Pygmy corydoras in a 22/30cm cube tank with betta?

[Salty&Onion]

Hi all, I'm looking into putting a 6ish pygmy cories in my betta tank which is 22/30cm long on each side... The water will be soft, with tannins and sand.
@Byron , do you think I could do this?

 

[Byron]

No. Corydoras pygmaeus spend more time in the upper water column than they do on the substrate, and that brings them directly into the space the Betta considers "his." And a Betta can easily attempt to swallow a pygmy cory, though he would likely never do it again because of the cory's defense--a stiff pectoral spine that can be instantly erected and locked and will pierce the throat of any predator, killing it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Umm... lol?

No, but not due to the tank size. Do not put pygmy cories in with a Betta. The dwarf species, especially Corydoras pygmaeus and C. hastatus, spend most of their time in the upper water, not on the substrate. This brings them into the Betta's territory, and a mature Betta could easily swallow a cory...which would mean death to the Betta due to the pectoral poisonous spine erected into the Betta's throat but it would be too late then.

Without the Betta, a group of C. pygmaeus--but group meaning 8-9 plus--would be OK in a cube.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Umm... lol?

Its not funny

 

[Salty&Onion]

No. Corydoras pygmaeus spend more time in the upper water column than they do on the substrate, and that brings them directly into the space the Betta considers "his." And a Betta can easily attempt to swallow a pygmy cory, though he would likely never do it again because of the cory's defense--a stiff pectoral spine that can be instantly erected and locked and will pierce the throat of any predator, killing it.

So what could work with him? I will be putting tannins in his tank so his water will be soft, not hard like normally is.

 

[Byron]

So what could work with him? I will be putting tannins in his tank so his water will be soft, not hard like normally is.

If by him you mean a male Betta, no other fish. Bettas are not community fish and are always best in their own tank.

 

[Salty&Onion]

If by him you mean a male Betta, no other fish. Bettas are not community fish and are always best in their own tank.

A snail wouldn't do good in softwater

 

[Byron]

A snail wouldn't do good in softwater

That would probably depend upon the snail species, and the GH. My pond snails and Malaysian Livebearing Snails manage, I've n idea about the larger specimen snails which is what I assume you are meaning here.

 

[Salty&Onion]

That would probably depend upon the snail species, and the GH. My pond snails and Malaysian Livebearing Snails manage, I've n idea about the larger specimen snails which is what I assume you are meaning here.

My overall water hardness is 253ppm, and if I had put some tannins extracted from indian almond leaves, I have no idead what the GH would be

 

[Byron]

My overall water hardness is 253ppm, and if I had put some tannins extracted from indian almond leaves, I have no idead what the GH would be

That probably would make little to no difference. The GH and KH can only be reduced by diluting with pure water. Organic substances tend to acidify the pH but this depends upon the buffering capability determined by the GH/KH.

 

[Salty&Onion]

That probably would make little to no difference. The GH and KH can only be reduced by diluting with pure water. Organic substances tend to acidify the pH but this depends upon the buffering capability determined by the GH/KH.

So tannins from indian almond leaves won't soften his water? How would I soften it altogether?
Would couple of otos would be fine after softening his water? Just to add, his tank will densely packed with plants too.

 

[Byron]

So tannins from indian almond leaves won't soften his water? How would I soften it altogether?
Would couple of otos would be fine after softening his water? Just to add, his tank will densely packed with plants too.

Tannins do not do the softening, it is the organics behind tannins that do this, and wood, dried leaves, peat, alder cones are all organic things, along of course with fish excrement and any dead plant or animal matter in the tank. But the extent to which these may work depends upon the GH/KH initially.

If the GH of the source water is 253 ppm (= 14 dGH) it is fairly hard water. Aside from some professional water softener apparatus [home water softeners are usually not safe for fish because they replace calcium and magnesium salts with sodium chloride (common "salt") which is no better for soft water fish] you would have to dilute this with pure water such as RO, distilled or rainwater [not exactly pure here, but it will be soft and on the acidic side, if otherwise safe to collect]. Once you have the GH/KH much lower, the buffering capacity is less but still may be significant, depending upon the value.

Dilution is proportional, so example mixing half tap water with half RO water would result in a GH of roughly 126 ppm (7 dGH).

 

[Salty&Onion]

Tannins do not do the softening, it is the organics behind tannins that do this, and wood, dried leaves, peat, alder cones are all organic things, along of course with fish excrement and any dead plant or animal matter in the tank. But the extent to which these may work depends upon the GH/KH initially.

If the GH of the source water is 253 ppm (= 14 dGH) it is fairly hard water. Aside from some professional water softener apparatus [home water softeners are usually not safe for fish because they replace calcium and magnesium salts with sodium chloride (common "salt") which is no better for soft water fish] you would have to dilute this with pure water such as RO, distilled or rainwater [not exactly pure here, but it will be soft and on the acidic side, if otherwise safe to collect]. Once you have the GH/KH much lower, the buffering capacity is less but still may be significant, depending upon the value.

Dilution is proportional, so example mixing half tap water with half RO water would result in a GH of roughly 126 ppm (7 dGH).

So if I'd want to soften the water, I should add indian almond leaves straight to the tank and the organics behind tannins will soften the water?
What about the otos?

 

[Byron]

So if I'd want to soften the water, I should add indian almond leaves straight to the tank and the organics behind tannins will soften the water?

No, so far as I am aware tannins do not soften water. Tannins are organic substances that may tint the water, and that may acidify the water, depending upon the GH and KH.

The GH and KH are determined by the dissolved minerals calcium and magnesium primarily, with their carbonates and bicarbonates. Diluting the water with pure water is the easiest way to reduce the hardness.

 

[Salty&Onion]

No, so far as I am aware tannins do not soften water. Tannins are organic substances that may tint the water, and that may acidify the water, depending upon the GH and KH.

The GH and KH are determined by the dissolved minerals calcium and magnesium primarily, with their carbonates and bicarbonates. Diluting the water with pure water is the easiest way to reduce the hardness.

So how do I actually soften it? I know that hard water can harm my betta and I don't want to go through that