Cory Cats And Betta?

[LonelyPigeon]

Hey, you all. So for about a year, I had a ten gallon tank with several celestial pearl danios and some albino cory cats. This summer, I had a bit of a fishy tragedy. My heater died, and when I got a new, adjustable one, I tried to set it to 76 degrees, and it made the tank 84  degrees instead. Woke up the next day, tank was an inferno, CPDs were dead. That was not a good day.
 
Fast forward a month or so. I was considering buying a male betta before (at the suggestion of some of you on this forum <3), and keeping him in a small, maybe 4 or 5 gallon tank. Now, I've been mulling over attempting to put a betta in my 10 gal with 3 cory cats. 
 
What's your guys' take on this? Would I be making a mistake to do this? If not, what precautions should I take to keep my cory cats safe?
 
EDIT: I've heard different ideal water temps for cory cats - I was using 76 degrees at the advice of my snobby but knowledgeable LFS.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Corys can be great tankmates for bettas as they stick to different areas, but you should be prepared if the betta you get decides he just doesn't want buddies.
Something troublesome though is that albino corys get too large for a 10g, and need to be kept in groups of 6+, although 3 is certainly much better than 1.
 
Bettas need 78-82F, not 100% sure on corys temperature requirements but I imagine everyone should be okay if you keep it set on 78.
 
Would you consider rehoming your corys or perhaps getting a larger tank?

 

[LonelyPigeon]

poop. The LFS told me 10 gal was okay for cories. No, I don't intend to get rid of them, and I can't get a larger tank at my apartment (it's in my lease agreement). I don't know anyone who keeps fish (with the exception of bettas in bowls), and the LFS won't allow me to dump my fish on them, since I bought them at a chain store (cheaper). Plus, I've had these guys for a year, and I'm pretty attached to them. The CPDs kinda sucked, since they were so little, shy, and didn't really do much, but the cories are super active and fun to watch. They've got names, and I can tell them apart. My whole reason for getting fish was that I wanted a pet, but my property management company wouldn't allow me to get any real pets. So I guess I'm just screwed. And really, really upset now.
 
To add insult to injury, I also used one of those stupid tank stocking calculators... It told me I was at 80% stocking with 3 albino cories and 4 CPDs. This sucks, you guys.  

 

[Ninjouzata]

Aw, I'm sorry. It really depends on the type of cory, you could have pygmy corys just fine in there.
 
Out of curiousity, they have something in the lease agreement that says a maximum of what size tank you can get? I've never had an apartment so I don't know anything about that stuff.
You can find lots of people on craigslist, if you do end up wanting to re-home your corys, but it's not like anyone is going to hate you for not doing so.
 
CPDs are very shy, especially in low numbers, which 4 is quite low, they also need 6+ but more is always better and helps them feel more comfortable. Did you have any hiding spots/plants?
 
That's really cool that you can tell yours apart, the only one of my albino cory's that I can tell who it is, is Mr. Gnubby, as he came to us with no fins or barbels. They're growing back now except for his dorsal.
 
Don't beat yourself too much over it, people have made a lot worse mistakes. And yes, the stocking calculators can be rather inaccurate.

 

[LonelyPigeon]

For my property management company, I could have made a pet deposit prior to signing my lease if I wanted a tank larger than 10 gallons. I didn't, since I planned to keep this one. If they came to inspect my apartment, and found that I had a larger tank... well, I'm not sure what they could do. I just don't want to risk it, since I know they've forced people to send cats to shelters before.
 
My CPDs are dead. I never want to get them again (they're pretty much the most boring fish in existence, while I'm looking for something to substitute for my dogs and mice). My tank is pretty heavily planted, though, and I used to have a piece of bogwood in there. They spent 99% of their time hiding behind it, out of view. The only time they appeared was when I dropped in bloodworms - even normal food wasn't good enough for them.
 
