what cory to get?

chrisinha · Post by **chrisinha** » 14 Feb 2005, 08:17

hello everyone!

i have a 10 gallon tank with one male betta and have been thinking about adding some corydoras. so,

1) can i add cories to this tank or not?
2) if yes, which one should i get? (not albino aeneus cos i have 5 of them in another tank)
3) how many can i get?

thanks in advance!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Feb 2005, 09:33

I think you should be able to get a few cories for that tank. The fighting fish (Betta Splendens) will take quite big range of temperatures, so you should be able to adjust it to match the cory that you want to keep.

Something like 5 of them would probably be suitable for that size tank. Then test the water frequently, and if the nitrates stay low, you may be able to fit a few more in.

As to which ones to get, it's a balancing act between three things:
1. What's your favourite cory?
2. What's available locally?
3. What's your tap-water like?

I think #1 and #2 are pretty much self-explanatory. Unless you really feel that you MUST have your absolute favourite, Corydoras Unobtanium [that's not a specie!], it's much easier to get what's available in a local shop, than to try to get a specific specie.

#3: If you look at most cory's, you'll find that they aren't too particular about what the water parameters are, and they are generally around pH 7 +/- a bit, and don't have any real restrictions to "soft" or "hard" water only.
But some will have notes that tell you to have soft or hard water with them, and if your tap-water is dramatically different from that, then that could be a limiting factor.

Since your tank is pretty small, I'd also say that it's better to stick with the cory's that grow to the smaller end of the scale, rather than the bigger ones. So maybe stay away from the non-albion C. Aeneus for instance, as it's one of the bigger cory's.

Perhaps something like: or . Those are two of the smaller cory species, which means that you can probably have more than 5 of them (start with 5 and get some more when you see that the water is fine, tho').

--
Mats

chrisinha · Post by **chrisinha** » 15 Feb 2005, 04:15

thanks MatsP!

i was actually thinking about getting a pigmeus cory, exactly because of the size of the tank. i didnt know about the other species you mentioned. but as you said the problem is to find them locally and honestly so far i have only seen bronze cories, emerald cories, some beautiful shwartzi (sp?) cories (but they are huge!), pandas and peppered cories. regarding which one is my favourite, i dont have one. i love my albino cories and im pretty sure i would love any cory.

that being said, it leaves with my tap water parameters. i have never tested it for hardness/softness, but i did test for ammonia and the readings are pretty high (1.0ppm). im even considering getting one of those tap water filters that are sold at petstores.

i guess im stuck.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Feb 2005, 08:51

If your tap-water shows 1 ppm ammonia, then it's very likely that your tap-water is treated with Chloramine rather than pure chlorine. Chloramine is Chlorine and ammonia mixed together. It's used by the water company to sterilize the water and avoid people being sick because they drink tap-water. That is a good thing for humans, but unfortunately not so good for fish...

Chloramine stays in the water longer than chlorine, and takes more dechlorinator (and the right kind of dechlorinator) to remove.

Test your tap-water after you've added some dechlorinator, and see if it still shows signs of ammonia.

I'm sure you can call the local water company and ask them what the hardness of the water is. I don't know what the water is like in southern california. I know that the water in parts of texas can be VERY hard and quite alcalic (high pH), and the same applies here in England. High pH and hard water isn't the ideal for most south american species, but some take to it better than others.

A reverse osmosis unit is quite expensive, and I'd rather stick to species that are OK with the water I've got. I'm pretty sure any of the species that you can readily get in your local shops are OK with ordinary tap-water unless yours is REALLY hard. Of course, if you intend to breed the fish, then it's more important to get the water right, but you really need to find out what your local water is like before you go spend a large lump of money on a RO unit that may not improve the situation that much. Also, soft water is more sensitive to changes, because there's less buffering capacity, which means that the pH can shoot off quite quickly in either direction (depending on what "goes wrong").

Anyways, why not ask the local store if they can get some 'dwarf cories' of some sort (specify the latin names). Most shops CAN get other things than what they've got in stock at the time. If your favourite shop can't get it, you may want to check for other shops...

--
Mats

chrisinha · Post by **chrisinha** » 16 Feb 2005, 02:04

ok, Mat, here's the info:

i asked at my LFS today about the hardness of the water where we are, and he said that the water is very hard, between 9 and 10

(i actually have no idea what these numbers mean!). i also asked him about dwarf cories and he told me he can get them whenever i want. now, what should i do about the hard water?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Feb 2005, 10:14

About water hardness... There are at least three different scales of hardness: German Hardness (GH), also known as dH - Deutsche "hardness", a US hardness scale and a mg/l measure.

Shane explains how to convert from one to the other here.

If your water is about 10 GH, then it's quite hard...

There's a number of different ways to soften water. The most common ones is to add peat to the filtration system or the bottom of the tank. Or you can use a reverse osmosis unit. Or collect rainwater, but in southern california, I think that's not really a good option. (And it also assumes there isn't much polution in the air).

Alternatively, select fish that suits the slightly harder water. It's a different approach, but it may work out better.

I wouldn't think that would be too worried. According to fishbase (http://www.fishbase.org, or click on the link in the cat-eLog) has a dH range of 2.0-25, so your 10 or so is right in the middle of that range. C. Hastatus in fishbase is dH of 5-19, and C. Habrosus dH 2-25. So it seems like any of these fishes will live nicely in a fairly hard water. [25 is defined by some as "liquid concrete"].

--
Mats

Beersnob · Post by **Beersnob** » 17 Feb 2005, 03:49

Habrosis are also a great pygmy type of Cory. They breed like rabits if you let them

The only one's you might not want are the Bearded Cory (use to be corydoras barbatus before the scientific name change). These guys are sensitive to temperatures getting to warm. We have 3 of them in a tropical cool water tank (70 F) and another young 3 that we have growing up before entering the land of the pictus!

Thanks,

Scott

chrisinha · Post by **chrisinha** » 17 Feb 2005, 05:33

thank you guys! i let you know what happened, or if i have any other question!!