Corydoras Pygmaeus Ok With Betta?

[littlest]

I have a 7.5 gallon tank, planted and currently cycling, and I am planning on getting a betta for it. I have been told that Corydoras pygmaeus would be fine with a betta and fine with the tank size, I'm just wondering whether you experienced cory-keepers would agree. Also, I know they need to be in groups, but how many exactly? Obviously I don't want to get loads as it's a small tank, but I want them to be happy.

and last thing, does anyone know somewhere good I can buy Corydoras pygmaeus in London? I've been looking around while my tank cycles but haven't found any at all.

oh... and will they be OK with it not being a mature tank? I want to add the cories first because if I add the betta first he will think the tank's all his and be more terrortorial about it.

 

[jollysue]

Who told you to put a Betta with dwarf Corys?

I would not cycle a tank with dwarfs. They are sensitive as it is, imo/e. I would definately not put them in a small tank with a Betta w/o a back up plan at the least. The small fish of most species are more sensitive and harder to keep.

 

[littlest]

oh I wouldn't cycle with them, I am doing a fishless cycle and would make sure it is very stable before adding any type of fish.

I think the argument for why dwarf cories would be OK with a betta is that they occupy a different part of the tank.
The pygmy cories were suggested to me on a betta site, but I thought I should get the opinion of cory-keepers before going ahead with it, I'm glad I did now.

 

[bubblej17]

hi, i've had a betta with about 6 albino cory cats before and mine never bothered each other. obviously people have different opinions, im just stating, i didnt have a problem, as for where to buy in london not a clue sorry

 

[Bozza]

Dwarf corys I have found that they do swim all over the tank. They didnt stick to the bottom near as much as their bigger relatives. It is possible to buy a young betta and then have them in there as if grows. Id rekon it would be better to have the corys in the tank first for a while then add the betta. Cause bettas can get abit territorial towards other fish.

 

[jollysue]

bubblejet, pigmy Corys are very different in their behavior than regular Corys. Also a nip from a Betta could be fatal to a pygmy where as it would only frighten a regular size Cory. In addition most Betta behaviors change as they get older. All fish change in their behaviors as they mature. A Betta doing well with another fish for 6 months or a year can change overnight towards it's tank mates. I have had this experience several times with Bettas. I have watched them change their behavior after many months and begin to chase and terrorize Corys, who then became shy and hid all the time. This was after several months of sleeping with the Corys.

In addition 7 gallons is not a large territory. There is no place for the Corys to get away. The Betta may feel obliged to "patrol" and get territorial as he ages.

Corys who feel safe in their environment will swim all over the tank and do the Cory "dance." If they feel any threat they will hide and stick to the bottom of the tank and near their cover. Did your albinos dance?

Anyway, what I said was to have a back up plan. Betta are unpredictable.

 

[littlest]

It's interesting, I did a search for " cory" in the betta room and practically all the posts mentioning dwarf corys claimed they made great tankmates for bettas (including for tanks a similar size to mine). I did a search for "betta" in this room and the posts were much more mixed and more cautious.

I don't have another tank I could move the corys too if it went wrong (not one that doesn't contain bettas). I have an empty ten gallon but it's not set-up and won't be for some time. I could however move the betta out of the 7.5G if it didn't work. I only have a 1G for him to go to though and I wouldn't want to keep a betta in that full-time. I suppose if it did go wrong, I could move the betta to the one gallon straight away, and then buy a five gallon for him.

Another fish commonly mentioned as being a good tankmate for bettas is otos. Would they be OK in a tank this small? and would they be less risky than dwarf corys?
By the way, my 7.5G is quite heavily planted and has lots of hidey places, if this makes any difference.

 

[jollysue]

To the otos, I would say no and no

If you can have a back up plan, try it.

Why not take a pole in the Betta forum and ask how many actually have pygmy Corys with their Bettas in less than 10 usg and for how long? See what they say and let me know. I would be interested. Alex and Carmen in the UK have bred dwarf Corys--probably hastatus; PM them and see what their reaction is. I have never tried to keep them with Betta. I do have dwarf Petrocola Synos in the Sorority tank and they are hardy and strong and take no guff. But they are rare and although they are slow growing and are good at a couple of inches, they will get to 3.5 or so.

It just seems that the Corys are fast enough to be able to stay away, but 7 gallons isn't much maneuvering room.