Yeah, I also was a bit confused, because I know that a lot of people used the inch-of-fish-to-gallon-of-water rule, and with my 3 cories, that would only add up to about 6" when they're fully grown. 
 
I'm very wary of getting pygmy cories, because the LFS told me they weren't very hardy. Basically, I went to the LFS asking about what sorts of bottom feedery types I could consider for a 10 gal, and they advised me against the pygmies. My Albinos are 2", 1", and 1.3", roughly (which, in addition to that the 1.3" is a female, is why they're easy to tell apart), and I wouldn't want to go for something more tiny.
 
Little side note: I'm sort of confused, because I bought the 2" (Ghost ) in a different place than the smaller ones, and he looks a lot different, almost as if he's a different species. Actually, I DID buy those little guys at the LFS, but I'd feel wrong returning them without their buddy Ghost. I'm not really sure what's up with that. Ghost is pinkish, whereas the other two are more white and iridescent. He's also grown half an inch since I bought him, while the others have only grown a little since I bought them a year ago. He likes to hang out with the other ones, though, especially the other male. My only thought there might be that the LFS albinos might be a smaller variety, which is why I was still advised to get them, while Ghost is a standard. 

 

[PrincessKiara]

Don't worry about pygmy cories not being hardy! I had several. They are charming and quite hardy.
Case in point: Fideo, a small cory (not sure which species, but defs a pygmy). He was an experiment last year at school; somebody abandoned him in the lab with 16+ other fish in a tiny (maybe 2 or 3 gallon?) tank. He had not been fed, cared for or had his water changed for nearly a year; all he had was a few drops of methylene blue added every now and then, when I found him. His water was icy cold, with no heater, thermometer or anything, and very cloudy and dark brown. It stank!
Then after I began caring for him, somebody decided it was a great idea to put him in a little vial of un-dechlorinated tap water, in total darkness under the sink. I don't know how they even got him in, that vial was so small. It took me four days to find him and return him to his tank.
Then somebody dumped detergent in his tank and did a 100% water change--again with undechlorinated water.
 
That was the final straw. I took him home today, where he is safe, to a heated, filtered and frankly huge tank!
 
So don't worry, they're plenty hardy, as you can see

I think Fideo will never die LOL! What a warrior! I admire that little fish, I truly do <3 He deserves a good life after all he's been through.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Ooh okay, that makes a lot more sense. I'd be wary of getting a bigger tank too, no telling what they'd do if they've sent other animals to a shelter
 
Perhaps you could get some pictures and someone who knows corys quite well could tell you if they're indeed different types?
If going by the inch per gallon rule you'd actually be at 9", as albinos get up to 3" ;o Or at least that is what I've read.
 
I'm so glad you took him home Kiara, and I hope he continues being the little warrior he is!
 
If you're worried about the health of pygmys, you could look at some habrosus maybe? They still stay quite small.

 

[PrincessKiara]

Hey thanks!
I felt sure s/he was a pygmy due to the tiny size, but turns out it's a high-fin peppered cory Anyway, the dwarf cories I used to have lived perfectly well for quite a long time

 
What a change in Fideo! LOL, now he's in the big tank, he's swimming around, foraging, and not hiding every time I get near! I love him! <3 I'll buy 5 more companions for him ASAP, now that I know what he is.

 

[LonelyPigeon]

Aww, I'm glad your little Fideo, Kiara! Good on you! My older sister "rescued" (was given to pay off a debt - weird circumstance) a female betta from a high school science lab. She lived almost five more years, even though my sister kept her in a 2.5 gallon bowl. Tough little fish!
 
I have this other problem where, honestly, I like my fish like I like my men: not too shrimpy. I thought I could have decent-sized fish in a 10 gal - guess I was misinformed. Should've just gotten a betta.
 
I'll go talk with the LFS about their albinos sometime today. I did some research and found that bronze cories can come in different sizes, so maybe I'll luck out and Morgan and Thing will stay small. The LFS is damn snobby, so if they gave me some misinformation, I'll be preeeetty irked.