Kenyi cichlids with cory catfish

Question
QUESTION: Hi Lynda!
I am writing for my very upset 12 year old son. He had a Beta and a large cory catfish living peacefully together for 3 years in a 10 gal. tank. My daughter gave him a 20 gallon tank and because of stress (or whatever) the beta died in less than 24 hours. She said that he would LOVE cichlids because they have great personalities, they build houses, come to the front of the tank when you come near, etc. So she took him to the pet store and promptly picked out a male and female Kenyi and 3 small cory catfish to go along with the large cory. Well, it appears that the large cory is being tortured by the male Kenyi, his top fin has been nipped almost all the way down to the nub. My daughter suggested rearranging the tank to "cut down on the male being so territorial". (She thinks that the large cory ventured into the male Kenyi's space). Do you agree with this? Will the cory's fin regenerate? Will this cause the cory to die without the top fin? Should I take the male back to the store? Any suggestions that you have would be GREATLY appreciated!! (By the way, my son is VERY emotional and attached to his fish so the gentlest approach would be best.)

ANSWER: Hi Michele,
The Kenyi is a very aggressive, and territorial fish.  They do not mix with cory catfish.  Cory catfish are docile little fish, and must be kept in groups of five or more.  The Kenyi is an African Cichlid, and I would not recommend keeping African Cichlids, unless you read up on them.  It would be too long for me to write all of this down here.  I would also like to mention that African males should be kept one male to 3 females, and the tank must have rocky formations, and overturned pots, or kept alone.  When keeping African Cichlids, you must change the decor often so that they do not get too comfortable with their territory.  The Kenyi will not leave the cory alone, and will continue to attack him, and later he will attack the other little corys.    There is nothing you can do about this except take the corys back to the pet store, or the Kenyi.  Not all fish get along.  The Kenyi needs alkaline water, and the cory catfish needs acidic to neutral water.  I know it is tempting to mix fish, some are so pretty, but African Cichlids are one of the hardest fish to keep because of their behavior.  The kenyi will attack any small fish you put into your tank.  You must be very careful what you put in with a Kenyi.  In a 20 gallon tank, he should be kept alone as he grows to 5 inches in length, and when you consider that you must decorate your tank with rocks, and overturned pots, this takes lots of room.  There are many other pretty little fish you can put in your tank with your corys, but if you keep the Kenyi, you are limited.  If you feel you would like to keep the Kenyi, then you will have to let your corys go.  It is a very hard decision, I know because we all love our fish, and want to do what is best for them.  Some Cichilds, most of them grow very big, and need big tanks.  Dwarf south american cichlids are not so aggressive, and you could keep them with the corys. Think about what you would like, and write back to me before buying them, so I can help you more.  I'm sorry to have to tell you about the Kenyi's behaviour, but they really are nasty little fish.  Beautiful, but they can really be wicked.  
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your detailed answer. I spoke with my son, and he has agreed to take the cichlid back to the pet store. Should we take both the male and female back? Or just the male? Also, he wants to know if the cory's fin will heal? And lastly, what do you suggest would be good, hardy (long-living) relatively low-maintenance fish that would get along with his corys. I like the idea of fish with "personalities" that swim to you when you come near. His tank is decorated with several small tikis, a couple of fake plants, and 3 large items that fish can (and do) hide in. I really appreciate your help!
Michele

ANSWER: Hello,
You are very welcome.
You should take them both back seeing as the female is just as aggressive as the male, and he would not be able to add any other fish.  An African cichlid tank must be 50 gallons or more if you want to add more fish, and the fish must be African cichlids.  Seeing as they are so aggressive, and territorial, it would be best for your son to go with fish that are not aggressive.  It is not unusual to wake up one morning, and find some of your fish hurt, and sometimes dead.  Keeping African Cichlids, is lots of observation, not to mention that you must remove a pregnant fish, and keep her in another tank.  Most African Cichlids keep the eggs in their mouth for about 21-26 days.  Once the eggs hatch, she will look after them for a little while, and the fry will go back into her mouth if she feels they are threatened.  The male will not help with the fry.  She is very weak after this ordeal, and must be kept away from the male for at least a month, fed good food, so she can recuperate.  This is why, the male needs 3 females because he will continue to harass the female.  You can easily see that is is quite a job, and you would need other tanks, unless you buy only females.  Since most of the African Cichlids females are not pretty, we tend to go for the males, but there too, there are fights.  It is not a fish for a little boy to get involved with, until he knows more about them.  He might be very discouraged from an experience with African Cichlids.  Once he is older, and knows more about fish, then he could venture into this, but for now, it is best he have fish that get along.
There is no fish like the betta.  So small, yet so clever!  I'm not sure, but I think that your betta may have died because your tank had not cycled.  By this I mean your water chemistry must be free of ammonia, free of nitrites, and nitrates should be low.  It is very important that your water has cycled before putting fish into your tank.  You can have your water checked at the pet store, or you could buy these small test kits.  They are always handy to have.  Once your water has cycled you may add fish, but you must add fish slowly.  Never add too many fish at once because this would change your water chemistry, and the fish would die.  Water changes of 25% once your water has cycled is very important.  Depending on the size of the fish you choose, you can buy 2, wait one week, do a water change, and add 2 more, wait one week, do a water change, and add 2 more, and so on.  If you buy neons, then you could add 6, because they are so small, and wait one week before adding other fish.  
If you son would like to have another Betta, he could keep his cory fish, add platys, (No guppies because the betta may mistake them for one of his own, and seeing as they are Siamese Fighting fish, trouble would begin in the tank.)  Fish that usually get along with the betta are platys, cory catfish, white cloud minnows, danios, white cloud minnow, neons, Shrimps, some loaches, and cherry barbs.  Of course their are some exceptions.  Each Betta has a different personality, and some prefer to live alone.  These fish are lively, and make a nice tank.  You can also go with Gouramis, if you do not want another betta.  He may like Angel Fish, and two may be added to the tank, along with Honey Gouramis, Blue Gouramis, and also the beautiful Pearl Gourami, or the Moonlight Gourami.  Try to buy only males, or females if you go with the gouramis.  Also provide a floating plant.  You could also add a drawf pleco.
However, there is a fish called "Neolamprologus Brichardi" also known as "Fairy Cichlid"  They are African Cichlids from Lake Tanganyika.  Thes fish are fascinating.  If you buy a male, and a female, they will spawn, and look after their young.  Both male, and female take good care of the fry.  The amazing thing about these fish is that when the fry are older, they will spawn again, and the fry, which will be older by then, will help in caring for the other fry, and so on.  They grow to about 4 inches, and are very pretty.  Even though these are African Cichlids, they are different from other African Cichlids.  They are easy to keep, and care for.  Of course you would be able to put only two in your tank, but soon you would have lots of little fish swimming around.  They need alkaline water.  This means a PH of 7.5 or a little over.  You can do this buy adding a few sea shells or coral to your tank.   Your son may find this very interesting.    Maybe he could look at the fish he would like to have, and from what he tells me, I could help him choose the appropriate tankmates.
I hope this will help.
Lynda



