does any one know...

[daudy_dojo]

i want to put a pair of pepperd cories in my bettas tank! its 2.5 gallons and if i can put two in there... can i put 3 or 4?? its filtered with a 5 gallon corner filter and it had confetti gravel... but yea just wondering... i can put hiding places in there for them if i can put some in there! im getting a cave for them!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

A 10gal realy is the minimum, corys also need to be in at least groups of 4- you should also have sand as substrate instead of gravel and provide them with shelter in the tank as many are nocturnal in nature.

 

[WILDER]

Yes i agree to, no less than a 10gal.

 

[daudy_dojo]

well they dont have to be in sand! the only thing i didnt know was the gallon size! i know everything else about them!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Sand is much better for them as it helps prevent them from getting eroded barbs or bacterial infections in them, it also produces less ammonia near the bottom of the tank if maintained properly and lets them go about their buisness of filtering through it normally.

 

[daudy_dojo]

my cories are in a tiny dull colored pea gravel... my cories are always kept in this! sand is messy and you have to do so much to it and be so careful with it (i tried) my cories are in perfect shape they eat well, they have intact barbels, and are happyer than ever! so yea sand is good but its to hard to keep up with and i dont feel like having a fish bury my cories! i have seen it happen and i wont see it happen again... where do you think dory the cory went??? or nightstalker??? stupid hyper pleco! he buried them and they were never seen until i did i water change and i sucked there dead bodies from the ground!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi daudy_dojo

Where did you even get the idea that 2 peppered corys would fit in a 2 1/2 gallon tank, let alone with a betta in there too? Using the "inch per gallon" rule that tank could only hold one of them OR a betta.

I agree with Tokis-Phoenix that a 10 gallon would be the best set up for all concerned. Bettas and corys usually get along great, given enough room for all to be comfortable and healthy. They eat the same food, but they are both prone to bacterial infections. All should have lots of fresh clean water and space to swim around in.

A 10 gallon tank could be set up beautifully, with a few plants and a little cave for the corys. The betta would love living in such a spacious and lovely environment and the corys would keep it amused, but since they live at the bottom, the betta would not see them as competition in any way.

 

[daudy_dojo]

hello, i wish i could move him in there but im not ready to introduce him to his future wife! well i got the idea becuase its filtered like a mofo and most ppl have kept 2 cories in a 1g tank before with a gold fish and they lived happily for a like 2 years then the goldfish got big!

the inch rule is a myth if i kept 1 inch of fish per gallon i would be so overstocking my tank! its mainly territory you know? my betta wouldnt hurt a fly if the fly bite him! he is so active but just such a wimp... im betting that my gurl will beat him up! once my betta boy escaped from his net (he was in a isolation tank) and the other boy in the other isolation net tried to kill him but all he did was swim!!! i dont think he gets intimidated! like he doesnt get mad when my hand is in the tank, he doesnt fight it he lets me do my thing! so yea that is why i just asked the question about the cories! i never said i was gonna do it, i never EVER do something with out asking first! im not stupid, i just want to learn!

 

[LoachLover]

A 10gal realy is the minimum, corys also need to be in at least groups of 4- you should also have sand as substrate instead of gravel and provide them with shelter in the tank as many are nocturnal in nature.

It doesn't have to be sand, a lot of people actually don't use sand with their Corys.

Yes they do enjoy sand, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't HAVE to be sand.

Also, it should be a minimum of 10 gallons.

 

[dwarfgourami]

"the inch rule is a myth if i kept 1 inch of fish per gallon i would be so overstocking my tank! its mainly territory you know?"

It is not just territory. Sensitivity to water quality is another factor, which makes it unwise to keep cories in an overstocked environment. I know peppereds are usually considered hardy, but they are also prone to bacterial infections.

Then there is the need for swimming space. My cories are very active all over the tank and fast swimmers; I can't imagine shutting them up in a tank that small. It would be like keeping my 5-year-old permanently in the broom cupboard; I expect he'd survive, but it would be a shame to let all that wonderful energy go to waste.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

A 10gal realy is the minimum, corys also need to be in at least groups of 4- you should also have sand as substrate instead of gravel and provide them with shelter in the tank as many are nocturnal in nature.

It doesn't have to be sand, a lot of people actually don't use sand with their Corys.

Yes they do enjoy sand, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't HAVE to be sand.

I still prefer to advise sand over gravel though as corys are much less likely to get eroded barbs or bacterial infections in them, its also cool to see the corys filter the sand through their gills too and im sure they enjoy it- my lfs has gravel in its cory tanks and whenever i buy a cory from there and introduce it to my fine sand based tanks they realy dig deep into the gravel and play around in it for ages .

As for the one inch per gal rule its only a rule of thumb and there is much more to stocking a tank than simply following it, daudy_dojo your friends goldfish may have survived in a 1gal tank but would certainly not ever been happy with it and the tank will have stunted its growth forever and ammonia build up must have been terible in it- to show off the fact that you knew somone who had a goldfish and corys in a 1gal and that they were happy is rather a stupid thing to say to be honest.

 

[andywg]

I can't find it now, but someone previously linke to an article where a guy put cories in tanks with gravel substrate, sand substrate and glass substrate for about 6 months and the only ones with eroded barbels were those in the sand due to a bacterial infection.

Now I am a fan of sand and prefer it in all tanks, but there is a myth starting to become popular that gravel erodes a cory's barbels which just doesn't seem to be backed by any proof.

also

The one inch per gallon is not about giving fish their own territory, it's also about ensuring the tank can handle the biolad of the fish.

Another check I tend to do as well is 1 inch of fish per 10 square inches of surface area (to ensure adequate oxygenation of water).

HIH

Andy

 

[daudy_dojo]

i said that the goldfish was moved ... get reading glasses!

 

[Inchworm]

There is nothing wrong with keeping corys on gravel, as long as it is fine gravel. The problem comes when they are kept on coarse gravel or gravel with sharp edges or rough surfaces. Until the beginning of this year, I always used #3 gravel and was quite happy with it. Now, after converting some of my tanks to sand bottoms, I would never go back.

Coarse gravel has spaces where uneaten food can get into, but the corys cannot reach, and this quickly turns into a breeding place for harmful bacteria if it is not vacuumed more often than most people want to do. This is the situation that leads to bacterial infections and barbel erosion.

With sand, the corys can easily find and eat all the food that reaches the bottom, thus a major cause of bacterial infection is eliminated. They also seem (to me) to be happier and even more active than they were on the little gravel.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

i said that the goldfish was moved ... get reading glasses!

The goldfish was already to big for a 1gal tank even if it was only 1inch long they are large waste producers and need alot of swimming space