Individual Fish Description Page

This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected fish, from A to Z. The profiled fish will be chosen randomly by Badman, and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish. I will try to up-date the profile on a monthly basis. If you have a specific fish you want profiled please vote for it in the favorite fish poll on the main index page.

Classification

Order:	siluriformes
Sub-order:	none
Family:	Callichthyidae
Genera:	corydoras

Common name

Bronze Catfish, Aeneus Catfish

Venezuela and Trinidad in the North ranging to the La Plata river basin in the South.

Typical for the genus, The lateral armor consists of 21 to 23 upper and 19 to 21 lower bony plates. The upper jaw barbels extend almost to the gill slits. They can reach a length of about three inches.

The central area of each side is darker than the rest and extends to the beginning of the Caudal fin. the basic ground color is pale brown to a brownish Yellow. The head and side areas have a metallic sheen to them which appears green, copper or a Golden color depending on the light and angle of viewing.

Most species of Corydoras will tolerate a wide range of variations in temperature, pH and hardness. As a general rule they will do fine if kept within the following ranges, Temperature: 72oto 79o , pH:6.2 to 7.8 and a dH of 4o to 25o. The tank can be decorated with driftwood and a few live plants, soft sandy substrate is essential to prevent damage to the barbals. The water should be well aerated and filtered and changed at regular intervals. The Armored catfish are Omnivorous and should be fed a varied diet. Do not simply rely on uneaten food on the bottom as there only source of food.

Sexually mature specimens are easy to tell apart, the females have a stouter body and the males has a larger and more pointed Dorsal fin. You should have a ratio of two males to each female. Courtship consists of the male touching the female with his snout and then the female will swim constantly aroundcleaning rocks or plant leaves in the tank. Then a male will grab the females barbals and twist his body into hers and she will release her egg pouches at the same time as the male sperm. This is repeated several times with the female taking the egg pouches and placing them at various locations throughout the tank. After spawning you can remove the parents from the tank. The eggs will hatch in about five to eight days and the young are not hard to raise and can be fed fine flake food or newly hatched brine shrimp (fresh or frozen). Growth is fairly rapid given proper conditions.

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