Betta With Pygmy Corys?

[Chad]

They are such tiny fish that a sizable group can fit in a very small tank. When I first kept them I had 6, this was about 7 years ago that I first discovered them in a LFS. They were okay in terms of behavior and I didn't have any comparison at that time. I liked them so much I purchased more. I noticed a change in the behavior toward more outgoing. Eventually I dedicated a tank to them as I wanted to try and breed them. That tank had 30 in it and the behavior was totally different at that level of stocking. They were far more social and "brave". I have 16 right now and even at that level I hardly ever see them. I've actually thought, "man...all my pygmies are dead!" only to see them come out of hiding at feeding time.

 

[tmoney7]

I would be interested to know that as well stanleo.  I have 6 pygmy's and a betta in my 10 gal.  Would i be able to comfortable add more pygmy's or am i at the limit for the size of the tank?

 

[Chad]

12 in a 10 gallon is perfectly fine in my experience. They really are tiny fish. They sometimes swim about but it's generally not the back and forth you see with fish that require a long tank.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I suppose it would also depend on if the tank is a cube or rectangle; with a rectangle being the preference. 

 

[tmoney7]

So you think i could probably have at least 12 in there, but is that taking into consideration the big piece of driftwood and all the plants plus the betta? just curious
 
Yes it is a rectangle

 

[Chad]

The planted tank I have mine in is a 10 gallon standard shape rectangle.

 

[tmoney7]

So then i should be okay to have 12 of them with what is in my tank aka betta.  Just wanting to make sure that i am not over crowding tank because i would have 12 corys like you but also have the betta as well.

 

[Chad]

12 pygmy cory...not 12 of any other kind...would be just fine in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[tmoney7]

Okay just wanted to make sure before i go and do anything stupid .  Thank you for the help!!

Edit: i lied im not done asking questions .  One last question (hopefully) is whether or not just adding in new ones would be okay?  Would they fight at all with the older ones or would they get welcomed into the bunch?

 

[Chad]

As long  as it's pygmy cory (Corydoras pygmaeus)...not dwarf or any other. You can see how tiny they are compared to the sand grains in this photo.

 

[tmoney7]

Yeah i would get the same ones, plus i'm pretty sure my LFS only caries pygmy's and not dwarf corys.

 

[Chad]

No fighting with these guys. I've never had them pick on each other. They are social and just seem to know who is the boss.

 

[tmoney7]

oh okay thank you!

 

[aquarist_in_china]

Just for reference, I have a 55L tank with a betta, 8 pygmy corys, 11 neons and a nerite snail. It's doing well and the same betta that attacked and killed smallish shrimp has left them alone, except for sometimes chasing them away. He did that more at the start, because he arrived first. I thought I was losing the corys, and they were just hiding. I bought 8, thought I was down to 6, then came back from holiday to three, and the other day counted all 8 at once for the first time in two months.