Adding Cories

[Damienne17]

Hi,
I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 pepper cories and a fish bowl for my male betta..
I got duped into doing a fish in cycle for my poor cories thanks to the LFS but alas the cycle is done and my two cories have survived they are still stressed, but are getting better tanks been cycled about a week.
I know that I will eventually need a larger tank for my fish, but when I researched them the info I read must have been for "salt and pepper cories" so thought they only grew to 1"..
Anyways, for now I'd like to add 3 more cories and my betta.. Would adding the 3 cories at once cause a mini cycle?

 

[Questions?]

what kind of cories are they, most cories grow to be 3 inches, and a betta needs 4 gallon to be happy. So 5 fish as 3 inches= 15inches or 15gallons, plus the 4 gallons for the betta, and sorry, but you will be overstocking it

 

[Damienne17]

As stated above, they are pepper cories. I do realize they will be too big once they reach adult size, but I will be replacing the tank within the next few months.
Unfortunately I was misinformed by the Internet, and thought that peppers only got to be 1.4" tops.

 

[Questions?]

oh, alright well what size tank do you plan on getting? or if you rehome your fish now, you could put 10 pygmy cories in there

 

[Damienne17]

Not sure if I can rehome them, I tried taking them back to the store a couple days after I got them so they wouldn't have to suffer through the nitrogen cycle and the store refused.
I know pygmys are a lot smaller, but would they possibly schoal with them and be happier until I can figure out what to do with them?
Not sure what tank I'd get, I was planning on keeping my eye out on kijiji until I found something suitable for a decent price.

 

[Questions?]

they might school with pygmys, sorry about not replying for so long

 

[fluttermoth]

No, peppered cories won't shoal with pygmys; they're just too different.

Honestly, OP, you'l be ok with four or five cories and your betta in a 10 gallon; you'll just have to make sure that your water change regime is spot on so your nitrate doesn't rise too high.

As to adding them, as you've got just the two fish, I would add the betta now, and a couple more cories in about a fortnight.

 

[Questions?]

when the pygmys are resting on the substrate there is a chance they would stay close to each other, but never swim together
thats what i meant when i said they could shoal together

 

[snazy]

Corys don't grow too fast too big. It will take them at least a couple of years to reach full size. 3-4-5 peppered corys should be ok with the betta in a 10G tank as long as the tank is longer, not higher and square, and of course sand substrate is desirable. Make sure your filter is adequate for the tank size and you do regular weekly maintenace and you shouldn't have any problems. If you upgrade in the future, even better. As for pygmys, I have a few myself and they are not the resting on the substrate type of corys, rarely, when they go for a snooze at night with the rest of fish, but otherwise they are quite active, middle tank swimming, little fish and will do better in a planted tank.

 

[Questions?]

my pgymys are active when i am away at school, then they are resting on wood and the substrate until i feed them lol, they are nice and fat though, so thats good

 

[snazy]

If the tank is not planted, any corys will mostly rest on the substrate as there's no where else to go.

 

[Questions?]

it a 5 gallon with one fake lpant, some driftwood, and a lot of java moss

they usually swim against the current created by the filter though and its hilarious