[Elliriyanna]

I picked up a 25 gallon today sine after Spots passing I decided to downgrade. I am currently looking for a home for Echo a 25 gallon is too small for him but I dont have space when I move for the 40 gallon which is still too small ugh. So yeah Echo is finding a new home.

After I rehome Echo I am thinking of starting a ten gallon species tank for my Emerald Corydoras. Heavily planted ( Soft plastic plants I cant even keep Java moss alive) And lots of hiding spots and sand for substrate And a 30 gallon in tank filter than I currently have. Any pointers? Does this sound ok? Plus the corys should not be in a tank as deep as the 25.

And as for what to do with the 25 gallon I was thinking a ACF , sand substrate , 50 gallon filter and of course heated. I am not a huge fish fan other than Cory's and Bettas. I have heard they are very interactive. Also the tank would be planted and have a few large terra cotta pots as hides.

I have no other use for it lol. How many are strong enough swimmers to deal with double filtration?

 

[Jess]

I don't know much about the corys, but I can help you out with the ACF!


It sounds good, but you don't really need a heater with them. They aren't tropical, and they like cooler water. Between 68-75*F is best for them.
And ACF shouldn't have a very strong current in their tank, because they don't like the vibrations in the water. I actually didn't use a filter at all for a few years for that reason! I think it is better to have one though- Just try to get one that is quiet, and an adjustable water flow is a must. In Squishy's 15 gal, I have an AquaClear 30 filter, and it's the best filter I've ever used.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Oh yeah I forgot about that ... Hmm ... I could prob attach a sponge filter to the intake or something ... they are pretty dirty so they need the filtration power.

And it looks like I have someone coming to get Echo from me soon.

 

[Dragonrain]

I'd recommend a filter, since ACF's are pretty dirty in general. Like Jess said they don't like the water movement, so you have to either get a filter that has an adjustable output or try to figure out another way to reduce the water movement.

I personally do use a tank heater in with my ACF's. In the warmer months it's not usually needed but when it's colder out the inside of our house gets pretty cold. If the room you're planning on keeping the frogs in doesn't get too cold then you can probably forgo the heater but if it gets cold like ours does then I'd use one at least in the colder months.

Mine are pretty interactive as far as aquatic pets go I don't know if you meant live plants or fake? I've been having a hard time finding more than a few basic types of live plants that my frogs don't just move around and kill. Even with fake plants don't be to surprised if they dig up the plants and rearrange the tank. One thing I learned with my ACF's is that you can't be too picky about how you want the tank to look, because a lot of times they'll just rearrange if for you. Mine even move around the largish terra cotta pots that I gave them to hide in.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Thats fine about moving things I am going to use soft plastic plants I cant keep plants alive any way

And as for my filter I would think fitting a sponge filter over the intake would slow the water flow.

Thats why I want them I love my corydoras thats why I plan on a species tank for them but most fish kind of bore me if i am completely honest.

 

[Jess]

Squishy has java moss, java fern, and a moss ball that have all been doing really well. He likes to push the moss ball around!
Mine is rooted to driftwood though, so he can't mess with it too much.


And they are definitely more interactive than fish. He will eat out of my fingers, let me "hold" him underwater, and he croaks at night too.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Aww thats adorable Next time i go to the pet store i will ask about slowing water flow.

Anyone have any ideas? My filter works great so I do not want to buy another one.

 

[Jess]

Is it adjustable? Because usually there is a little thing that you turn in top of the tube that will change the water flow. I usually keep mine of the lowest setting.
Otherwise you could tie a sponge or pantyhoes around where the water come out. It might be worth getting a new one that's adjustable though, if yours isn't.

 

[Elliriyanna]

my filter is less than a year old i bought it brand new and I dont think it has an adjustable flow rate. But I can slow down the water flow somehow I just Dont want to replace a cycled new filter.

 

[Purple-Hops]

I don't how to attach it but I think you can just add sponge to the flow out of the water.

 

[Elliriyanna]

I think you use a rubber band or something but a sponge filter adapted I am gonna try.

 

[Purple-Hops]

^.^ Are you cycling the tank before hand? Or did you get the ACF? Or just playing around to see what works?

 

[Elliriyanna]

The tank is cycled my fish have been living in it for months and I cycled it when I got it.

I did not get them I was thinking after I got the cories their species tank I would look into ordering a pair

I want to figure out what I am goin to do before I get them.

 

[Purple-Hops]

That's best kind Very responsible ^.^ I was going to get ADF (s) but I don't want to upgrade the 3g I have :/ I'd be screwed if I bought them and then ran into problems

 

[Elliriyanna]

Thanks I learned a lot from my first goldfish I had to return them after battling ammonia burns for weeks.

 

[Sasami]

You've gotten advice on the ACF but I wanted to say that a 10-gallon is too small for a group of Emerald cories. They need much more room to swim, I'd consider a 20-gallon long to be the bare minimum. The 20-gallon would still be shallow but honestly, a 25-gallon wasn't too deep either. I think you're forgetting that their environment in the wild is deeper than even very large aquariums .

 

[Elliriyanna]

everything I have read says a 10 gallon is perfect for a school of cories and that they should not be kept in deep tanks.

 

[Sasami]

everything I have read says a 10 gallon is perfect for a school of cories and that they should not be kept in deep tanks.

Personal experience tells me that they can survive in a 10-gallon but are never as active or as likely to breed. Knowledge of the species tells me that what we think of as "deep" is not really deep for a fish. Would I recommend a really tall tank? No. But a 25-gallon isn't deep at all.

Emerald cories are also on the large size for cory cats. A school of pygmy cories would do great in a 10-gallon, you just happen to have a larger species.

I don't think you'll end up killing your cories by keeping them in a 10-gallon, I just wish more people (including the people who wrote whatever articles you read since they disagree with the ones I've read) would think in terms of what's good for the fish as opposed to what they can survive in. That's not really aimed at you but more the general public. A 10-gallon is inappropriate for most groups of fish IMO.

If you seriously prefer the advice of online articles to personal accounts then I could probably link you to some. I honestly don't like the idea of keeping cories (besides pygmy species) cramped in a 10-gallon after seeing how active they are in larger tanks . A quick search resulted in a ton of pages recommending 30+ gallons, in fact. So it's not just me being a crazy fish lady :lol:.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Thats not at all what I said I just said this is what I read and want to give my pets a good life. the cories seemhappy in the 25 ... but so does Echo he is brighter than ever and this tank is far too small.

 

[Sasami]

Thats not at all what I said I just said this is what I read and want to give my pets a good life. the cories seemhappy in the 25 ... but so does Echo he is brighter than ever and this tank is far too small.

You said that you wanted to put your cories in a 10-gallon. If that's not what you meant then what exactly did you mean? I guess I'm just not sure what your plans are.