You could also ask Coriologist, our resident Cory expert. These are just my reactions. Corys like temps in the 70's f. range, but Betta like low 80's. Corys like rivers and water currents; Bettas like still water. Corys like highly aerated water (air stones); Betta are fine with low oxygen. (Higher temperatures have a lower oxygen content.) Betta are territorial; Corys don't know what a territory is. You might make it work, but they are really very different fish.

If I had to guess, I would say that most of the folk that said they keep their Betta with dwarfs, haven't done so for more than 6 months. PM Cracker and ask him how to keep a Betta.

 

[Coryman]

Littest,

Your 7.5 imp gal (9 us gal) would be perfect for a dozen or so C. pygmaeus, but without the Betta and I am assuming it is the showy large finned Betta splendens you are talking about. I find Betta's are unpredictable at the beat of times.

If the Betta is your priority I would look towards some of the smaller Asian catfishes as tank mates, although I am not entirely sure there are any ideally suitable small Catfishes that inhabit or tolerate the same environments as Betta's.

Ian

 

[lljdma06]

Littest,

Your 7.5 imp gal (9 us gal) would be perfect for a dozen or so C. pygmaeus, but without the Betta and I am assuming it is the showy large finned Betta splendens you are talking about. I find Betta's are unpredictable at the beat of times.

If the Betta is your priority I would look towards some of the smaller Asian catfishes as tank mates, although I am not entirely sure there are any ideally suitable small Catfishes that inhabit or tolerate the same environments as Betta's.

Ian

I have kept a betta splendens with a group of pygmaeus, but it was a 15g high-tech, Dutch-style, planted tank and there was a lot more room for both species. The betta was also an unusually placid one who didn't particular care who he was with, an old crowntail. Once I also had B. imbellis with them as well. I agree with Coryman, you'd have a lot more fun keeping a dozen pygmies by themselves. They will cruise the entire tank and are very lovely to keep.

llj

 

[jollysue]

Ooops! I was tired! I meant our resident Cory authority Coryman! I'm sorry, Ian. I have to admit in my demented old age I sometimes get your and Frank's ids mixed up.


But When I wrote about the different environments and tank conditions for Betta and Cory, I was thinking of you! I knew you would agree completely.

 

[littlest]

wow, thanks for all the information. To be honest I am really not sure what I will do now, but I am glad I asked here rather than walk into it blind.

On the one hand I could try the betta and cories together, and re-home the betta if it doesn't work, but the info you gave me about their different needs concerns me. Even if they get along OK, I wouldn't be able to create the right environment for both tyes of fish.

Or I could go with just a single betta on his own, but since setting up my tank and planting it I keep imaging what it would look like with a number of small fish peeking in and out between the plants and wood.

Or I could go with just a group of pygmy cories as you suggested

Or I could have just a few cories and a few small top-dwelling fish, although I don't know what, if anything, would be suitable for this.

The last option is appealing to me at the moment but I need to research it to find out if its possible to do, while providing the right environment for all fish.

If anyone has any suggestions for some small mid-top dwellers that would work with pygmys and would be OK with the size of the tank, please let me know. One fish I thinking of at the moment is male endlers, but not kept them before so need to do some research on that.

And, what is the smallest number of pygmy cories I could keep, that would still make them happy?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Coryman]

I would suggest at least six if not more, there are fairly cheep. Also there are quite a number of small to medium sized species that would go well with the corys, i.e. Danio choprae, Danio nigrofaciatus to name but two, or some of the small tetras such as the lemon fin, red or black phantoms. There are literally hundreds to choose from.

Ian

 

[jollysue]

Actually, pygmies are not true bottom dwellers and do lots of time midwater in the plants and sitting on the plants. There are some very small neon Tetra varieties. The green neon comes to mind. Their mouths are too small to make much trouble. They are too fast for the VT Betta, although they have one of the same problems as pygmy Corys: they suffer for being so small from other fish.

It is a rule of thumb: if it fits in an omnivore or carnivore fish's mouth, it is a meal.

 

[littlest]

I think there was some confusion. My tank is 7.5 US gallons not 7.5 UK gallons. (it's 30 litres to be exact). Also, it's tall rather than long, so there's not enough swimming room for tetras. Also, I looked up the Danio nigrofaciatus and it said they can't handle nitrate well and it should be kept under 20ppm. I have nitrate in my tap water of about 5-10ppm so it's hard to keep nitrates low (although I guess the plants will take up some of it).

Incidentally, how are dwarf corys with nitrates?

At the moment I am thinking of about 5 pygmy corys and about 5 male endler's, but need to do more research on both. I've got a while, I only just entered the nitrite stage of my cycling.