How many Cory catfish can I keep in a 10 gal tank?

[sammyapp]

I only have enough room in my house for a 10 gal Tetra fish aquarium, as of now I have only 3 Cory catfish but I would like to get more. I have been reading online that catfish prefer to be in shoals of their own species (all my Cory catfish are different species due to lack of availability at all my local pet shops) but I recently visited one of them and I seen another two bronzed Cory's to accompany the little one I already have in my tank. I feel three is too much already, should I keep things the way they are?

[MatsP]

There is a rough guide that says 1" per gallon. Corys grow to about 1-3", so you can have between 3 and 10. Bronze corys are on the larger side, so about 4-5 would be a maximum.

Of course, if you make lots of water changes, and perhaps use an external filter to increase the volume of the tank, you could perhaps squeeze another two or so in the tank.

--
Mats

[jeff@zina.com]

I generally figure about 5 in the aeneus size/species for a 10 gallon, though I've had more when breeding. Keep in mind that bronze, green and albino cories are often the same c. aeneus species anyway, depending on who is selling them. (Saw them labeled as "blue coricats" a few weeks back...)

All the inch/gallon size rules are based on averages, and nothing is ever average, so you kind of have to find what works for you.

Jeff

[This Old Spouse]

Do some research to find out which species run small and look for those so you can comfortably have more than just a couple. Since they like to shoal and it's best to get at least 6, the smaller the better in your 10g.