Can I put 2 or three cory fish in 6.5 gallon tank?

[pettygil]

People from fish store came over to give me just one Cory fish. I have a 6.5 gallon tank and to me that is way to small, even for one cory cat fish. They should be able to school from what I have seen on you tube. I told the lady who bought the fish over it looked way too small, she told me it was just fine. It does not look fine to me. I think they need at least a 20 to 30 gallon.

Am I right to feel this way?

From what read, that corys can sting. Should I wear gloves when doing a wc, or whenever I put my hand in the tank?

[Aiken Drum]

Corys are social fish and will be happier in groups. A 6.5 gallon tank isnt big enough to support a small group of corys.

Fish store employees just turn up at your house and force you to take fish you dont want?

Corys dont sting. They have protective barbs that can harm other fish if they try and eat the cory. A cory isnt going to rush over and stab you if you put your hand in the tank. Wearing unpowdered nitrile gloves is always a sensible precaution when putting hands in the tank, but ive never done that, and i expect 99.9% of other never have either.

[pettygil]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

Corys are social fish and will be happier in groups. A 6.5 gallon tank isnt big enough to support a small group of corys.

Fish store employees just turn up at your house and force you to take fish you dont want?

Corys dont sting. They have protective barbs that can harm other fish if they try and eat the cory. A cory isnt going to rush over and stab you if you put your hand in the tank. Wearing unpowdered nitrile gloves is always a sensible precaution when putting hands in the tank, but ive never done that, and i expect 99.9% of other never have either.

So what do I do with cory fish already in the tank? Moving fish is stressful. Should I contact the fish store and tell them I do not want the fish because its too small for the tank? The FS says every thing is ok. They told me I could put cory in with the Betta. I do not think that is a good idea. Can I put 2 or three cory fish in 6.5 gallon tank?

[Aiken Drum]

If you dont want the fish or want the fish but cant provide a suitable home then take it back. Or better still make them come and collect as it seems they turned up at your home and forced it on you. If they wont take it back, then bag it up or put it in a container and leave it on their countertop. Its not your responsibility, you didnt ask for this fish.

Adding any fish in with bettas is always a risk, but corys would be a good choice if you wanted to take a risk. But a 6.5g tank isnt really suitable for corys. If you want to add a tank mate for the betta in such a small tank then get a snail.

Your cory will probably survive in the tank, but it wont have a great quality of life. Certainly dont add more in there. If you want to keep the cory and provide it with a suitable living environment, then get a 20g tank, get 5 more corys and start a community tank.

You really need to stop listening to this fish store as they clearly either dont understand or dont care about the welfare of their fish. Certainly dont let them in your home with unwanted fish.

[pettygil]

I have a 20 gallon tank with 9 tetras. Could I put the cory fish in with the Tetras? I have the 1 cory in the 6.5 gallon, to cycle the tank, but after the tank is cycled could put my Cory in my 20 gallon, tank?

How many corys can I put i put in a 20 gallon?

[Aiken Drum]

I really wouldnt use a cory to cycle a tank. What are you planning to keep in the 6.5g you are cycling.

I see no reason why you cant keep 6 corys and 9 tetras in a 20g tank.

[pettygil]

Is my tank Cycled? I used Quick Start by api, here are my water parameters.

Ammonia 0.5ppm
Nitrite 1.0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
ph 7.5

[pettygil]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

I really wouldnt use a cory to cycle a tank. What are you planning to keep in the 6.5g you are cycling.

I see no reason why you cant keep 6 corys and 9 tetras in a 20g tank.

I am wanting a Betta fish. Just one betta fish.

[Aiken Drum]

Either do a fishless cycle or get your betta and cycle the tank with the betta.

[Aiken Drum]

If you are seeing ammonia and/ or nitrite you arent cycled.

Quickstart isnt likely to help at all. You would be better off taking a small amount of media from your cycled 20g filter and putting it into the uncycled filters or squeezing out a sponge from the cycled filter into the water of the uncycled tanks.

[pettygil]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

Either do a fishless cycle or get your betta and cycle the tank with the betta.

