Pygmy corydoras and betta in 10 gallon

elephantnose3334 said:

My younger sister got a 10 gallon tank for her blue betta fish. She has decided to put 4 pygmy corydoras in with her betta, as my LFS told her to do. They don't seem to mind with her betta, although sometimes the betta may come too close to them. They seem to be comfortable with the betta right now. Here is a portrait of one of the cories in her tank.View attachment 324619

Click to expand...

Sgooosh said:

cute little cories! I'm not sure if 10 of them can fit there but they will be much happier that way. also make sure there is many hiding spaces so the betta cannot bite them. However it is not a guarantee.

Click to expand...

sharkweek178 said:

Even if there isn't a physical attack, the betta will be stressed by the pygmys. Unlike a lot of corys, they like to swim in the middle section of the tank. And they take frequent trips to the surface for air (they're facultative air breathers). They also like to school with other fish so they might even try that with the betta. They'll be in the betta's space often.
Four isn't enough for a school either. This is another case of a fish store employee giving bad advice.

Click to expand...

Byron said:

Agree, more terrible advice from a fish store, and advice that is detrimental to the poor fish who will suffer. Corydoras are shoaling fish, and must have a group of around 10 or more. The pygmy species is especially vulnerable to too few, and this causes them to be under continual stress which leads to poor health. A group of 10-12 is minimum for this species. The Corydoras authority Ian Fuller says this species needs larger groups than the other species, and he has been studying this fish, collecting them in South America, and spawning them for years.

However, that raises the second problem, the betta. As other members above have noted, this cory likes to swim all over the tank, it does not ever stay on the sand. It is likely to infuriate the betta, and that only increases the stress on the cories.

Cories also need sand, something that needs mentioning.

Explain to your sister that this situation is inhumane to the poor fish that have no escape from what we provide them. Advice from the store cannot be trusted.

Click to expand...

elephantnose3334 said:

Sorry for the late reply, I had a break from my laptop. I tried explaining to my sister about the situation, however dad said they're okay with the betta.

Click to expand...

BettaFishGirl said:

Can you explain with facts that...
•They are stressing out the Betta even if you can't see it, and the Betta will suffer from it
•The Pygmies are severely stressed because of their low numbers, and getting more would just make the whole situation a lot worse for the Betta
•The Pygmies swim all over the tank and like to come up for air, which will anger the Betta, maybe even causing it to attach the poor Pygmies who can't do anything about it

Tell him that shrimp would be a lot better for this and that as long as the Betta doesn't attack them you can have a lot more of them in the tank and everyone would be so much happier. It's for the well-being of both the Betta and Pygmy's.

You can't deny facts, and these are all facts that everyone has stated on this thread.

Click to expand...

elephantnose3334 said:

Yes I will. However, my sister and my dad doesn't care about the facts as I tried to explain to them. Maybe she is very young, about 9 years old and does not like me, and dad used to care for goldfish in a too small tank when he was a young boy before he quit the hobby. And Vebas and Aquotix does not sell cherry shrimp.

Click to expand...

BettaFishGirl said:

Maybe try ghost shrimp? They are really cheap (50 cents for 10 of them at PetSmart) and personally, I like them better than cherry shrimp. And they get bigger.

Maybe if you try to sound really smart to your dad and really nice to your sister, they will be convinced...

Click to expand...

elephantnose3334 said:

I could try ghost shrimp, but Vebas and Aquotix also don't sell them. Aquotix sells chameleon ninja shrimp, a native Australian shrimp, only. Vebas sells a species of shrimp (not ghost shrimp) and prawns.

Click to expand...

BettaFishGirl said:

Hmm...I don't know where you live but PetSmart/Petco might have them?

If its not to hot or cold where you live you could also ship them...cherries and/or ghosts

Click to expand...