Cory Catfish

Author : Efrain Silva

Appearance

The Cory Catfish — I like the name. The most common color for this fish tends to be bronze, though all sorts of color varieties are available. Its whiskers, or barbels, are actually quite whisky, like no other’s. This fish, as such, prefers to move along gravel or smooth sand (hint, hint, consider that when buying the tank, or add these into it later if you already own one). If the water quality fades, its barbels will erode, and that’s how you can tell it may be time for a water change.

Diet

It can eat very basic foods here, so do not worry too much about finding the right meals for it — you can just get together a few bags of fish flakes, not without a few containers of feeder tablets (of the bottom - feeder types, if at all possible, and the store can tell you which tablets these would be), of course, and some pellets. One unique thing about this fish is that you will find it scouring the bottom of your tank, often even for hours, in search of new food you may have dropped in. It’s its usual habit to scour the bottom, when in freshwaters.

Origins

There’s over 160 different kinds of species deriving from this Cory Catfish alone, and it’s a special fish that hails all the way from none other than beautiful South America. And you might have asked yourself already (perhaps mentally, without audible words, in the back of your mind) about the origins of its name….well, to answer that, my friend, this fish’s name actually comes from the bony armor plates you’ll find on its body. Easy name to come up with, right? Also, this fish comes from hanging out in larger groups in the wild (with 20 or more other fish beside it).

Roommate Situation

The situation is looking good for this fish, given that you’ve already chosen to place it near some other peaceful, unaggressive fishies like the Otocinclus Catfish. Regular Tetra types also work as a nice tank mate or play buddy, given they are ideally the same size (fish of similar sizes cannot swallow each other as meals, and that is always a big benefit, if you plan to keep them around in the tank for the long - term). Shrimp also are great, but which kind? Well, more specifically, use Ghost, Red Cherry, and Amano types!

Other Facts to Note

The ideal fish tank pH for this one should be around 7.0 – 7.8. That’s the way it likes it. Also, for temperature levels, stay within 72 – 78 F, all in all. Also, if you want to offer your Cory some great places for it to hide away from plain sight, and rest, as it enjoys, then put plenty of plants in all throughout the tank. It enjoys these as nap hot spots, every moment it gets an opportunity (which, in several cases, has actually been known to be right after lunch - time).