Stuck with Mislabled Cories

K

Kittenfish

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Jan 9, 2007
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I stopped by my LFS the other day and (sadly) noticed that they were having a "going out of business" sale... well, I was sad until I noticed their prices... They had small (about one inch) "pygmy cories" listed for 79 cents so I picked up four to put in my 10 gal tank (only other ocupant is a crowntail male betta). They have quickly became very adored, they love to root around in the sand, chill on top of their little hiding rock, and :confused: school with my betta?? Apparently no one gave him the memo that he is supposed to be pushy and territorial... the cories like to sit in piles, and he likes to sit on top of them, or dart around with them, he has even started to dig in the sand like them, go figure... Crazy thing... All was paradise until....

A few days later, poking around the internet, I come to realize my predicament: pygmy/ dwarf cories have stripes...these little cuites have SPOTS! ACK! I dont think these are dwarf cories at all, they look like peppered cories..

I love the little buggers to death, and I was heartbroken when some sites said that they'll get too big for my ten gal. but I cant bring them back to the LFS as it is gone (and there isnt another one anywhere in the area, I have living in the middle of nowhere) Petsmart wont take them, and I dont know anyone with an aquarium to take them... they are about one inch long at the moment, and as a starving student I cant really afford to upgrade to a bigger tank setup (plus my ten gal is already bending the rules of our dorms, which only allow 5 gal max) but I might be able to upgrade to a 15 or twenty over the summer... my question is: how long will it take them to reach full grown size? Can I house them in my ten gal until the summer time (when I get a job, and more money to spend on my lovlies?) Can they stay happily in my ten gallon? I dont really want to give them up, I'm so attached /sigh....

Bonus Pics of John Paul Ringo and George (And Archimedes the Odd)

cory01.jpg cory02.jpg cory03.jpg
 
Peppered cories do stay smaller than other common cories such as the bronzes. While 4 in a 10 gallon isn't ideal, if you add no more fish things will probably be fine. I would suggest thinking about say a 20 gallon or so tank if that is possible.
 
Personally I'd just leave them, especially if you're upgrading in just a couple of months. Like TK said it may not be ideal, but if your water params are ok I think your fish will be fine.

Archimedes is beautiful btw. :)
 
Thanks for the advice, they seem to be doing just fine, they eat like little piggies, and my water params have been testing ok perfectly, and now I have an excuse to upgrade to a larger tank over the summer, since I will finally be out of school... Mmmm as long as I'm upgrading.... 55 gallons sounds like a great grad gift to myself.... then I can get a nice, proper school... Is it June yet? =P

Ooh, a quick question... I picked up some small sinking Hikari wafers to feed them and I have frozen blood worms on hand for my betta, as well as little betta pellets and even some flake food. What do they eat? How many of the little wafers should I feed them? I put in two yesterday (their first feeding) and they went right to them, but about half of each pellet is still there this morning... should I cut back to one? I dont want my betta to nab is and run off with it in the middle of the night...
 
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A 55 gallon with 10 peppered cories will be wonderful. Add a huge school of rummynose tetra and you won't need anything else.
 
ditto what everyone else said...but I had to comment, that betta is awesome!! By the way, keep your eyes out for used tanks on craigslist and ebay in your local area. I've gotten really good deals on both.
 
defiantly look on craigslist.org...we found a 100gal talk for 50$! yes it is in need of some repairs, but it holds water...you can find some amazing deals on tanks. Just keep your eyes open. Btw, yer betta is amazingly beautiful!
 
Thanks for the complements on my betta :) He is a great little guy. I found him in a platic cup of water near a dumpster outside my dorm building =( Its so sad what some people will do to animals...
 
Kittenfish said:
Thanks for the complements on my betta :) He is a great little guy. I found him in a platic cup of water near a dumpster outside my dorm building =( Its so sad what some people will do to animals...
Click to expand...

Wow!! That's the dumpster fish? I remember that thread. Looks like he's doing great!

What a lucky little guy. :)
 
Anyone have any idea on the food question? And its kind of a large bag of wafers... can I keep it in the 'fridge to keep it fresh?
 
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