I tried cycling with a Betta and mr betta died, so did one of my guppies. That is why I was looking for a hardy fish, to cycle my tank with.

[Aiken Drum]

Bettas and guppies are as "hardy" as you are going to get. If you do your fish in cycle correctly the water never gets close to toxic levels.

The levels you are posting above are too high. You need to control ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm.

The first tank is at 1.5ppm combined and needs 2 x 50% water changes to get water quality to safe levels.

The second tank is at 1ppm combined and needs a 50% water change.

If you are concerned about fish during the cycling process, remove all the risk and do a fishless cycle.

[pettygil]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

Bettas and guppies are as "hardy" as you are going to get. If you do your fish in cycle correctly the water never gets close to toxic levels.

The levels you are posting above are too high. You need to control ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm.

The first tank is at 1.5ppm combined and needs 2 x 50% water changes to get water quality to safe levels.

The second tank is at 1ppm combined and needs a 50% water change.

If you are concerned about fish during the cycling process, remove all the risk and do a fishless cycle.

0.25 ammonia in my cycled tank I had for 3 months. Is there anything I can buy to lower my ammonia? Like Ammonia blocker? When I test from my tap water it is 0.5 Ammonia. I also condition the water. I do have ammonia blocker, should I use it, in my case?? I just did a few water changes on my tanks.

[Aiken Drum]

0.5ppm ammonia isnt going to be harmful.

Yes you can buy ammonia absorbing chemical media, but i wouldnt recommend doing that. You need some ammonia in the tank to feed the bacteria you are trying to grow. If you use something that absorbs all the ammonia your tank wont cycle.

If your tap water is showing ammonia it means your water company uses chloramine rather than chlorine as a water treatment. Chloramine is chlorine and ammonia chemically bonded. While chloramine is a much better water treatment with regards to me and you safely drinking and washing using the water, the ammonia makes it more difficult to keep fish in.

What product precisely is your ammonia blocker?

A water conditioner like seachem prime will treat the chlorine part of the chloramine while also detoxifying the ammonia for a day or 2. Its a good water conditioner to use while cycling your tank, and also a good conditioner to use if you have chloramine treated tap water. But, water changes are the only sure fire way to remove ammonia in an uncycled tank.

Even if your tap water does contain 0.5ppm ammonia its still lower than your tank water, and will certainly help bring nitrite down. Water changes are your friend here, not products, but i would switch to prime as your water conditioner if thats not what you already use. If you like API products, API Aqua Essential is another water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia same as prime.

Retest tomorrow and do more water changes if your water quality gets above that 0.5ppm combined target. Do this daily until you are no longer detecting ammonia in your daily water tests.

As said previously you can seed the uncycled filters using media or sponges from your cycled filter. You would probably be done in a week or 2 doing that.

[pettygil]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

0.5ppm ammonia isnt going to be harmful.

Yes you can buy ammonia absorbing chemical media, but i wouldnt recommend doing that. You need some ammonia in the tank to feed the bacteria you are trying to grow. If you use something that absorbs all the ammonia your tank wont cycle.

Ok, I will not use ammonia blocker.

A water conditioner like seachem prime will treat the chlorine part of the chloramine while also detoxifying the ammonia for a day or 2. Its a good water conditioner to use while cycling your tank, and also a good conditioner to use if you have chloramine treated tap water. But, water changes are the only sure fire way to remove ammonia in an uncycled tank.

I will use seachem prime. I just ordered from Amazon.

Even if your tap water does contain 0.5ppm ammonia its still lower than your tank water, and will certainly help bring nitrite down. Water changes are your friend here, not products, but i would switch to prime as your water conditioner if thats not what you already use. If you like API products, API Aqua Essential is another water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia same as prime.

I will use Prime. And do a lot of wc.

Retest tomorrow and do more water changes if your water quality gets above that 0.5ppm combined target. Do this daily until you are no longer detecting ammonia in your daily water tests.

sure will do,

As said previously you can seed the uncycled filters using media or sponges from your cycled filter. You would probably be done in a week or 2 doing that.

I just used sponge from my 20 gallon tank. And placed in my 6.5 gallon, tank.