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10 gallon

4K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Firebelly girrl 
#1 ·
Well i decided to keep the piranahs, and i have an extra 10 gallon sitting around and i went to the petstore today and was talking to one of the employees. I told her i was interested in having cory catfish, she said i could have 4 corys and 2 dwarf gourami's and maybe a few little community fish, do you think this would be to crowed if i provide plenty of plants and caves and stuff? It doesnt sound to bad because they all dont grow big.
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
corys, even the dwarf species, dont belong in 10gs.
dwarf gouramis will fight with one another-one would be ok

you could do one dwarf gourami and a small small of maybe 4-7 small tetras.
or a dwarf gourami and a couple male guppies or male platys. avoid females, 10gs is too small.


btw, what size tank are the pirannahs in?
 
#4 ·
Pish and Tosh! You can keep a small shoal of the smaller cory species in a 10 gallon. C. pygmeus, hasbrosus, hastatus, guapore, bilineatus (San Juan), arcuatus (Skunk), and panda would all work. I've run across references in planted tank forums from folks recognized on those forums as cory experts who would find no issues with having up to 10 of them in a 5 gallon tank. Further, on scotcat.com, it turns out that the ideal breeding solutions for the hastatus involve 5 gallon tanks. Therefore, I would say that you would have no problem with a shoal of 5 or so in a 10 gallon tank.

As for Gouramis, I would stay away from Dwarf Gouramis (Cosa lalia) in a 10 gallon, unless you want to keep just one. Better would be Honey Dwarf Gouramis (Cosa chuna), 2 female, maybe 1 male, or Sparkling Gouramis (do some more research on that last, though - I know they can be kept in smaller tanks, but I haven't done a ton of in depth research on them.)
 
#5 ·
tophat665 said:
Pish and Tosh! You can keep a small shoal of the smaller cory species in a 10 gallon. C. pygmeus, hasbrosus, hastatus, guapore, bilineatus (San Juan), arcuatus (Skunk), and panda would all work. I've run across references in planted tank forums from folks recognized on those forums as cory experts who would find no issues with having up to 10 of them in a 5 gallon tank. Further, on scotcat.com, it turns out that the ideal breeding solutions for the hastatus involve 5 gallon tanks. Therefore, I would say that you would have no problem with a shoal of 5 or so in a 10 gallon tank.

As for Gouramis, I would stay away from Dwarf Gouramis (Cosa lalia) in a 10 gallon, unless you want to keep just one. Better would be Honey Dwarf Gouramis (Cosa chuna), 2 female, maybe 1 male, or Sparkling Gouramis (do some more research on that last, though - I know they can be kept in smaller tanks, but I haven't done a ton of in depth research on them.)
i agree! i have 6 cories in my 10g and they get on very well, with plenty of space. i also had them in a 5g for about a week while i was sorting out the 10g and they were also fine, but i much prefer them in the 10g as they seem to have mroe space. there are some larger cory species like the sterbai - i wouldnt put a group of them in a 10g but with the ones tophat mentioned - theres no problem.
 
#7 ·
Firebelly girrl said:
Sounds good, julie do you have a pic of your tank? Im tring to get ideas on what would be best for the corys...more space? more plants? more caves? hmm
I don't see how cories often use caves. More plants is actually a good idea with more space in the middle for foraging the bottom. The feeding area can be situated in the middle allowing cories to eat bits of food that fall to the bottom.
 
#10 ·
Enzo said:
i recoment congo tetras theyre amazing looking fish and they dont grow to big but the certainly bring alot more color to an aquarium compared to the cardinal tetras
Enzo, in a ten gallons, they may seem to fit but this fish actually needs to be kept in groups and needs swimming space. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Congo Tetras will appreciate the space a ten gallons tank can give. Congos can actually reach 4 inches so there is no doubt they can't fit in a ten gallons tank.

Cardinal tetras are a better option in this case although I must warn you that these tetras may not be able to tolerate frequent changes in water conditions in a small tank. As long as the tank is properly maintained, the cardinals are not a problem.
 
#11 ·
Firebelly girrl said:
Sounds good, julie do you have a pic of your tank? Im tring to get ideas on what would be best for the corys...more space? more plants? more caves? hmm
i havent got a camera however ill be borrowing my mums and ill post some then. when i do ill give you a wee pm to let you know ive posted them if you like.

i have plants in the tank, they seem to quite like scurrying about among them. and i do have a wee cave thing in the tank but its more for decoraton. one of my cories however seems really to like it. shes constantly in and out it and "cleaning" the outside of it. shes the only one that bothers though.

if youre looking for more active cories go for the bronze/albino ones, if youre looking for prettier ones go for pandas imo. ive got 3 broonze and 3 albino and i love them. cories are def my favourite fish :)
 
#12 ·
The thing about cories and caves: If you have caves for the cories, they'll never use them, but they'll be out and swimming around where you can see them. If you don't have caves, the cories will hide in the plants and you'll never see them. The security of having nearby overhead cover emboldens them.
 
#13 ·
hm thats good to know! i would deffinatly give them caves, if it was a fish, i would want a cave ha i visited my brother this weekend and he has a 75 gallon community set up and he had a few of the bronze ones. He has a big castle thing in the middle and they were in there a lot of the time, but i did see them come out and scavenge the bottom, they were so cute! =)
 
#14 ·
OK ive decided im going to either set up my 10 gallon or maybe buy a 15gallon or a 20 gallon long (my favorite size tank but its a little big)
BUT i have one problem...in the only room i can put them in it gets about 90 degrees during the summer, its at the back of the house and the sun just beats through my windows ALL day. I dont have central air and i just keep my main floor cool with air conditioners. Last summer my GOLDFISH tank was 90degrees!! and their suppse to be in pretty cool water but i had no idea it would get that hot. My goldfish never developed any problems, and the corys are suppose to be in warmer water than goldfish, but who knows the corys could be less hardy than goldfish??
 
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