Corydoras Catfish Species Profile

The Corydoras Catfish are some of the best catfishes out there to keep in a community aquarium. These fish have become quite popular due to their unique look and their ability to help clean up uneaten food that sinks down into the substrate. There are over 80 different species of these small armored catfish. They are native to South America and the West Indies.

1. Corydoras Catfish Characteristics

Corydoras Catfish are a very hardy and easy to care for catfish. They do well in most community aquariums, but they especially like to be kept in groups of at least 6 or more individuals. When kept this way, they become less shy and friendly towards people. This makes them much easier to handle and breed. It is not easy to breed them in a community tank, however they do spawn often enough that you can have some fry available quite frequently if you are willing to sacrifice some of their cleaned up food for the purpose of breeding them.

Corys are hardy fish and they will eat just about anything. They will especially clean up any uneaten food that sinks to the bottom of the tank. These fish are very peaceful and easy to care for, but they can be a little shy and skittish when first introduced into an aquarium. They have a lifespan of around 3-5 years.

2. Corydoras Catfish Origin

The name Corydoras is Latin for helmet. The helmet catfish, also known as the siluriformes catfish, have a characteristic flap-like sheild over their heads that resembles a medieval knights head gear.

3. Corydoras Catfish Size

Corys are small armored catfishes native to South America and the West Indies. The smallest species of Cory is only around 1 inch (3 centimeters) and the largest can grow up to 3 inches (8 centimeters).

4. Corydoras Catfish Colors and Markings

Some of the most common species are, as well as their adult body coloration, include:

Corydoras aeneus (Bronze Cory) – gold with a silver sheen

Corydoras bleheri (Bleher’s Catfish) – blue & black vertically striped

Corydoras haraldschultzi (Harald Schultz’s Catfish) – pale brown with dark brown spots on face and tail fin, large white blotch at base of caudal fin

Corydoras julii (Juli’s Catfish) – silvery blue with black stripes and gold coloration on fins

Corydoras leopardus (Leopard Cory) – olive green with distinctive black spots, may have a brownish or blue tail base

Corydoras paleatus (Paleatus Cory) – greenish grey with black stripes and blotches

Corydoras sterbai (Sterbai’s Catfish) – olive brown with thick white stripe along flanks, four or five pairs of dark spots on upper body

Corydoras trilineatus (Trilineatus Cory) – coloration varies with region, can be gold on head and back of body, silver on stomach

There are over 80 different species of these small armored catfish. They are native to South America and the West Indies. The most popular colors to keep in an aquarium are Bronze Corys (Corydoras aeneus) and Leopards (Corydoras leopardus).

5. Corydoras Catfish Tankmates

The best tankmate choices for your corys are other small peaceful catfishes or dwarf cichlids that reach a maximum length under 5 inches. Small to mid-size danios and barbs could also be kept with them, however the larger tetras like the Glowlight Tetra , Cardinal Tetra , Pearlscale Maggot , and Black Phantom Tetra may pose a threat to their smaller stature.

They can be kept in groups of 6 or more individuals if you want to breeding them. They should not be housed with any very aggressive fish because they will shy away from confrontation and may even be bullied.

6. Corydoras Catfish Care

Due to the fact that Corys are very hardy and easy to care for aquarium fish, they are a good choice if you are new to keeping aquariums or want a low maintenance pet. Consequently, these fish make an excellent first catfish but they do require some special care when being brought home from the store. They should never be purchased with other more aggressive fish because this will cause them to hide all day long not coming out of their hiding spots unless food is offered. If kept too long in solitude without any social activity, your cory catfish may become shy and withdrawn, which can lead to stress related illnesses like ick or velvet disease. There are many different catfish diseases that can be prevented by keeping your fish in a healthy and clean aquarium. In addition, you will want to treat them for any parasites like ich or fin rot immediately after purchasing them so your new fish do not spread sickness to the rest of your aquarium.

7. Corydoras Catfish Lifespan

The average lifespan of most cory species is 3-5 years, but some have been know to live as long as 10 years with proper care. These small armored catfishes have 3 pair of barbels around their mouths (hence the name barbels) and whisker like sensory organs above their mouths called “barbels”. They also have 2 dorsal fins; the first is placed near the head and the second which is much larger, closer to the tail.

8. Corydoras Catfish Diet and Feeding

The food that should be fed to your cory catfish will always depend on what size they are in relation to your aquarium for example a small 3-4 inch long juvenile fish can control their diet by eating veggies like blanched lettuce or endive leaves but if you feed them anything that floats at this smaller size it may block their intestines causing bloating which could potentially kill them. So avoid feeding floating foods (which only some barbs love) at this stage of their life cycle. As they grow, so should their diets! Once they have reached 4-5 inches their diet can be changed to small sinking shrimp pellets or bloodworms. Once they reach over 6 inches (the size of most juveniles) you should consider feeding them a quality flake food with added vegetable content like spirulina or pickeled zucchini.

Corys are bottom dwelling peaceful fish and so do not require aggressive feeders for tankmates but they will enthusiastically eat all smaller live foods, freeze-dried tubifex worms, brine shrimp , etc. Many cory catfish enthusiasts say that these fish have bad eyesight and will not recognize thawed frozen foods as the same as those floating around in your aquarium so if you want your Corys to eat the frozen varieties then only feed them live foods. If you do feed them frozen foods then thaw the food before adding it to their tank so they will recognize the smell and not think it is something dead floating around in your aquarium.

9. Corydoras Catfish Gender Differences

The female corys are the larger, plumper, and more colorful of the species. Usually you can sex out a male from a female by looking at their bellies… The females have larger ovaries which make them look plump and fleshier. Sometimes it is hard to tell, however, with younger fish because the males do not develop their stomachs until they reach adulthood.

10. Corydoras Catfish Breeding

Cory catfish breeding is achieved through pairing up one male CORYDORAS CATFISH and about 5-8 females once they become sexually mature or when the fish get around 2-3 inches long (depending on your source). You will want to select healthy fish and keep them in a suitably sized breeding tank. You may want to add some java moss or spawning material for the female to build her eggs on, but she will do fine without it unless you want the spawn to stick around longer than they would normally live… Once the male and females are together the female should produce an egg cluster within 2-3 days.

The male will fertilize the eggs by fanning them with his pectoral fins and then defending/guarding them from any other fish that might try to eat them – sometimes even nipping at your hand if you get too close!

11. Conclusion

When choosing a cory catfish for your aquarium make sure you pick up two as they are known as schooling fish and often will be lonely without at least one other. Also make sure you buy them from a reputable dealer to ensure they are in good health (free of disease, ich, or parasites) because since there are no natural predators for cory cats they have no built-in fear of humans so if you handle them too much when they are younger it could result in their deaths when added to your aquarium system later.

In closing I would like to point out that these little armored catfish do not require any special water parameters as long as your tank is cycled well enough even though most commonly sold species live in soft acidic waters. So feel free to offer up anything your heart desires for them to eat! If you have any other questions not covered in this article please feel free to leave a comment about it and I will be happy to answer them.

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