# I'm totally stuck!



## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Hello! I just got the 2.5 gallon Mini Bow aquarium a week ago today. I have been keeping my HM betta Butterfly in there, and his torn fins are healing very well. I wanted to get a little cleaner "buddy" to keep the gravel cleaner. I was planning on getting 1 or 2 ghost shrimp, but my local Petsmart didn't have any! I asked the lady what kind of cleaner fish I could get for a 2.5 gallon filtered/heated tank with 1 male betta in it, and she reccomended 1 Cory catfish. My dad told me they were great and he had one as a kid in his small 3 gallon tank with a couple neon tetra, and all of his fish lived for years. He said the he had normal gravel in his tank and the cory catfish was fine with the other fish and even enjoyed their company. So, I bought 1 cory catfish I have named Benny. He's been in this tank for 2 days, and he seems very happy. He is still pretty small, only 1-1.5" and I understand that they grow to be about 2", but bettas don't follow the 1" per gallon rule as closely. Well, Butterfly likes playing tag with Benny. He only nips a little, and Benny has become very good at hiding and avoiding him if he feels like it. I have been feeding Benny flakes and a few pellets. I soak them beforehand so they sink...
Well, I really like Benny! He's a happy camper in there, believe me. But, everyone on this site says I should bring him back immediately, ASAP. 
1) According to everyone they can't have normal gravel, they need sand.
2) They need to be in groups. More fish = bigger tank. I can't get a bigger tank.
3) Bettas hate catfish. (Tell that to Butterfly! He has no idea. He does occasionally nip at him, but then Benny just swims away and then they're fine.)
What am I supposed to do? I really don't want to bring Benny back because I just know Butterfly would be mad. He likes his new buddy! And Benny seems very happy, no tears in his fins and he's always relaxing calmly or swimming or playing with Butterfly. He is really good at sniffling in the little rocks for little bits of food, and his eyes are really cool! They can swivel all over by themselves, and they are big and orange...
Sorry for the novel. What should I do? :/


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

First off, I think they need algae wafers, not pellets...

But other than that, Idk. They should have a friend, yes- they stress when alone. Id get more cover for him if your betta attacks him, even just a little.

Maybe someone with more experience with them will come along..


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Well right now I have 2 silk plants, 1 plastic plant and a small cave with 6 different openings... should I get another plant or is this okay? And thanks, pewpewpew... I love your orange dalmation! He's so cute.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

With fish keeping it is important to meet the basic needs of the livestock-we can't give our fish the exact habitat and water volume in our tanks...no where close...but we can try to meet some needs like- social, territory and space......with the corydora they are social fish and do best when kept in groups of at least 6 or more...one is not going to just drop dead........but one will be stressed without other corydoras and a stressed fish can sometimes be a sick fish and then all the fish in the tank can get sick......keeping one corydora in a small tank alone long term..... is like keeping a Betta in a small cup all its life...the fish will survive but it may not thrive.......


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

^ What OFL said. Cories are active and social little gaffers, so they need to be in large groups with plenty of space to swim in, as in 10+ gallons. And they dont clean your gravel at all, btw xD Hope I helped some  they definitely need Algae Wafers.


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Okay, I'll return him later.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Bettaluver4evr said:


> Okay, I'll return him later.


If you could get a bigger tank you could have him and add some buddies, but I understand if you cant. Maybe get some snails for your bettas tank, so he wont miss the cory?


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

I have snailies in mine :3 Im sorry about your little guy. I wanted one, too, but knew I couldnt get him the friends he'd want. I DID rescue three tetras, two less than a recommended shoal, and one died of Neon Tetra disease, another of goodness knows, and now the last little one is so stressed and sad, he's contracted INTENSE ich :'c Im treating him and giving him lots of love, but cant get him more tetras because they'll get ich, too, which is stressing him! @[email protected] An endless cycle..
It would be sad if that happened to your little cory :c <3
And bawwww thankies! <3 <3


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

PewPewPew said:


> I have snailies in mine :3 Im sorry about your little guy. I wanted one, too, but knew I couldnt get him the friends he'd want. I DID rescue three tetras, two less than a recommended shoal, and one died of Neon Tetra disease, another of goodness knows, and now the last little one is so stressed and sad, he's contracted INTENSE ich :'c Im treating him and giving him lots of love, but cant get him more tetras because they'll get ich, too, which is stressing him! @[email protected] An endless cycle..
> It would be sad if that happened to your little cory :c <3
> And bawwww thankies! <3 <3


Little Benny is doing very well now, at least! He just woke up from a nice nap and is now sniffling for food.  I couldn't return him today, I am aiming for Saturday. I have until the 28 to return him...


