# how big do cory cats get?



## SwayLocks (Sep 5, 2011)

so im making a 10 gallon for one of my bettas and i dont want too many fish if i get a community tank. i was thinking maybe only some cory's but i dont want them to get too big.. if they get any bigger than my betta i really dont want that. so do that saying, do they stay true to the tank size in perportion or do they grow really big lol? i heard they can get 5 in :shock:


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Well, your safest bet is pygmy cories. You could probably about about 3-5 in there if you wait until you're cycled and keep up with your waterchanges. 

Most cories, like albinos and bronze, get to 2-2.5 inches. I have bronze cories in my 14g with my small betta, and from head to tail they are the same length.


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## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

The biggest they can get is about 4.5 inches, and some are as small as 1 inch. Will your tank be filtered? Corys are bottom dwelling fish, and bettas are mostly mid to high level tank fish, so even if the cories were eventually bigger, they would be in separate tank areas and your betta would be used to them.


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## iloveengl (Sep 1, 2011)

GreenTea said:


> [...] so even if the cories were eventually bigger, they would be in separate tank areas and your betta would be used to them.


True, but that doesn't negate the limited swim space that a 10g offers when corydoras should be kept in shoals.


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## iloveengl (Sep 1, 2011)

bettafish15 said:


> Well, your safest bet is pygmy cories. You could probably about about 3-5 in there if you wait until you're cycled and keep up with your waterchanges.


+1


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## Aquarianblue (Aug 26, 2011)

I know Green Cory cats get 2.5 inches 3 inches being a big one. I have 2 living with one of my bettas, and they get along great.


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## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

iloveengl said:


> True, but that doesn't negate the limited swim space that a 10g offers when corydoras should be kept in shoals.


Yeah I know that, it sounded like part of his concern was something like the betta would be stressed due to size or something, which is why I mentioned it.


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## tlyons01 (Jul 5, 2011)

I just wanted to add to the conversation here, as I have a group of 6 corys in a 42 gallon that used to house my betta as well. They all got along very well, indeed. I started with 4 corys and after a few days they would hide and I would never get to see them play... I added 2 more and that seemed to make them happier and now I see them all the time. The challenge that I had was feeding. Everytime I dropped them shrimp pellets or wafer pieces, my betta would also eat them. So he was eating his meal, and taking from them, and getting bloated at least a few days a week. I removed the betta since they started spawning and I found my betta eating the eggs. He shares a divided 10 gal now. My cories have been spawning every other day for almost 2 weeks. I think that they would be happier in a group and you will need to watch feeding times, I was never really sure that they were getting anything to eat before the betta was removed....


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## SwayLocks (Sep 5, 2011)

tlyons01 said:


> I just wanted to add to the conversation here, as I have a group of 6 corys in a 42 gallon that used to house my betta as well. They all got along very well, indeed. I started with 4 corys and after a few days they would hide and I would never get to see them play... I added 2 more and that seemed to make them happier and now I see them all the time. The challenge that I had was feeding. Everytime I dropped them shrimp pellets or wafer pieces, my betta would also eat them. So he was eating his meal, and taking from them, and getting bloated at least a few days a week. I removed the betta since they started spawning and I found my betta eating the eggs. He shares a divided 10 gal now. My cories have been spawning every other day for almost 2 weeks. I think that they would be happier in a group and you will need to watch feeding times, I was never really sure that they were getting anything to eat before the betta was removed....


^^^ thats exactly what im worrying about too! my betta is an absolute pig and tries to eat everything too


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

What I did to solve the eating problem was, when hes dstracted by pellets i toss in the food for the cories


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## tlyons01 (Jul 5, 2011)

Yeah, Bettafish15, I did too, but you know how long it takes those cories to eat!! and in the meantime, my guy has devoured his and is bumping with them to get theirs too... I had thought about separating him with like a breeder net in the tank or something to that effect, just to give the cories a chance without having to bump him to get it, but in the end I just threw in an extra one or two pellets as I had too much going on to really find a system that worked for all of them. I read a suggestion in the forum I think, about making a decoration of some sort that the betta would not fit into, but the cats would, so that you can put the food inside and they can eat undisturbed... Something to think about..


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## Smr2892 (May 17, 2011)

That's what I did, I bought a fake plant from the dollar store and used the leaves to make a little "bush" with silicone. The cory can get under, but due to the bigger fins on my betta, he can't. I put the bush on the opposite side of the tank of where I feed my betta, about an inch from the wall, and when I feed the betta I drop a sinking wafer under the plant. Works like a charm!


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## Aquarianblue (Aug 26, 2011)

That's not a bad idea. What I do is feed Flare first, and while he's chasing his floaty pellets, I drop the sinking ones. It doesn't always work though.


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