New Betta Struggles

[FCWonderer]

Hey everyone. So my 10 gal tank is finally cycled and I got a few new fish. One of them being a beautiful, red Crowntail Betta. Now this isn't my first Betta as I had another Crowntail several years ago in the same tank. But like all animals, I know they have different behaviors and quirks to them and this one is very much different than how I remember my first Betta.
 
First things first is that he won't eat. Like at all. He is supposedly a juvenile, although he is ~3 inches. How long until he is hungry enough to eat after being introduced to a new tank? It's been 2 days. I'm feeding him Betta Bites (pellets) but he doesn't seem interested in them at all while the Corys rush up to the top of the tank to feast on the leftovers.
 
Secondly he is incredibly shy even for a new fish in the tank. I remember my other Betta being much more lively. The new one sticks very close the far right 1/4 of the tank where it is much more heavily planted (fake plants) than the rest of the tank. Is he just nervous being in a new home? When should I be seeing him get used to his surroundings to make sure this isn't just a characteristic of his? He's too good looking to be hiding behind plants. 

 
Lastly I've always wondered about something Bettas do. My first Betta would blow bubble nests every now and again. This Betta has already done it on night 2 of being in his new home. Does blowing bubble nests really indicate healthiness/happiness or is it just a myth? Thanks for your help guys!

 

[attibones]

Bubble nests just indicate sexual maturity.

Get your betta a cave. This will help him feel more comfortable. Also remove some fish. In a ten gallon, you really should not keep schooling species with a betta as there is simply not enough room. How many corydoras do you have, and what species are they?

Finally, give him a few days to adjust. I had one who was eating that night, another who took three dus, and one who wouldn't eat for nearly two weeks. He'll eat when he is comfortable with his surroundings or hungry enough, whichever comes first.

 

[biggerfish]

make sure your corys are a pygmy species and then 6 should be good, no more no less and make sure they're pygmy. and yeah get a cave, but corys are bottom and bettas are top dwellers so as long as they're pygmy that should be good. Just give him time

 

[FCWonderer]

Right now I have two Bronze Corys and two Peppered. Was going to get some more soon (like two). I think that should be fine for my aquarium. I enjoy having those two kinds of fish so that's all I'll get with maybe a Nerite Snail for the algae. Also I have one of those tree stumps that has a bunch of holes in it. I don't know if that counts as a cave or not but there is something atleast similar to it in the tank. He's starting to move around a bit and swims up to the pellet food but then when he gets close, just swims away from it.

 

[ncguppy830]

i wouldnt suggest that cories need to be in shoals of 6 or more and the only shoal you could have in your tank is pygmys.

 

[Lillefishy]

Your tank isn't big enough for any more corys & they really should be in larger groups.
You may want to think about rehoming the ones you have & getting one of the smaller species such as pygmy or habrosus

 

[Wildbetta]

The corys you have will get quite large when full grown and will be way to big for your tank. I have an older pepper cory that is about 4 in in size and really looks like he could use a bigger tank than the 20 gallon long that I have it in because of its size. Plus you really need at the very minimum 3 of each species for them to be comfortable which you can't add because you are overstocked in that tank as it is.  The betta is probably not comfortable around the corys and feels threatened especially if they are eating the food faster than him.  I would expect him to eat when he is ready.  They can go weeks without eating and still be ok so I wouldn't fret over his not eating.  Watch him because from personal experience I can tell you that some of the ones that are more "shy" at first become some of the more aggressive ones once they are comfortable in their new homes so I wouldn't be surprised if he starts attacking the corys.

make sure your corys are a pygmy species and then 6 should be good, no more no less and make sure they're pygmy. and yeah get a cave, but corys are bottom and bettas are top dwellers so as long as they're pygmy that should be good. Just give him time

The pygmy species of cory tend to inhabit the middle and upper part of the water column so they are not really a bottom dweller like the bigger species of cory.

 

[FCWonderer]

Well then, seems I'm in a pickle then. Can't return the fish obviously and my space for the fish is confined to tanks that are only 12' wide. Would a 15 gal high be enough to house all the fish? I want to do what's right for the fish but I also want to keep them.

 

[Lillefishy]

A high tank would be no good for your cory as they need a longer footprint being bottom dwellers

 

[Wildbetta]

Not for the corys you have. You need at least a 20 gallon long to be able to have the footprint for both of the species of corys to each have a small school of 3.  For any cory species that is not a dwarf(panda) or pygmy(pygmaeous, hasbrous, hastatus) you need a 20 gallon long. Corys need the room and need the extra members of their own species.

 

[FCWonderer]

I don't have much more room on the mantle behind my bed for a bigger tank. Anything that is as wide as a ten gallon but just longer/higher?

 

[biggerfish]

well now thats the thing is that it needs to be longer for your corys to fit, but you could get a 20G high and replace the corys you have now with pygmy's, that way your tank is big and tall enough to which the bettas and pygmy's won't be squished together.

 

[ncguppy830]

yea 20 gallon is for the best

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If you can't get a bigger tank then you will need to rehome them. 
Either take them back to the LFS or sell them.
 
Corys should be in schools of 6. 3 can work but they are much happier with at least 6 of their own species. To be able to have the Corys and for them to be in the sized shoal they need to be in, you're looking at a 30 gallon long.
 
IMO the only thing that should be with the Betta in the 10 gallon would be some shrimp and/or snails.