# Cory Cat and Betta



## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

In my current unfiltered 2g tank, would I be able to house a cory cat with my betta? he gets 100% water changes every monday and has a large, actively growing pothos plant 3/4 submerged in his tank to filter out "gunk" it is heated and has a light. he is fed a combo of flakes, pellets and baby shrimp and is supplemented with vitachem. I was just thinking not only will he keep Sushi company but he can help clean up the left over food which will in turn keep the water cleaner, but if thats not gonna work its fine. just curious....


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

No, too small of a tank, sorry. Also corys prefer the company of other corys.

Try a shrimp!:-D


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

u dont think Sushi will eat the shrimp? what kind also and how many in the 2g?


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## lexylex0526 (Dec 27, 2011)

Sorry to say, but no.

All Pygmy Corys require atleast ten gallons, and should be in schools of 4+.


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

so what kind of shrimp or snails would work in the 2g? (if any?) its not biggie if he has to be alone till I upgrade, I was just trying to be thoughtful hahahah


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

If he eats the shrimp that's OK, it's like a steak dinner for him :lol:

If he doesn't eat the shrimp, then they can be pals 

Just get one shrimp to start, they are cheap.


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

registereduser said:


> If he eats the shrimp that's OK, it's like a steak dinner for him :lol:
> 
> If he doesn't eat the shrimp, then they can be pals
> 
> Just get one shrimp to start, they are cheap.


lol  is there a certain kind u recommend?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

I haven't gotten into shrimp yet but I plan to soon. I think ghost shrimp are the preferred betta friends. Or dinners as the case may be :lol:


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Snails are also a good choice, I like nerites. They poop a lot but heir poop is easy to see and remove from a small tank.

I don't know how much bioload a shrimp has compared to a snail.


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

I was actually just reading up on zebra snails....think I might get one or 2 of those. any opinions on that?


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

oh whoops just realized that were one in the same lol my bad


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I guess a nerite would work, one only. The bioload is at its max. don't push it further.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

in a 2 gallon just get one. if you get 2 they might lay tiny eggs all over that are hard to scrape off.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Don't they only breed in brackish water or SW?


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

yeah I was only gonna get one, b/c of bio-load AND breeding....if my tank is topless (water line stops about 3-4in from top of tank) will I have to worry about the snail getting out?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Don't they only breed in brackish water or SW?


They will lay eggs in fresh water but the eggs won't hatch. One of my winter projects is to breed nerites. If the eggs are placed into brackish water immediately after being laid there is a chance they will hatch!


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

will a petstore like petsmart/co have them or will I have to get them elesewhere? heck if u are gonna breed them maybe u can send me one hahahh


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

registereduser said:


> They will lay eggs in fresh water but the eggs won't hatch. One of my winter projects is to breed nerites. If the eggs are placed into brackish water immediately after being laid there is a chance they will hatch!


I never knew that, thanks for answering!! Too bad there aren't any here, even in my LFS. 
Sareena, I'm not quite sure on runaway snails. I heard they get out if the water quality is bad, though.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

sareena79 said:


> yeah I was only gonna get one, b/c of bio-load AND breeding....if my tank is topless (water line stops about 3-4in from top of tank) will I have to worry about the snail getting out?


Yes, actually. I had one in a 5 gallon with just the hole for the filter and heater wire. Snail still crawled out and fell behind the table. I didn't find him for days.

I have read on this forum that even if they do fall out, try to put them back in. They may have enough moisture in the shell to keep living even if they were out of the tank for a long time.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

sareena79 said:


> will a petstore like petsmart/co have them or will I have to get them elesewhere? heck if u are gonna breed them maybe u can send me one hahahh


Absolutely! Free snails for all my little betta forum buddies!

I had to ask the guy at Petco to special order me some, they were $3 each. I just found out that a new LFS has some at the same price. I need 2 more.


