I feel obligated to chime in here...
Pittsburgh area (actually Western PA) fish clubs:
http
/fishpittsburgh.com/local-clubs/
(I'm on the other end of the state... so welcome to TFF from the Philadelphia area.)
Now, on to the issue of fish in a 10 gallon.
First, let me clear up a misunderstanding - adding additional filtration to a tank does not change the volume of the tank (i.e. swimming space), it does not change the surface area (i.e. the oxygen carrying capacity), and it doesn't change the needs of the individual species.
Second, a 10 gallon tank, while widely sold and available is not suitable for many species. We have a thread in our Beginner's Resource Center that discusses suitable fish... this is a partial list, but its a starting point.
It seems that you are under the impression that your tank is more than a 10 gallon tank because it is well filtered and planted. That's unfortunately not true. The size of the tank won't be affected. Your water quality can be higher as a result, but its still only so big.
So your saying you can't keep a school of corys in a 10g?? How do they keep like 50 in 1 10g at the pet store? I'm not doubting your answer just wanna know how they are able to achieve the numbers in such a small space
So could you keep a usd catfish In a ten gallon if it was with only other usd cats? Cause I kept synoditis petricola in a 10g planted before and they were fine for many years?
The water volume of the LFS is usually based on much different volumes than what you see. Generally there is a back room with a huge volume of water that houses the filtration system. They keep the fish in much smaller tanks in the retail area, so that you can more easily see the fish, and so that they can catch the fish in a much easier way.
Also, you must consider that they are in a TEMPORARY location at the LFS, not in a permanent home for the rest of their lives. Its for that reason that they can keep so many tank busting fish in such cramped quarters as well... its only temporary. Ideally for the LFS, none of those fish would remain in those tanks for more than a week up to a month. But, other than that, they wouldn't be in such a small space.
For determining the minimum size of a tank that's needed for a fish, you need to consider, the behavior of the fish. How big will it grow? How active is it? How many of that specie are required before it feels 'secure'? How 'dirty' is the fish?
There are some corydoras that would be suitable in a 10, but only the 'dwarf' varieties. (I kept 3,
only 3 because the LFS didn't and hasn't gotten more in, corydoras leopardus in a 15 gallon tank over the summer, so that I wouldn't have to drive to work to take care of them for the summer. And their behavior was very 'sulky'. They barely moved. They weren't active, they weren't 'themselves'. When I put them back into the 110 gallon tank, they perked up, they became active and they are back to their old nature again. Temporary quarters, like in a LFS, is very different from a long term solution.) But, even keeping the dwarf varieties, you'd still want to stick to only 6, but no less if at all possible.
Fish for a 10 gallon would be found
here &
here.
Before stocking any tank, the key element you want to do is RESEARCH, RESEARCH, and more RESEARCH. Don't trust a single source. Verify all information from one fish site with at least two or more others. Check for minimum tank size, behavior and compatibility with other fish.
Ultimately, fishkeeping has many layers to it. You can peel back as many as you are interested in. But, the first layer is to ensure that the tank you use is suitable for the fish you have. Upside down catfish need a much bigger tank, due to their own size, their activity level and their need to be kept with proper numbers. Most corydoras species are also in need of a much larger tank, at the very least a 20 gallon long, and this would include your species, unless its one of the dwarf varieties.
Hopefully this will help you. An immature tank, like you seem to be implying for your mother's tank, would be better than an improperly sized one. You can help to mature the tank more quickly by adding some of your filter media to that tank and planting that tank.