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Lynda,
I apologize for not writing sooner. We went to the fish store Thursday night to look at other fish. He seemed to be leaning toward red albino sharks (I think that's what they are called). Anyhow, the fish guy advised us to do a total tank change and let the water cycle for at least 45 minutes before we add new fish. Well, we did the tank change and I called the fish store to ask them a question about the cory cats being left in the water without a heater and the guy #a new guy) said "You can't add those cory back before we do a water check they might die." So we ran back to the fish store with sample in hand, and as our luck has been going....the water had waaaaay to much ammonia and nitrate in it. He told me it would take at least a month for the tank to be safe for the corys. The best he could suggest is to redo the water again, and add "Safe Start" to the water, let it cycle for 45 minutes then put the corys back in. Well, here I am at 7:30 am after 1 fish definitely died and the other 3 are suffering. This is just horrible!!!!! It took me until 2:30 am (and 2 Benadryls) to get my son to finally fall asleep. I don't know what to do with the suffering fish. And I really really don't want my son to see them like that. My daughter told me that corys are so hardy that they are like the cockroaches of the fish kingdom. But apparently that isn't so. So, is it really going to take a month before the tank is safe? And should we even bother after the horrifying 2 weeks we've had? Thank you again for all of your thoughtful advice. Michele

Answer
Hi Michele,
It is just unbelievable what some pet store workers will tell you.  I just can't believe that some of them work there!
Your water must cycle, and the best way to do this is to buy a used sponge from your pet store.  A used sponge is full of good bacteria, and will help cycle your water.  You could also ask the fish manager to give you a handful of gravel from a used tank, and bring along a jar so that they can give you water from an established tank.  Bring the sponge, gravel, and water home.  Do not rinse the sponge.  Squeeze out the access water, and put it directly into your filter.  Drop the gravel in your tank, and do not rinse these either, and add the water.  Let your tank filter through the used sponge, adding water to the tank that has evaporated.  Your tank will take 3-4 weeks to be ready to recieve fish.  Buy the test kits "Ammonia"  "Nitrites" and "Nitrates"  You will need these often to check your water.  Once you have zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and nitrates are low, or safe, then you can add two fish to your tank, or more depending on the size.  It is very important that your tank cycles, and this does not happen in 45 minutes.  Don't buy products to cycle, they do not work.  After your tank has cycled, and fish are added, do water changes every week 0f 25%.  When you clean your filter, never rinse the sponge under tap water.  Rinse your sponge with water that you have removed from the tank.  Change your carbon once a month, and run it under tap water.  The sponge is a very important media, as it is the sponge that holds all the good bacteria that fish need to survive.  A sponge is good until it is old, ragged, and falling apart.
The Albino sharks needs a 50 gallon tank, as they need lots of room to swim, and grow quite big.
The cory catfish, need a cycled tank.  Would your pet store house them for you?  Usually, they should help you out.  Ammonia and nitrites are the number one killer of fish.  Fish must be kept in good water chemistry.  It would also be a good idea to have the PH tested, once your tank as cycled.  Different fish, need a different PH.  Before buying fish write me to let me know your PH, and what fish you would like to put into your tank.
It's a shame that this happened.  It should have never happened if you had had good advice.  Please do not give up.  Let your tank cycle, and then you will be able to house fish that will be healthy, and happy.  I'm so sorry this as happened, but be assured that once the water has good chemistry, things should be okay.  For now try to save the cory fish.  They are harmless little fish, and not hard to keep.  Maybe you know someone who has a tank that would happily keep them for you.  I hope you son will never have to go through this again.  I know how attached we get to these little beings.  
Keep me posted please.
Lynda