March Featured Fish: Cory Catfish
Photo courtesy of Daniel McDermott
This month’s featured fish is the cory catfish, also known as corydora or just the cory. Cory catfish is a genus that includes over one hundred individual cory species.
Here’s the basic info about why you might want corys in your freshwater aquarium.
What does a cory look like?
Given that many different species fall under the description of cory, there is no singular appearance. Here are some of the features you will find on various cory species:
- Cory catfish are relatively small and don’t require a lot of space, with most individuals growing to one to four inches in length.
- Species come in a broad spectrum of shades from iridescent white to black, with many colorations in between.
- Some species have speckling or striped patterns.
How do corydoras behave?
Corys tend to stay at the bottom of the tank. This makes them a good addition to a tank that already has mid-level or top-level fish. Bottom feeders like cory catfish can help to keep the tank clean, since leftover food from the mid-level fish tends to settle at the bottom.
They are a social fish that lives in schools and does best when living with at least a few other members of their own species. In fact, keepers have found that corys’ health can deteriorate rapidly when kept alone.
Because they suck up their food, you also don’t have to worry about them biting any other fish. They are non-aggressive, even with fish that are smaller than they are.
What does a cory eat?
These fish are peaceful scavengers, and as noted, they will eat the leftovers that fall to the bottom of the tank from other fish’s meals, but that is not enough to sustain them. They will need these leftovers supplemented with sinking pellets or flakes. Here are a few good options for food for these omnivores:
What type of environment for cory catfish?
Corys do fine in a ten-gallon tank, but if you plan to keep many of them or include them in a community tank, they’ll need more space, and a twenty to thirty-gallon tank would be better. They will also be safest with small to medium-sized peaceful tank mates, as their small size and grazing habits can make them easy prey.
Being small fish, they prefer an environment with plenty of décor and live plants to provide cover. They also prefer warm water between seventy and eighty degrees Fahrenheit and a fairly neutral pH level between six and eight, depending on the particular species of cory.
For more about specific cory care or to see cory color varieties in person, talk to a team member at The Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights.