# Help! I bought a lonely Julii Cory!



## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

So like a fool, I went into Petsmart 10 minutes before closing.

The fish section at this place has just been re-done, and it opened yesterday. I went to see the snails…

Of course, I stopped to look at the Corys. I love corys, and planned to get them eventually when I got at larger tank. All by his lonesome was a frantic Julii cory. He was cute, and small, and most of all, completely alone. I know corys do best in schools of 6 or more, but this guy was already by himself. I thought, "At least I can put him in a tank with a friend. Maybe my betta will school with him, since a few betta lovers have said they do."

So I got him. Wow, compared to my betta, he is TINY. Then, like an even bigger idiot, I added him to my betta's temporary 1.75 gallon tank (I was planning to set up the 5 gallon tonight), and held my breath as my now-enormous HMPK slowly came over to investigate…

…and nothing happened. My crazy betta, who chases his reflection in any surface he can find, no matter how many plants I put in the tank, inspected the julii, and determined he was neither death nor a date, and promptly swam off.

I immediately set up my 5 gallon (and despite a horrible few minutes when my betta managed, for the first time in his life, to jump out of a tank, leapt onto a shelf and then the floor), got them both in it with a forest of different java ferns and a big nana anubias. My betta headed for the wisteria for a nap, and the cory promptly went to the bottom and stopped being frantic and started..corying? You know, that weird way they swim as they probe the bottom? He seems oddly ok.

Have I made a horrible mistake, or is it possible this will be ok? I cannot get a larger tank right now, and it's a bare bottom tank setup with a big sponge filter. I am not really worried about bioload here, but I am worried about the well-being of my fish. Is it better to take the cory back and hope someone with a grain of sense and a school of 5 juliis just happens to walk in needing a 6th? Or should I look for some other lonely cory and try to run a tank with 3 fish? Or should I call it good on the fish and go for a snail? Is this setup so weird, it just might work, or am I just being foolish?

BTW, I am *quite* certain he is a real Julii. Little dots all over, not reticulation, and black on his dorsal fin. Adorable.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

Can you try to get more friends for him? I think as a temp setup this is fine but a bigger tank with more Cory's would be worth the investment. If you can't do that hold onto him and see if this works, if it doesn't maybe you can ship him to someone on here


----------



## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

Why did you get one when you knew you didnt have a tank or more cories?
I would return it and get your cories when you are ready to accommodate them properly. Cycle a bigger tank and then get your 6 julii


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Ya you need at least a 20 gallon long cycled for them to be happy.

I would bring it back.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

@Trilobite: Because he was already alone, and obviously distressed by that. I wouldn't have gotten him otherwise. I thought that I would probably be able to give him a better life than the average person who buys a single fish at PetsMart. If that was hubris, I accept it. I may very well take him back. 

The question I am really asking is, would he be better with another cory or two of his size (he is an inch long) in my 5 gallon, than going back to Petsmart while possibly being bought by the right kind of person, more likely to be bought by someone who knows little to nothing about fish and cares little to nothing either?


----------



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Give it to a lfs that takes good care of there fish.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I also have a love affair with corys...personally I'd keep an eye on him, save up for a 20 gallon, and buy a whole new tank and a few more juliis to keep him happy. If you can't do that, he needs to be rehomed. Social species become terribly stressed when they aren't with their own kind, become vulnerable to disease, and can even die out of loneliness.

I don't think, by the way, that you did the wrong thing by buying him. Whether the pet store gets new ones is hit or miss, and he was far more likely to be sold to someone who just wanted one fish than he was to get appropriate tank mates.

Or, uh. You know.. you could give him to me...I'd be happy to take him off your hands after I get paid...did I mention I love corys? I mean, if you live close enough that shipping will be reasonably safe.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

If you will eventually get getting a larger tank, I would get two more to keep with your little Juli in the five. A 10 gallon would work for six but a 20 would be much better.

Normally I'm adament about not keeping fewer than the recommended minimum but there are exceptional circumstances and yours is one. After all, you didn't do it because of what you wanted but rather because you were worried about what that lone Juli needed. Kudos to you.


----------



## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

I decided to try to find some additional lonely Corys to build a small school. Now I have 4 of them total (only one is bigger than an inch, and he's about 1 1/8 inches), and I will find a few more in time. I am hoping I can get a larger tank before they grow too big (it's a function of space, not cost). If this proves unfeasible, I will rehome them. For now, I will try to make them happy with what I have. I've also gotten some more wisteria and two more anubias to help with the bioload (which makes for a total of three good sized anubias, one large and two medium java ferns, a heaping handful of wisteria, and about 5 baby javas.

Would it be a good idea to get a small glass tray of sand to drop the cory food into rather than leaving it completely bare, or does that not matter? What brand of sand would you recommend? I try to keep my tank very natural looking, and my plants tend to "shed" a fair amount, so the bottom isn't exactly spartan.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I think bare bottom would be fine. If it helps, a 10 is 20" in length x 11" wide and a 20 long is 30" x 12". My fives were 16" long but can't remember the width.


----------