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## Nothingness (Oct 11, 2012)

i recently got 3 ghost shrimp for my betta tank. Its a 10g but the Arthur seems to not even care about the shrimp. In the 5 days i've had them they have already begun cleaning all the alge around the tank. Shrimp kick ass and look super freaky


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

> [Absolutely! Free snails for all my little betta forum buddies!/QUOTE]
> 
> AWESOME! well Ima have to think on it a bit, like I said it was just a whim, but I appreciate all the info and if I decide on a snail I may just have to hit u up for one if your project goes well. may wait till I have a bigger tank with a lid so everyone is safe and sound. Sushi is perfectly fine w/o one (5mo and not even a hint of a jump---knock on wood) but i'd hate to have a run-away snail on my hands, Id feel bad if it died ya know


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

Nothingness said:


> i recently got 3 ghost shrimp for my betta tank. Its a 10g but the Arthur seems to not even care about the shrimp. In the 5 days i've had them they have already begun cleaning all the alge around the tank. Shrimp kick ass and look super freaky


good to know  might look into the shrimp thing more. when u clean the tank what do u do with them? I do 100% changes, will the net?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Nothingness said:


> Shrimp kick ass and look super freaky


Yeah, that's kind of why I haven't gotten any yet :shock:

I want the cutest little red cherry shrimp I can find :lol:


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

yeah I was thinking cherry would be cooler than the ghost, especially since my decor is all red and green right now....maybe I will start a tank JUST for the shrimp and snails, is that doable?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

sareena79 said:


> yeah I was thinking cherry would be cooler than the ghost, especially since my decor is all red and green right now....maybe I will start a tank JUST for the shrimp and snails, is that doable?


Absolutely, lots of people have shrimp only tanks and probably snails only tanks. Google "shrimp tanks".


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## paloverde (Nov 9, 2012)

Rcs, are just the right size for a betta to snack on! The baby shrimp are tiny replicas of the adults really cute. Ghosts are bigger and don't attract the bettas attention seemly manage to evade the muchie hour. Beware of ghost shrimp impersonators, I got a mutant shrimp in a batch of ghosts and it grabbed on to the bettas tail and was going for a smackdown.


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

> it grabbed on to the bettas tail and was going for a smackdown.


hahahah Im getting a visual of that...glad u caught it in time...I think for now I will just leave him alone in his small tank and get him friends when I upgrade. I was just throwing ideas around mostly. but I appreciate the advice for sure


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## Nothingness (Oct 11, 2012)

sareena79 said:


> good to know  might look into the shrimp thing more. when u clean the tank what do u do with them? I do 100% changes, will the net?


I only do 50% changes right now and just leave the shrimp in there. The challenge is not sucking them uo in the gravel vacuum as they are hard to see sometimes


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

yeah almost seems like more trouble than its worth...guess he will just have to stay alone till I can get a bigger tank and figure out what kind of fish buddy would be best for him. im sure hes fine like he is, Im just worrying that hes lonely when in reality hes probably like "hey woman, did I say I wanted a roomie" hahahah


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

sareena79 said:


> yeah almost seems like more trouble than its worth...guess he will just have to stay alone till I can get a bigger tank and figure out what kind of fish buddy would be best for him. im sure hes fine like he is, Im just worrying that hes lonely when in reality hes probably like "hey woman, did I say I wanted a roomie" hahahah


You are your fish's best friend. Try playing with him using a laser pointer.:-D


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

never thought of a laser pointer, hmmm...he likes to chase my finger sometimes, might have to try the pointer


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## Nothingness (Oct 11, 2012)

We just picked up 3 pygmy cories and after 4 days they became quite aggressive and were chasing Charlie around the tank niping at his tail. I thought these things were supposed to be calm bottom feeders....Lets just say they are on their way back to Petsmart


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

good to know....sorry your little guy was getting harrassed, hope u can find him some more suitable buddies


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## Nothingness (Oct 11, 2012)

Im not sure if its just the pygmy cories that are aggressive but thinking back all the other cories at the store were pretty docile and slacked out and these ones were a bit more active. Oh well atleast we can return them


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Also I would boost water changes too.


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