u/Big_Layer_4909

One of the smallest catfish in the world: the pygmy corydora. He and his six buddies are each just under an inch long.

Newbie fishkeeper here, have a school of 6 Pygmy corys arriving tomorrow from Aquatic Arts. Before putting them in my main heavily planted 10gal with my betta, I was wondering if I could safely hold them for ~2 week quarantine in a 5.5 gal (pictured). There’s a few plants, some catalpa bark, and an Indian almond leaf from my main tank. Upon arrival they should be 0.25-0.5 inches, so I’m hoping that, while not ideal, the 5.5 could be okay for a super short term? Would love any advice here!!

(PS - I also know that 10 gal is pushing it by some accounts for housing them with a betta, so I’m prepared to move my betta permanently to the 5.5 gal and give the 10 gal to the corys if things go awry. The gravel/aqua soil mix doesn’t feel sharp, but I do also have backup sand)

EDIT: 5.5 gal was set up Saturday and is likely not fully cycled so I’ve been adding Seachem Stability for ~3 days (will finish the full 7 days) and ghost feeding. It has a sponge filter running that I had in my fully cycled 10 gal for a couple days, and I added a handful of gravel/mulm, plants, botanicals, and 50% water from my 10 gal. Tube tested today and the perimeters match my 10 gal: 7.4 pH, 0 ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. Will test daily once I add the corys and do water changes if needed

Meet my first betta as an adult, sweet lil U2B (short for “Unnamed Baby Boy”, pronounced “yew-TOO-bee”). He still has an egg spot, so I’m guessing he’s no more than 3-4 months old, but would love y’all’s take! I picked all $2.99 of him up on Saturday and it’s been incredible to see him transform, I didn’t realize how extreme it was until I was showing friends his first day pictures today 🥹 I’m so happy that he seems happy in his new tannin & plant-filled 10 gal home.

(Please ignore the glass smudges lmao, I’ve been too busy staring at him to clean the glass)