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Pygmy corys

28K views 96 replies 7 participants last post by  maclyri 
#1 ·
Hi everyone! I recently set up a 10 gal for a new little female betta. I'm just waiting for a new light and then for the plants to really fill in. Does anyone have any experience with Pygmy corys in a betta tank?
Any input would be appreciated [emoji4]

Here's a current FTS


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#2 ·
Hello!

Pygmy cories are pretty much the best betta tankmate. Being that they are catfish, they can be a bit sensitive. You should wait a couple months for your tank to cycle and mature before adding them. That also gives more time for your plants to grow in and provide them with the cover they need. Get at least 6, as they're shoaling fish and need to be in groups.
 
#3 ·
Hi~
I have dwarf corydoras including pygmys in my ten gallon. As @sabrinah said, they're pretty much the ultimate tankmate. Happy, sweet and fun, I would totally go for them after your tank is a month or two mature. Also, I love the look of your tank. Very nice. Is your gravel substrate sharp? Gravel can wear down cory cat's 'whiskers', which are called barbels. They use them to rummage about and find food since they have poor eyesight.
Your betta is very cute! what's her name?
 
#4 ·
Thank you guys! The little girls name is Kat (from taming of the shrew) all my bettas have shakespearean names[emoji23]
She's a "baby girl" from petco, I'm excited to see if she marbles out a bit more.


The substrate is black fluorite, I know it might be a little sharp than I would like for corys. I'm getting more ground cover plants though so that should help. I would wait until it was all grown in before adding the little ones (probably a month or 2).
I want to get about 10 of them. I have a fluval 20 filter on the tank and I'm religious about water testing and water changes so I'm not worried about the bio load.
Thanks so much for the help!


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#5 ·
What a cutie! I'm in love, haha.
Sounds good on ten. I have eleven black diamond/dwarf spotted/pygmys in my ten gallon and they love it.
I have carpeting plants and my favorite by far is monte carlo. it looks like baby tears but is so much hardier.
 
#7 ·
She is a character for sure[emoji23] I got more plants today and she had to "help" me plant each one (she chases the roots all the way down each time).

During planting shot, she has to be involved.

New current FTS!! I love the difference in the two sides. Got my jungle on one side and the garden on the other haha.


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#8 ·
You'll need some broad-leaf plants like Anubias. Pygmy Cory love resting on them and will clean the leave of dropped food. You can have 10+ in a 10 gallon. However, they are not really bottom fish; more mid-level. For the bottom you might look at my favorites: Habrosus Cory. They are tiny, too.

And...Welcome to the Forum! :wave:
 
#14 ·
Habrosus Are amazing. I like them better than the Pygmys just a little. But shh don't tell my little guys, haha. Your tanks are so beautiful!!!
 
#18 ·
Maybe you could get six of each? It's pushing it a little but it would probably be okay.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Six each would not be overstocking; you could have 8-12 which is what I would do...at least with the Pygmy.

People think "overstocking" means bioload; it doesn't...you can take care of bioload with more filtration and/or water changes. "Overstocking" is too many fish for the space or level. However, you're not stocking just one level as the Pygmy are mid and the Habrosus bottom and your Betta is top.
 
#21 ·
Six each would not be overstocking. People think "overstocking" means bioload; it doesn't...you can take care of bioload with more filtration and/or water changes. "Overstocking" is too many fish for the space or level. However, you're not stocking just one level as the Pygmy are mid and the Habrosus bottom.


Thanks for the info!


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#23 ·
My total stocking in my ten gallon is ten dwarf rasboras (I have the exclamation point ones and they're delightful) , 3 black diamond corys, five pygmys, and three hasbarous along with my betta and one guppy. It seems like a lot but it's worked out great with a lot of attention, increased filtration and a ton of plants along with the fact the fact that my betta is old and lazy, as is the guppy. Really stocking is relative to space, bioload how much maintenance you have time for and fish personality Russel and maclyri said. Stocking calculators like Aquaadvisor are amazing for a estimate, but are still limited.
Bottom line, if you're only going to have a betta and corydoras, I wouldn't worry to much about having 12 or so corydoras.
How is cycling going?
 
#24 ·
Thank you for the input! Cycling is pretty done, I haven't had ammonia or nitrite in almost a week. The crypts are growing back after the initial melt off too. I added a couple horned nerite snails. I thought about some chili rasboras but I think the little girl would be a little too aggressive. Here's an updated picture. I added a sword as well.



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#25 ·
Looking great!! She looks so little in all that space. One of my favorite plants right now is broad-leaf ludwigia. It's beautufiul and so easy.
 
#26 ·
I think she's almost full grown too[emoji23] it's funny seeing a single fish in a tank this big. She likes exploring her territory though haha.
I like how this one is growing in[emoji4] I've been thinking of getting a red-ish stem plant for the other spot in the back! I'll look at those! The red plant in there now is AR "cardinalis" and I swear by it, it's my favorite.


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#30 ·
Awesome!! What sort of rasboras are those? Chili or exclamation point? Super cute! When I first got mine they were small and skinny like that but they'll fatten up and grow like weeds in a few days. How Kat taking to them?
 
#31 ·
They're chili's! I'm hoping they will fatten up, what do you feed yours, even my micro pellets are too big.
Kat is fine with them unless they get in her space, then she chases them off. Usually she just ignores them though! I'll get bump the numbers up to around 10 and then get my pygmys next week!


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#32 ·
I feed mine Wardley Advanced Tropical flakes. I pulverize them into tiny particles and sink 'em and they eat up up. I've fed mine brine shrimp which was a little big for them, but they ate it anyway.
 
#35 ·
Pretty much all boraras are wild caught. They are doing pretty good! They've claimed the back right corner and play in the fern and anubias. They are getting braver every day. If I sit in front of the tank long enough they come out to say hi. I'm getting some red root floaters for them soon which I hope will help them come out more too.


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