PLEASE HELP!!!!!

[cluelessfishgirl]

HELP!!!! A few weeks ago my s.o and I went to our local petco in search of some fish for a community tank. I have a 10 gal tank with a heater and filter, lightly planted. We bought:

1 female betta
6 ghost shrimp (all but the largest one has passed at this point)
1 mystery snail
3 "emerald green corydora catfish"

I have been doing a lot of research since getting those little Cory's. I'm very confused. I know that the Cory's are mislabelled, and that "emerald green corydoras" are actually brochis splendens. But when I search pictures of b. splendens, I see that my Cory's don't look like the pictures at all... My corys also have about 7-9 rays on their dorsal fin, compared to the telltale signs of b. splendens having about 10-12.

Please help identify my Cory's!!!! I can tell if they're b. splendens or bronze corys or what!!
Also, I want to get more corys for the tank. possible three more. I really love the albino corys and was wondering if they would get along?

[cluelessfishgirl]

help

[bekateen]

HELP!!!! A few weeks ago my s.o and I went to our local petco in search of some fish for a community tank... We bought: 3 "emerald green corydora catfish"

I have been doing a lot of research since getting those little Cory's. I'm very confused. I know that the Cory's are mislabelled, and that "emerald green corydoras" are actually brochis splendens. But when I search pictures of b. splendens, I see that my Cory's don't look like the pictures at all... My corys also have about 7-9 rays on their dorsal fin, compared to the telltale signs of b. splendens having about 10-12.

Please help identify my Cory's!!!! I can tell if they're b. splendens or bronze corys or what!!
Also, I want to get more corys for the tank. possible three more. I really love the albino corys and was wondering if they would get along?

Hi cluelessfishgirl,

Your fish are bronze corys

Corydoras aeneus

, not emerald catfish

Brochis splendens

. They do look similar but splendens grow larger and as you said, have more dorsal fin rays.

It is common for pet stores like Petco and PetSmart to label aeneus as "green corys," which just creates confusion with the emerald cats or emerald green cats (splendens). It is also common for Petco and PetSmart to sell real splendens, so it may be that the store just had aeneus in the tank labeled for splendens.

Albino corys are usually albino aeneus, so yes they will get along just fine with your bronze corys. And in fact corys are usually happier when in groups of 5, 6, or more, so it would be good if you get more. That said, as they grow up they will eventually overgrow your tank - You will be pushing the limits of a 10 gallon aquarium to keep 6 full sized corys in it, unless you work hard to keep the water quality high.

Your corys may breed in the tank, and if they do, that's okay if they do breed, because they are the same species. Depending on who are the parents, you could get either albino babies (if both parents are albino) or bronze (if both parents are bronze or if one parent is bronze... this assumes the bronze corys aren't hybrids already, which they probably aren't).

One word of caution - every time you buy new fish and add them to a pre-existing tank, you run the risk of introducing diseases to the rest of your tank(if the new fish were sick at the store). Since you've already had your corys and the betta for a few weeks, it would be better if you can keep any new fish in a hospital tank for a few weeks while you observe them for signs of ich and other diseases. Then, if they stay healthy, combine them with the old corys.

Enjoy your corys, Eric

[cluelessfishgirl]

Hi cluelessfishgirl,

Your fish are bronze corys

Corydoras aeneus

, not emerald catfish

Brochis splendens

. They do look similar but splendens grow larger and as you said, have more dorsal fin rays.

It is common for pet stores like Petco and PetSmart to label aeneus as "green corys," which just creates confusion with the emerald cats or emerald green cats (splendens). It is also common for Petco and PetSmart to sell real splendens, so it may be that the store just had aeneus in the tank labeled for splendens.

Albino corys are usually albino aeneus, so yes they will get along just fine with your bronze corys. And in fact corys are usually happier when in groups of 5, 6, or more, so it would be good if you get more. That said, as they grow up they will eventually overgrow your tank - You will be pushing the limits of a 10 gallon aquarium to keep 6 full sized corys in it, unless you work hard to keep the water quality high.

Your corys may breed in the tank, and if they do, that's okay if they do breed, because they are the same species. Depending on who are the parents, you could get either albino babies (if both parents are albino) or bronze (if both parents are bronze or if one parent is bronze... this assumes the bronze corys aren't hybrids already, which they probably aren't).

One word of caution - every time you buy new fish and add them to a pre-existing tank, you run the risk of introducing diseases to the rest of your tank(if the new fish were sick at the store). Since you've already had your corys and the betta for a few weeks, it would be better if you can keep any new fish in a hospital tank for a few weeks while you observe them for signs of ich and other diseases. Then, if they stay healthy, combine them with the old corys.

Enjoy your corys, Eric

Thank you so much!! I'm planning on getting more albinos this weekend! My s.o and I actually went to petco on Monday and while looking at the albinos, I noticed that practically all of them were very sickly and hardly reacted to movement. There was only one adolescent albino that was happily swimming around, actively exploring the driftwood in the store tank and I wanted to get that little guy before he got whatever the other fish had...

I had a quarantine tank set up for that little guy and he was doing great! I know I should have kept him in there for at least a week or two but he looked so lonely and I couldn't notice any abnormalities about him or his behavior.... so I acclimated him in my 10 gal for about a half hour and let him in. My female betta, Celeste, was super nosy! She chased him around for a little while but lost interest when he ignored her lol! My three other BRONZE CORYS (Thank you so much for helping me identify them!!!) were shoaling at the time, and the little albino joined them. It was so adorable! The tiniest bronze I have is bigger than this little albino and they were happily playing!

With my current living situation, I can only have this 10 gallon tank until I'm able to get my own place and upgrade to possible a 50-70 gal. I definitely don't want to push the 10 gals capabilities, but I want to get the albino more friends since sometimes I see him all alone! Should I still get two more albinos? Or is that pushing the limits of the 10 gallon??

Again, thank you so much for responding! I can sleep better now knowing the actual species of my bronze Cory's

[bekateen]

With my current living situation, I can only have this 10 gallon tank until I'm able to get my own place and upgrade to possible a 50-70 gal. I definitely don't want to push the 10 gals capabilities, but I want to get the albino more friends since sometimes I see him all alone! Should I still get two more albinos? Or is that pushing the limits of the 10 gallon??

While the fish are small, it's pretty easy to keep a lot of corys even in a 10 gal tank. I've kept 6 almost adult sized corys in a 10 gal so I know it's doable, but just keep in mind that the more fish you have, the more waste they make, so the more work you'll need to do to keep the water clean and safe. And definitely, don't overfeed. That's a recipe for water pollution disaster.

Cheers, Eric

[cluelessfishgirl]

While the fish are small, it's pretty easy to keep a lot of corys even in a 10 gal tank. I've kept 6 almost adult sized corys in a 10 gal so I know it's doable, but just keep in mind that the more fish you have, the more waste they make, so the more work you'll need to do to keep the water clean and safe. And definitely, don't overfeed. That's a recipe for water pollution disaster.

Cheers, Eric

Don't worry, I feed the Cory's about two times a week, and I feed the female betta a pellet in the morning & at night! Thanks so much for this advice, too!!!