tank mates for betta in 10g

[ManInBlack2010]

alright so some of you may have heard the problems i've been having with my 10g divided tank. the first betta i put in there with Cash died after 4 days. got a new one, who ended up having fin rot. after his fin rot cleared up i put him in the tank with cash and things have been great up until 2 days ago. i noticed 2 days ago his fins were clamped whereas he used to be fairly relaxed. didn't flare his fins like cash does but still fairly showy. yesterday i got home from work and i couldn't find him... it took me a minute to find him and finally i saw him laying on his side at the bottom of the tank. i shook the plant he was by and he jumped up but i think there's something wrong with him. he's going back in his 3.5g qt tank and i think that's where he's going to stay.

so now Cash has this 10g to himself (cash is doing better than ever by the way, he's very happy and flirty, walmart fish, who figured, lol) but anyways, i'm hoping to maybe get him some tank mates. i have the whole day off today and i plan to dedicate it to my fishies since i've been house sitting for a friend and have only been home to feed them and take off for the last few days. i've had this idea for a 20g with a female and some corycats and i'm wondering if i could put some corycats in with Cash in the 10g. if so how many? i think i'm going to get some drift wood if i do get some more fish, just so i can have more hiding places (i have loads of plants right now and flower pots for houses)

also any ideas on what might be wrong with rebel? thanks!

[hedgehog]

If you get pygmy cories you could get 5 or 6. Those are kind of hard to find though. More likely you'll find C. aeneus which are bronze, green, or albino. All three colorings will school together. You could have 4 in a ten gallon, maybe 5 if you keep up on water changes and make sure the bottom is well oxygenated. They need sand or smooth pebbles because most gravel will wear down their barbels which can lead to secondary infection, make it harder for them to find food, just a whole slew of bad things. They like lots of hiding places which you already have so they should be fine.

I would be prepared for the possibility that the betta may not like the cories. For the greatest odds of success you'll want to remove Cash, rearrange the tank, put the cories in, and finally add Cash back. This way Cash won't see the cories as intruders in his territory.

[tf1265]

I was going to say nearly all the same things hedgehog just said.

I wouldn't try to find pygmy cories though, stick with c. aeneus or other common varieties. I would not recommend albino, they are more sensitive than the other types. I also adore peppered cories, they are my favorite of all the fish I have. I do have some false julii cories (prob labeled as just Julii cories because pet stores are stupid and legitimate julii cories are pretty rare) that are absolutely adorable.

Without knowing more about your tank or what might have happened right before your betta got sick, it's hard to guess what might be wrong with him. It could be a swim bladder issue, which unfortunately is usually permanent and fatal unless it was caused by acclimation issues in which is it possibly reversible.

[ManInBlack2010]

thanks for your input guys! so, i got 4 peppered corycats. they're going in the 10g by themselves for a week - cash will be in the 3.5g and rebel will be in the 1.5g bowl (the bowl has a heater).

rebel is in the bowl right now, put him in there shortly after i posted this message because i wanted to separate him from cash. he is still not acting well. i think i'm going to do aq salt treatments for a while and see if that perks him up.

bought some more silk plants (i love the looks of heavily planted tanks lol) and some plastic driftwood (they didn't have any pieces of driftwood small enough for my tank - i did the panty hose test on it and it's safe for cash) my cory cats or as i've been calling them 'my kitties' are floating in their bag on top for the last half hour. hope to release them soon and i'm really excited. i'll try to load pics if i can find my camera

[tf1265]

You might want to try epsom salt for Rebel, it may be more effective than aquarium salt. But it sounds like you've got it under control, quarantining sick fish is the first step unless it's something like ick that they will probably all get anyway.

[ManInBlack2010]

moving Cash into his 10g with new tank mates today! i know that it wasn't a very long qt but Cash has been very depressed in his old 3.5g and i can't stand to see him like that. did a fresh 50% water change for the kitties and they are swimming around happily. Cash is floating in a cup on the top kinda unsure about the whole thing. Every time one will swim by he'll look at it like "what the hell is that?!" haha, we'll see what happens! i'm gonna let him float there for atleast another 15 minutes

[ManInBlack2010]

oh and rebel is doing great by the way! he perked right up a few days after being in the 1.5g bowl. i'm guessing that maybe he doesn't like big tanks? i'm gonna move him into the 3.5g later today and keep an eye on him for the next few days