Bettas, Cories, And Ghost Shrimp, Oh My!

[tetraman]

I currently have a 2.5 gallon tank with a giant red and green plakat, and I was wondering if I could put my green cory in with him. I know they're supposed to be in groups, but this is an acception because of the tank's size. I would also like to know if I could keep the largest ghost shrimp out of the hundreds in my LFS's tank in there safely. Finally, any tips on breeding my bronze cories would be appreciated.

I'll be posting pics of the tank tonight. I got some sand from a stream behind my house and it looks incredibly natural!

 

[starrynightxxi]

you can't keep any cories in that tank. you can't really keep anything in that tank with a betta except maybe one ghost shrimp. but make sure it really is a ghost shrimp and not a long arm shrimp because long arm shrimp will eat your betta.

 

[DarkEntity]

agreed, that tank is too small for anything else. Imo its too small for a single Betta especially PK's as they really love to swim..

 

[tetraman]

Why not? I'll probably at least try it. The ghost shrimp would eat the waste and keep the tank cleaner. I love them for that!

Oh, I hadn't read DarkEntity's post. I think I'll try it and see how it goes as he never swims along the bottom anyway. He is one active and cool fish, though!

 

[starrynightxxi]

cories are way too active a fish to be kept in such a small tank, they need filtered, heated water, and they must be kept in groups. That's just the way it is.

 

[tetraman]

It is filtered, and they certainly don't need a heater as they enjoy temperatures in the 72 range.

 

[starrynightxxi]

my room is rarely that warm, so niether are any tanks in my room that are unheated. Nonetheless, that only addresses two of four problems. 50% on a test is still failing.

 

[tetraman]

3. It's fine without a group now.
4. It' fine that he's ative, because he has the whole floor to himself.

100%, YAY!!!

 

[starrynightxxi]

he's not fine by himself, they are a schooling fish. tetras are not fine by themselves, either.

active fish will require a bigger footprint than a 2.5 can give. also, my cories do not stay at the bottom, they use the entire tank; that's 29 gallons and they are only babies. perhaps the reason your only uses the bottom is because he is by himself and feels too insecure to move away from the bottom.

Finally, regardless of whether or not a cory will be happy in a 2.5 gallon tank, if you put a betta in that tank, specifically an, as you say, GIANT betta, the tank is going to be massively overstocked.

So no, not 100%

 

[dwarfgourami]

Agree with Starrynight about the cory. My peppereds (same size as a bronxe) certainly make full use of their 19 gallons, and I know they could do with more. They are incredibly active in all levels of the tank and spend an awful lot of time interacting with each other, nuzzling each other, climbing on top of each other. I just couldn't imagine keeping one on its own, or keeping it in a tiny tank where there was no room for it to roam around. It's totally different from a betta that mainly sits around.

Breeding corys is quite easy, easiest in a ratio of 2 males per female. You need to condition them with livefoods (frozen or jellied will do) and when they have spawned transfer the eggs to a rearing tank with good circulation. Or alternatively, let them spawn in a breeding tank and then move the parents. The fry will need to be reared on liquifry several times a day and the bottom of the tank kept meticulously clean.

 

[tetraman]

They need liquid fry food? Would blackworms or adult brine shrimp work? My LFS has both, but when I put in these tiny worms I found the fry ate them all before the cories. Would they breed witth the fry in the tank?