Will i have enough room????

[BettaSCHmacK]

Hello all. im buying an eclipse 5 hex or a eclipse 6 this weekend for my betta. my betta alone will have enough room for himself. but i plan on adding 2 albino corey's to the tank. is either of the 2 tanks big enough to hold all 3 fish??

im really excited about this purchase. my guy has been in a small bowl for months while i saved the money for the tank. i want to do it big for him seeing he's waited so long.

[MollyJean]

As a general rule, you want 1 gallon of water per inch of fish. I've seen cory that are pretty small, but you want to make sure everyone is happy. Two small (1.5-2 inches) cory and a betta should be OK in a 6 gallon tank, the more horizontal area the better., though personaly I would want to give them all more space then that. But if you can only get one, try something else. Cory like being in groups (3 or 4 would be better) and wouldn't be happy at all alone.

You might do better with a glass shrimp.

[kelly528]

I have to agree with MollyJean, cories should never be kept in groups of less than 3. My personal standard is at least 5. Furthemore bronze cories will likely mature to about 3 inches, which is no good. Since the 'footprint' of the tank is so small I would not recommend any cories of any size. They need maximum room on the bottom to graze and are only suitable IMO for a rectangle, bowfront or VERY large corner or cube.

Glass shrimp is probably the best bed and as an added bonus they will hardly make a dent in your bioload.

P.S. I'm sure you will get a kick out of seeing your guy explore his new digs. When I first released Lou into the 5.5g he zoomed around the tank for 15 minutes!!!

[kuklachica]

as a side note... have you looked at amazon.com to buy your eclipse? they are MUCH cheaper there than your local pet store (currently the 6 gallon is $66.88 . Just thought I'd mention it since you've been saving for a while and might even have extra money left if you buy it cheaper!

[dr2b]

Originally Posted by kuklachica

as a side note... have you looked at amazon.com to buy your eclipse? they are MUCH cheaper there than your local pet store (currently the 6 gallon is $66.88 . Just thought I'd mention it since you've been saving for a while and might even have extra money left if you buy it cheaper!

Oh and not to mention free shipping on them there!

[BettaSCHmacK]

ahh ic. i guess i'll have to wait till i start on my bigger tank. 20g to introduce some coreys. to bad. i wanted to give my guy some friends. i'll definitally look into the glass shrimp. and i'll look into amazon for the tank. very true. amazon is always cheaper than the stores. right now the eclipse 5g hex is on sale for like 39.99 at petsmart. =)

[MollyJean]

Just so you know, your betta won't be "friends" with anything. They'll tolerate each other, but they won't interact with each other. Betta aren't social fish; they're social people. You are probably your bettas best friend, because you don't have fins.

[dramaqueen]

I agree with MollyJean

[veganchick]

I really don't think you should get just two cories. Thats not enough, they really are schooling fish. I would get ATLEAST 3 to start with. My males bettas usually do not tolerate tankmates, so keep a VERY close eye on all of them! By the way- cories live much longer in tanks 15g or larger.

[ChristinaRoss]

even albino corys will reach a very chunky 3". mine did.

definately wouldnt add cories.

petsmart sells 10 gallon tanks WITH a hood and light for $30............maybe thats an option for you.
or check craigslist or even ebay. ive bought tanks off of both and they were in my city. easy to pick up and no worries or expense with shipping.