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

You could ship him to me! I am getting some more corydoras for my 30 gallon aquarium so he will be in a group of 6 or more and you can see picture updates, so you won't have to completely "Give him up".


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## Kestrel (Jan 17, 2011)

I've kind of run into the same problem myself. I knew they needed more than one so I got two which apparently still is not enough for those grouping instincts. To make it worse, I thought and was told that an albino and peppered cory would see each other as a group, now I have heard differently though and that that only works if they're the same species. They aren't, and it was too late for me to return them, and I can't get any more because my tank is already a bit overstocked from the guppies that I also couldn't return.

I'd sell or even give them to someone with a tank nearby if I could. But I have no idea on shipping fish so hopefully they will be fine.


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## Kestrel (Jan 17, 2011)

Oh, also, I really think the normal gravel should be fine, just as long as there aren't a lot of sharp, jagged, or rough edges for them to ruin their little barbels/mustaches on.


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

They aren't sharp at all, when you run your fingers through the gravel you can't even feel anything sharp. Benny has adjusted well and is very good at moving rocks around a bit to get his food. I've been giving him pellets and 3 different kinds of flakes as well as a few bloodworms, and he's very happy! I'm sorry about your situation Kestral. I can still return Benny, luckily, but I don't want to! The tank is larger than it looks, and because it has a filter and a heater it is always crystal clear and I do partials all of the time. The tank doesn't seem crowded at all.


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

Corydoras really need sand. If you went camping, would you choose sand, smooth rocks, or sharp rocks to set up your tent on? You would choose smooth rocks over sharp rocks, but sand would be your favorite option. And corydoras really love sand.


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## jessiepbg (Nov 13, 2010)

My cories are doing well on my gravel-like plant substrate, no missing barbels or scratches on their bellies. I don't have sand in there because my betta would eat it and get himself sick.

I really would recommend not keeping one by himself. I had a big pH swing in my tank shortly after it cycled and I lost all but my one peppered cory. He did fine by himself for a few days while I worked to get the tank to where it was safe to add more, but after about 3 days of being alone, he started showing signs of stress, swimming up and down walls and running into things. It was a bit of a fiasco finding new tank mates for him, as the of the first 2 I brought in, one had septicemia and the other had a swim bladder disorder(fairly common in cories, sometimes an early indicator of septicemia, I've been told). He was just happy to have buddies in his tank for about a day, even if they wouldn't school with him. I brought those two back and had to let my tank sit for 2 more days while I made sure that no one had caught the septicemia. By the end of the two days alone I thought he was going to bash himself dead against the heater. He settled down when I was finally able to add one friend, but neither of them really looked adjusted until I added my third. 

They are a social fish. Even if he looks like he's doing ok, at the very least his immune system is compromised and he will be extremely liable to get sick and possibly spread it to your betta.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Bettaluver4evr said:


> They aren't sharp at all, when you run your fingers through the gravel you can't even feel anything sharp. Benny has adjusted well and is very good at moving rocks around a bit to get his food. I've been giving him pellets and 3 different kinds of flakes as well as a few bloodworms, and he's very happy! I'm sorry about your situation Kestral. I can still return Benny, luckily, but I don't want to! The tank is larger than it looks, and because it has a filter and a heater it is always crystal clear and I do partials all of the time. *The tank doesn't seem crowded at all.*


It really is over crowded though, and it especially would be with more cories . It is awesome that your water quality is great but it doesn't change the fact that he has no room. I am SO sorry this is happening, it is really hard getting attached to something so cute and tiny and then giving it up. Unfortunately it is the best for Benny. You should ship him to shinybetta like he offered so you could see updates and how big her gets . 


