3. When I finally bought 3 more I saw a big difference.

 

The reason you didn't see a difference is you need 6 , 5 the least and they become more social and active. Everyone told me I needed 6, I had 3. When I finally bought 3 more I saw a big difference.

Ed, read full post. My 55 has 12. They are less of a group than the three in my 20.
akcarroll12 in regard to feeding. I'm not much help there. My bettas are such pigs that I have always had to take my mystery snails out of the tank every two or three days and feed them in a little tupperware container. None of my fish will each blanched zucchinI or cucumber, not even my electric blue crayfish. I gave up and use little veggie pellets.

 

I wasn't responding to your post. I was responding to the OP. Read his post he stated they looked bored.

 

You can't really control what your fish like or don't like to eat. If they dislike the blanched food, I would suggest to stop trying to feed them it.

Corydoras look to each other for comfort, especially around predators. Regardless of what many people think, they do best in groups of six and up. The reason they may not exactly "school" is because they don't feel threatened, which is ultimately a good thing. They'll only get together when bored, during feeding time, or when they feel threatened. If there is anything less than five or six corydoras, there will usually be an increase in stress. This can eventually cause health issues and a shortened lifespan. You can either upgrade the tank to get more corydoras or rehome both of them.

If you want to make life "fun" for your corydoras, follow the instructions above. To add on to that, I notice that my corydoras absolutely love having a medium to strong flow of water. They seem to play around in it, especially during feeding time.

 

that thermometer is bent.....fix it. I hate seeing bent thermometers for some reason

 

Cories should not be encouraged to eat veggies as they do not benefit from them.

I agree with the poster who mentioned rehoming the corydoras. You might be able to do six pygmy cories in a well-planted 10 gallon with sand substrate, but the albinos are much larger and need more space (and fellow cory friends.)

 

The reason you didn't see a difference is you need 6 , 5 the least and they become more social and active. Everyone told me I needed 6, I had 3. When I finally bought 3 more I saw a big difference.

But do I have room for more?

 

But do I have room for more?

You don't have room. As previously mentioned, Albino Corydoras get up to three inches.

 

But do I have room for more?

Definitely no room.

 

Right now they are pretty young, only about an inch to an inch and a half. I moved around the tank furniture to make things more interesting. They are very active now, exploring their ‘new’ home. Maybe I could rehome them when they get bigger? I’m worried a move would stress them out...

 

Right now they are pretty young, only about an inch to an inch and a half. I moved around the tank furniture to make things more interesting. They are very active now, exploring their ‘new’ home. Maybe I could rehome them when they get bigger? I’m worried a move would stress them out...

That’s a good idea. As soon as possible would be ideal, though.

 

Right now they are pretty young, only about an inch to an inch and a half. I moved around the tank furniture to make things more interesting. They are very active now, exploring their ‘new’ home. Maybe I could rehome them when they get bigger? I’m worried a move would stress them out...

Personally, I would rehome as soon as possible. There's no need to wait is there?

Moving can cause a bit of stress but doing it carefully and correctly shouldn't cause too much.

 

Another thing that nobody has mentioned yet is that corries do a lot better on sand. They love to sift through it looking for food. If not, make sure the gravel is very smooth, no edges that can damage their barbles.