Pygmy Cories

[Honeythorn]

Well, the other day I tried to add a trio of Pygmy cories to my mothers 5 gal betta tank, but he took one look at them in the bag and started attacking the bag. So I naturally decided not to put those in with him. I put them into my mature 12 galllon ( contains a single shy female krib and a dwarf gourami ) which is running with a Fluval 3. I know cories like to be in groups, and seeing as these are so little I bought 5 more today, bringing my total to 8. They're currently floating in their bag to acclimate to temperature ect.

The Fluval 3 does a good job, and I think it does overfilter a bit on that tank ( 18x15x12 ) but I will have approx 13-15 inches of fish in the tank when they're fully grown . Do you think my filter is strong enough? The tank has been set up 4 months or so , and the Fluval 3 was matured for 2 months before that in my 3 year old mature 30 gallon tank.

I have a spare Fluval 1 sitting in the 30 gal doing nothing but maturing for no real reason or purpose ( I found it in the attic ) and it's been there for a month or so. Should I add it to my 12 gallon alongside the other one? Or do you think the Fluval 3 is enough?

Note: I don't want to put them in my 30 gal as it is already slightly overstocked ( running with an Eheim 2215 external cannister and the spare Fluval 1 ) and I have a ghost shrimp who I feel would see the Pygmy cories as a great snack.

 

[Colin_T]

if you have to clean the Fluval3 more than once a month then you need more filtration. If you only have to clean the filter every couple of months then it is sufficient for the tank and the fish in it.

Don't worry too much about the 1inch per gallon rule as it has too many variabilities. In particular small fishes produce a lot less waste than bigger fish and you can have heaps of little fish in a tank that is too small for one 6-8 inch fish. 6-8 pygmy cories won't put much load on the tank.

 

[jollysue]

A tank with a krib and gourami is not appropriate for Corys esp dwarfs. 3 is also a very small group for a small shoaling fish like pygmy Cories. I wouldn't keep them with much less than 10. They do best in large groups with no threats.

No matter how shy the krib is, Cichlids are not appropriate tanks mates for Corys let alone dwarfs. With larger outgoing Corys like bronze or peppers appistos can be good in a community tank with lots of cover.

If you don't have a good home for them, it might be best to return them until you do. I killed 50 pygmies when I first tried them back in the day. Small fish need special care.

There is an oldtimer's rule of thumb: If it is small enough to fit in the mouth of another fish in the tank, it is in danger. I have gone through lots of small fish in peaceful community tanks.

 

[Honeythorn]

I said in my post that I have 8, the krib already has a new home lined up. She is extremely shy and has yet to do anything, but my brother is taking her on.

 

[jollysue]

Sorry I just skimmed and saw the "trio" part. Glad you get to keep the little guys!