# How many Pygmy Corys can I keep with my male Betta?



## anitsirk92 (Aug 20, 2014)

I have one of my bettas in a 20 gallon long aquarium with 8 pygmy corys. I want to get more of them because they are adorable and Cosmo leaves them alone. How many can I put in the tank without overstocking? It is a moderately planted tank.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

First off I'd strongly advise quarantining any new fish for a minimum of 2 weeks (or more) before introducing to a community tank. Never know what a new fish might bring in. I lost a betta and oto community to what I think was columnaris-killed everyone in less than a week of adding new fish (water quality tests showed it was not a cycling issue).
Another thing to remember is adding new fish can cause a mini cycle, cory don't tolerate ammonia and nitrite like bettas can so get some Seachem Prime if you don't already have it. Its a dechlorniator but also an ammonia and nitrite binder.

Ok that covered, you could easily add another 20 pygmy cory BUT remember this will cause a cycle-your beneficial bacteria won't be able to handle the load of a more than doubled fish stock.
Here's a great site for ROUGH estimations of tank stocking (does not take plants absorption of nitrates into account though).
http://aqadvisor.com
with 1 betta and 28 pygmy cory in a 20g long it puts stocking capacity at 77%.


----------



## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

I have a 20 long with 15 of the pygmies in it, a plakat, and a couple of emperor tetras, it does have two Aqua Clear filters running on it. If you only have the betta in there you could go a bit higher.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Twenty+ would work. I use Seachem Stability when I add new fish. It feeds the established bacteria and keeps a cycle from crashing. I also run two filters on my 20 long Betta-based aquarium.

I order all my fish online so I often add 20+ at a time and have had no issues. Because I buy from someone who quarantines her fish for a couple of weeks before she'll sell them I don't quarantine. If I were buying anywhere else I would do as Aqua Aurora advises and quarantine for two weeks.

I agree with you....Pygmy Cories are the best.  I have 15+ in my 20 and 10+ in my 10 gallon.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Twenty+ would work. I use Seachem Stability when I add new fish. It feeds the established bacteria and keeps a cycle from crashing. I also run two filters on my 20 long Betta-based aquarium.
> 
> I order all my fish online so I often add 20+ at a time and have had no issues. Because I buy from someone who quarantines her fish for a couple of weeks before she'll sell them I don't quarantine. If I were buying anywhere else I would do as Aqua Aurora advises and quarantine for two weeks.
> 
> I agree with you....Pygmy Cories are the best.  I have 15+ in my 20 and 10+ in my 10 gallon.


you're talking about msjinkzd again aren't you? ^^ I want to get some pygmies! But currently my 20g has wcmm and temp is 69-70F.. might trade them in and turn it into a sorority someday though....may try pygmy cory then if I do..


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yep, www.msjinkzd.com. Always healthy fish and inverts so I don't quarantine. I'm getting a few more Habrosus for the 20 and some Dario kajal and more Pygmy in the next week or so. You should really try Dario. ;-)


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Yep, www.msjinkzd.com. Always healthy fish and inverts so I don't quarantine. I'm getting a few more Habrosus for the 20 and some Dario kajal and more Pygmy in the next week or so. You should really try Dario. ;-)


Me? I don't have the pH for dario dario (scarlet badis) I hear they are too delicate to tolerate my waters. I'd love some tank bred danio tinwini though as I've seen them proven as non aggressive small dither fish and they are a little tougher (i'd hope). I may ask msjinkzd if she's willing to get a shipment of those.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

anitsirk92: Have we talked you in to at least 20 Pygmy Cories in your 20 long?  The more you have the more interesting they become. Habrosus are neat, too. A little bigger and spend more of their time on the bottom than the Pygmy.

My water is:

pH +/-8.0
GH/KH 10+


----------

