Which tank would you choose? Dwarf Driftwood catfish

[Runitis]

Hello forums,

TL;DR which tank would you put 3 dwarf Driftwood cats in

50g with 2 hoplo catfish and 1 ram (want to get some tetras and Cory cats)

Or a decently full 16g fluval spec. 5 gold tetras 1 Betta and 2 large amano shrimp.




Long time no see. I have been keeping catfish and cichlids for a long time but recently wanted to try out a small fish community. So I took a chance on 3 dwarf Driftwood catfish. I thought I would see them sometimes but that isn't the case so now I am concerned about putting them in my 50g thinking they may not find food so here's my options.

50g with 2 hoplo catfish and 1 ram (so far want to get some tetras and Cory cats)

Or a decently full 16g fluval spec. 5 gold tetras 1 Betta and 2 large amano shrimp.

I think they may do better in the smaller tank but that tank for some reason has had troubles with Cory cats so I scared. But the 50 is so large!

 

[Joshuakahan]

My opinion is bigger is always better regardless of what stock you decide on

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Exilis, for some odd reason, are a massive pain in the rear to feed. They can't go as long as other woodcats without food, and don't seem to be as avid eaters; they're also pickier IME. Had 6 in a very sparsely decorated 5G for quarantine for ~2mos (d/t epistylis), with water changes performed daily- those two months were the only two that I didn't lose any. Since it was so barren and small, all six were able to eat, even though they didn't have much of an appetite. As soon as I moved them into a 75G community- and it wasn't very densely decorated; not even planted at the time- the exilis began to steadily die off. The primary way for me to feed all six was to pull them all out of the tank, which involved ransacking it, and even then I never managed to catch all of them. The only other way was to wake up at ~1am to feed them bloodworms, as almost all, if not all, would be out by then, and would eat. They are not very good at finding food, either; they may scent food and attempt to find it, but they're terrible at that and can't find food even just an inch away from their head. I wanted to move the 6 back into a 5G, but at that time all were occupied by either new/ill plecos or small bettas. Eventually, all died, starting from the smallest; even just a week without food (i.e. missed ~4-5 feedings) would mess them up terribly. The last two died last week and this week out of the blue after I couldn't find one or the other during feeding. Additionally, you'll just about never see them during the day, and may not even see all three at night.
I'd go for the 16G, provided sufficient water changes are given out.
What sort of trouble with cories are you experiencing?