Corydoras

Care at a glance

Corydoras are the friendly clean-up crew of the freshwater aquarium: small armoured catfish that spend all day rummaging through the substrate with their barbels, hunting for scraps. They are pronounced group animals that visibly perk up in the company of their own kind.

That digging habit imposes one hard requirement: a soft bottom of fine sand or rounded grains, or the sensitive barbels get damaged. Do not count leftovers as a full menu; feed sinking tablets or granules directly. Treated this way it is a sturdy, cheerful species that lives for many years.

Good to know

• Digger — needs fine sand

Best not combined with

• Red-bellied piranhaPygocentrus nattereri
• Red-tailed catfishPhractocephalus hemioliopterus
• Silver arowanaOsteoglossum bicirrhosum

Related species

• Bristlenose plecoAncistrus sp.
• Harlequin rasboraTrigonostigma heteromorpha
• OtocinclusOtocinclus sp.
• Zebra danioDanio rerio
• BettaBetta splendens
• Zebra otocinclusOtocinclus cocama