@Kestral I am pretty positive you can always return an animal. You may not get your money back, but you can return them for free.


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

I don't think you can always return them. I got a couple of tetras for free because a guy was trying to return them late and the said they can't put them back in the tank, all they can do is flush them alive


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

shinybetta said:


> I don't think you can always return them. I got a couple of tetras for free because a guy was trying to return them late and the said they can't put them back in the tank, all they can do is flush them alive


Aw really? That is so mean! Pet stores should have a QT tank for returns or something. Maybe because of the risk of diseases spreading. I returned fish to petco late when I was younger, but I am guessing they accepted them because they didn't care about diseases spreading:/


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Alright, alright. Hehe, I'll take the poor thing back tomorrow. I am really pining for a female betta I saw there the other day, is there any way I could buy a divider for my 2.5 minibow when I return Benny so I could get her??


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## coolcucumber (Jan 16, 2011)

I think 2.5gals is the smallest tank size you should keep a betta in. Also, if Butterfly is still recovering from his fin incident, then i dont think it would be the best idea to stress him out by putting another betta in the tank. Thats only my opinion, though.


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## karlhague (Aug 9, 2010)

Just my input on Corys..

I had 5 Bronze corys, untill ONE decided to attack all the other 4. Who had to be seperated..

This one now lives ALONE with my male betta and guppie fry. and seems perfectly happy on his own..

I tried reintroducing the others and this one bronze cory just attacked them constantly... So their in the community tank downstairs.. (3ft long tank)


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Whoa. ^O^ Meanie Fishy!


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## Kestrel (Jan 17, 2011)

@turtle10 I know, but apparently the Petsmart around here won't take fish unless it's a return with 14 days, which I was just a little late on finding out. And sadly that's the only pet store that's close and easy for me to get to. I'll just have to see though, maybe I'll find another store that will. The peppered guy is better than the albino though, which I feel bad for.


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Poor guy. The betta shouldn't be nipping him at all. You may think things look fine but your poor Cory may be really stressed because not only is he alone in a small tank, but he is being harassed by your betta. 

My tank has gravel and the cories are just fine. I love cories, one of my favorite fish…They are very curious fish and love exploring with their buddies. Because of this, I would never put them in anything less than a 10 gal tank (a heavily decorated one at that).

In a tank your size, only tankmates can be snails or shrimp. If your betta doesn't kill them, shrimp will be great at cleaning up leftover food.


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Hehe, that's positive. "If he doesn't kill them, they're great!"  Well, my Petsmart should have gotten a new shipment yesterday, so hopefully they'll have 1 or 2 ghost shrimp. I'll miss my Benny. :'(


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

I would get 4 or 5. I say this because from what I hear, many tend to die off because of horrid conditions during shipping and at the store.


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

turtle10 said:


> Aw really? That is so mean! Pet stores should have a QT tank for returns or something. Maybe because of the risk of diseases spreading. I returned fish to petco late when I was younger, but I am guessing they accepted them because they didn't care about diseases spreading:/


why should they care when half their stock is diseased


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

It's nice you're taking him back. I had corys in with Tango for about a year in a 16 gallon and eventually he turned on them. I never realized how inactive they were with him in the tank. There was a complete change in their behavior when they weren't being harassed anymore. You're doing the right thing.

Also, Corys eat mainly carnivore pellets, not algae wafers. They need a variety though, so you can feed both. But don't skimp on the meat. They need it.


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## Bettaluver4evr (Jan 21, 2011)

Okey dokey! I know it is the right thing to do, but still, I'll miss the lil guy. So then I'll buy 3 or 4 ghost shrimp to make sure they don't die off immediately and my betta doesn't eat them, got it.


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

karlhague said:


> Just my input on Corys..
> 
> I had 5 Bronze corys, untill ONE decided to attack all the other 4. Who had to be seperated..
> 
> ...


Are you sure it wasn't mating behavior? It can get quite aggressive, but is perfectly natural.


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