Should I give up my Corydora?

[Sushiiii]

Hi,
I never thought I would come back to this website but here I am. So a few years ago I had a betta fish named Finley and had him in a 10 gallon tank with two albino corys, one cory ended up dying and everything was fine for a few months. Finley got sick and was having trouble in the 10 gallon so I decided to move them to a 5 gallon, I know it isn’t ideal especially for the both of them but I didn’t know what to do (I didn’t think he was in the process of dying), they both got along well so I thought it was fine. A week after getting the new tank Finley dies (pretty sure of old age, had him for three years), the Cory has been by itself ever since, until about a week ago, I saw a betta in petsmart with its anal fin basically ripped in half and hanging on by a thread, I felt the need to help him, so the next day I went and got him. I named him Milenko and properly introduced him to the tank, every thing was fine until a few days ago, I noticed Milenko flaring at the Cory and jabbing towards him, chasing him a bit too. It wasn’t constant and the Cory doesn’t have any marks on him, he always manages to get away before Milenko gets him. Sometimes Milenko will just sit by him, no flaring, sometimes just slowly approach him. Im very worried, to the point where I get up every few minutes to check on them, Milenko seems a bit more aggressive today than usual. Im not the type of person to commit to a pet and then give it away but I want what’s best for the Cory, I honestly care about the Cory more because I’ve had him for two years, I would be sad to see him go if I did have to give him up (getting choked up thinking about it), but I also don’t want to see him die because of an aggressive betta fish. As of now I have Milenko in the cup he originally came in sitting on top of the water. Please help
(Forgot to mention that they are exact same size, maybe the cory is a bit bigger)

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I never thought I would come back to this website but here I am.

Why? What's wrong with this website?

 

[itiwhetu]

You only joined in May and now it's September!!!. I'm sorry with your post I find it hard to follow. I will allow other members who can figure out the problem to comment.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I would give the Cory away to someone who can house it with lots of other cories as they're a schooling fish

I don't believe bettas should be kept as community fish as they're solitary and territorial...hence the aggression you're now experiencing. Make sure your tank is heavily planted, especially so if you're determined to keep them both together

 

[Attenbruh]

Do you still have the 10 gallon tank? or if not you could put the betta in a vase with a spare filter should you have one. I once put a sick tetra in a bucket which is way larger than a cup. Plus the bettas in the wild have been know to live in the footprints of animals during rain. A bucket would be more than enough even without a filter

 

[Attenbruh]

Just put in some stress zyme or quick start

 

[Naughts]

Your betta wants to be alone.
The Cory is going to be very stressed which will make him ill. He should be in a group of 6 cories (same type) and in a 15 gallon+ tank with sand substrate. If you don't want to give your cory away you need to get it it's own tank which meets its needs.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Why? What's wrong with this website?

ye this is my fav website.

 

[Sushiiii]

Why? What's wrong with this website?

I joined this website to potentially help my other betta, I did not think I was going to get another one.

 

[Sushiiii]

You only joined in May and now it's September!!!. I'm sorry with your post I find it hard to follow. I will allow other members who can figure out the problem to comment.

Sorry, you're having a hard time reading it, I was a bit stressed the time I wrote it. It's mainly just every thought that came into my head in the moment.

 

[Sushiiii]

I would give the Cory away to someone who can house it with lots of other cories as they're a schooling fish

I don't believe bettas should be kept as community fish as they're solitary and territorial...hence the aggression you're now experiencing. Make sure your tank is heavily planted, especially so if you're determined to keep them both together

Thank you for responding, I have a decent amount of plants but I usually keep them towards the back of the tank, should I try spreading them out?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Why don't you post a little photo of your tank so we can have a look at what you're dealing with?

 

[Sushiiii]

Your betta wants to be alone.
The Cory is going to be very stressed which will make him ill. He should be in a group of 6 cories (same type) and in a 15 gallon+ tank with sand substrate. If you don't want to give your cory away you need to get it it's own tank which meets its needs.

Afraid someone would have said this, but you're right. The employee who let me buy the corys said it would be fine to have two in with a betta in a 10-gallon tank. I don't have room to put a 15 gallon tank anywhere so I will most likely end up giving the Cory away, I don't know any one else with fish so he will probably go back to Petco. Thank you

 

[Essjay]

The employee who let me buy the corys said it would be fine to have two in with a betta in a 10-gallon tank.

I'm afraid you were a victim of LFS staff, like so many of us on here when we first started keeping fish The best advice is never ever believe anything a fish store worker tells you. There are good ones but they are in a tiny minority. The rest haven't a clue and will make up anything to get a sale.

The betta will be fine on his own in a 5 or 10 gallon tank

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Afraid someone would have said this, but you're right. The employee who let me buy the corys said it would be fine to have two in with a betta in a 10-gallon tank. I don't have room to put a 15 gallon tank anywhere so I will most likely end up giving the Cory away, I don't know any one else with fish so he will probably go back to Petco. Thank you

Before you return him to Petco, consider looking for other local hobbyists on tropical fish groups on places like FB. I know that I have a large school of bronze and albino cories, and would adopt your cory in a heartbeat if I lived closer, so he could have friends and a large tank to swim around in. Others will feel the same!
You could also ask here if someone nearby with cories of his species could take him.

Then you know he is going to a good home.

It's not easy to give up a pet, but you know in your heart of hearts that if you cannot give him what he requires - and he really does need friends of his species, and a larger tank - then finding him a good home is the responsible thing to do.