Perhaps I made a bad fish choice, need help.

[shinobinomono]

Hello all,

I have started this wonderful hobby about 6 months ago and have been enjoying every bit of it. I have recently upgraded from a 20 gal to a 55 gal that looks great in my living room. I have had very good luck and have encountered no casualties . My inhabitants are 1 Angelfish, 4 Platys, 2 Plecos, 4 Synodontis Eupterus which were incorrectly labeled as "Corydoras" - the fish I had intended on buying - that remain a cute 1.5" to 2".

Well, I became quite suspicious when my "Corys" have gone from 2" to about 5". These guys are quite a nuisance as their swimming behavior is a little violent in nature, as they are destroying many of my lovely plants. They get along just fine with their neighbors, and this is all fine and dandy for now - but I have read that they can grow to a full foot long, which would make their current friends into later midnight snacks.

So my question is should I return them to the store now? Or would it be possible for me to keep them, given that they possibly would not be able to reach their maximum size of 12 inches?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Red K]

I have one in a 75G. Like yours, mine grew very fast, but it maxed out around 5-6"... it is nowhere near 12" long and is about 7 years old.

4 of them seem like a lot for a 55G tank to me, though, even if they stay their current size.

 

[penguinfish]

Hi!
In my personally experience...I have had no and heard no such thing as Cories growing up to 12"!
Maybe they might...but most Cories (about 99% or more) only grow quite small. Not too big which is quite good.

Good Luck with fish keeping! :hi:

 

[Flowerhorn916]

there not corys penguin there syno cats I have seen that species grow upwards of 10" 4 is definatley too many for 55g I would not even keep 1 in there your best bet is tanking them back and getting a syno that stays smaller like an up side down cat they max out at 4"

 

[shinobinomono]

Yeah, they're definitely not Corys, I'm 100% sure what they are now by studying pictures. But man I tell you, transferring them from the 20 gal to the 55 was no small task. Is there a better plan of attack for extraction than chasing them around with a net?

 

[Red K]

Yeah, they're definitely not Corys, I'm 100% sure what they are now by studying pictures. But man I tell you, transferring them from the 20 gal to the 55 was no small task. Is there a better plan of attack for extraction than chasing them around with a net?

Siphon out some water like you are doing a water change and it will be easier. Then get an ice cream bucket or something similar, lay it on its side, and try to "herd" one into the bucket. Tip the bucket up and voila! It's easiest to move them right in the bucket, I think, rather than trying to bag them.

 

[shinobinomono]

(Eating ice cream now)

 

[Red K]

(Eating ice cream now)

An unexpected benefit to fishkeeping - ice cream!

 

[CBTF]

lmao.

and also, you can buy a large net, then chase them around with a smaller net into the new large one. thats what i do, never fails.

sometimes you get them before they even make it to the other net

 

[chinnp]

I've heard of people using homemade minnow traps to cat their fish too. Take a two liter pop bottle and cut the top off. Then turn the top upside down (cone facing into the base of the bottle) and put it back in there. Punch a few holes in the base for water to circulate through and put some fish food inside. Leave it in your tank over night. Only drawback is you'll wind up catching more than just the fish you wanted, but the fish you're wanting to catch are easily caught with a net from inside the pop bottle and the fish you don't want can easily be released back into the tank unharmed.