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This week, I will be profiling a most delightful little catfish. The bronze cory is one of the toughest cories, is the most common, and is adorable to boot.

The bronze cory (Corydoras aeneus, Callichthys aeneus, Hoplosternum aeneum) hails from many South American countries, including Venezuela, Trinidad, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. They like soft, acidic water (they are from South America, after all), but will thrive in most water conditions. They are like all cories though, in that they do not care for aquarium salt. I personally believe that they are greatly intolerant to salt, though other folks disagree. Some contend that they have kept cories in tanks with enough salt for livebearers (1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per five gallons of water, I believe) with no problems. Since these catfish are scale-less though, they are more sensitive to salt (again, others will disagree) and medicines than other fish. Nitrates are another problem when keeping cories. If the nitrate level in a tank is too high, any Corydoras catfish residing within will experience barbel erosion. If this happens, then their barbels will shorten, and become relatively useless for finding food.

Tanks with good hiding spaces such as plants and driftwood are beneficial, but open swimming space is also important. These catfish may become shy if their tank doesn’t have adequate cover, as hiding spots help to give them a sense of security. The bronze cory is interesting in that they can swim up to the surface of the water, gulp down some air, and process it in their gullet. This helps them out when they are living in water with a low oxygen content… a very helpful trait when they are being kept by ignorant newbies They will do this even in tanks with lots of dissolved oxygen though, so don’t fret if you see your Corydoras catfish doing this. It is perfectly normal, just like when bettas gulp air.

These catfish aren’t picky in the way of food, as basically anything they are offered gets eaten. Flakes, live, frozen, freeze-dried, wafers, pellets... They will eat it all! Tubifex worms seem to be a favorite treat, though they eat everything with gusto! An interesting trait of these fish is that they will spend hours each day nosing around in the substrate, just looking for food. They use their barbels (whisker-like things) to locate food bits and propel the bits into their mouths… very fun to watch!

The bronze cory gets pretty big for a Corydoras catfish, but not very large overall. They usually reach seven centimeters (2.8 inches) in length, and get fairly wide. Tanks of at least twenty gallons in size are best for this cory, though fifteen gallons will work in a pinch. Their group-loving nature is the reason for this. They are best kept in groups of at least six, as they are shoaling fish. When kept in smaller groups, they will not be as boisterous or lively. In fact, they may become shy. With six bronze cories though, there will be no end to the partying!

This cory is great for any kind of community tank, as it is completely peaceful. They never purposely bother tankmates, and certainly do not attack them. The worst they do is annoy other fish with their constant swimming, but who can stay mad at these little beauties? As mentioned, these fish may become nervous and skittish when kept in small groups or singly, but that isn’t usually a problem when you’ve got plenty of cories.

There are quite a few varieties of this catfish, and some of them are quite different from the ‘original’. Most bronze cories look exactly that: bronze. However, there is a very common albino form, and a few other kinds exist, too. Some of these include the very spiffy looking ‘laser’ cories, who have bright colors. At least one of these may be getting its own scientific classification though, so they may not be all that similar. Only time will tell.

Sexing the bronze Corydoras is deceptively simple, if you know what you’re doing. Mature cories have no external differences, but they sexes can be told apart by size. Females are a little bit larger than males, and they are a good bit wider through the middle. Young fish are impossible to tell apart, so you might not be able to sex these fish if you’ve just bought them.

Some photos:
The normal kind:
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/catfish/corydoras_aeneus91.jpg[/img]
An albino:
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/catfish/3574Albinocory_1.jpg[/img]
Here’s a laser cory:
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/catfish/aeneus_greenlaser.jpg[/img]

This catfish is a popular beginner’s cat, and for good reason. They help keep the substrate free of waste foods (though they can’t live off of just leftovers), have tons of personality, and are very enjoyable. These often serve as an aquarist’s introduction to cories, and they usually fare pretty well. If you buy some bronze cories for your tank, you will not regret it.

Links:
[link=http:// www.scotcat.com/factsheets/aeneus.html]http:// www.scotcat.com/factsheets/aeneus.html[/link]
[link=http:// freshaquarium.about.com/cs/catfish1/p/bronzecory.htm]http:// freshaquarium.about.com/cs/catfish1/p/bronzecory.htm[/link]
[link=http:// fish.mongabay.com/species/Corydoras_aeneus.html]http:// fish.mongabay.com/species/Corydoras_aeneus.html[/link]

NOTE: Most of the above information (except for the pictures and different varieties) applies to all other Corydoras species as well. These catfish are mostly similar in care, and fare well in peaceful fish tanks. They are great aquarium fish, and come in a wide range of colors (though none are *too* bright). These catfish are wonderful, and I highly recommend them to the novice fishkeeper. Keep in mind though, some cories are not as hardy as others. Do research on a fish before you purchase it!

[link=Week One- Betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/50279.html[/link]
Week Two- Carassius auratus (Common Goldfish)
[link=Week Three- Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Common Pleco)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/50899.html[/link]
[link=Week Four- Brachydanio rerio (Zebra Danio)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/51250.html[/link]
[link=Week Five- Colisa lalia (Dwarf Gourami)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/51591.html[/link]
[link=Week Six- Pterophyllum scalare (Angelfish)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/51903.html[/link]
[link=Week Seven- Gymnocorymbus ternetzi (Black Skirt Tetra)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/52220.html?200501022234[/link]


Last edited by sirbooks at 05-Jan-2005 19:49[/font][/font][/font]

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I was under the impression that lazer cories were a seperate species altogether, but these fish aren't my forte, so I can't be sure.

Another great article Sirbooks.
I just want to mention that I have seen Corydoras Aenus at 4 inches in length not including the fins.
I dont know if it was just that the ones I saw were grown in a very large 200g tank for their growth time, and grew very large. The fellow who owns them has 4 regular aenus bronze and 4 long finned (looks like congo tetra fins) aenus bronze as well. All are 4 inches, around 6 in total with the fins included, and very robust.


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Cup - at the moment the Lasers are being classed with Aeneas and they're definitely very closely related, at the least.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

It really annoys me to see laser corys listed as subspecies of bronze corys. By just looking at them, you can easily tell that the species they are most closely related to is C. melanotaenia, the gold-green cory. Even Ian Fuller believes this.

But I guess since C. aeneus is much more common than C. melanotaenia, people just call them that so they can get an idea of what they look like without a photo. But laser corys and gold green share many physical characteristics, such as a more elongated shape, "rosy cheeks", and yellowish body coloration. In fact, the only real differences between these species is that the laser corys have that bright metallic stripe down their back.


Corydoras melanotaenia:



My Corydoras sp. "orange laser":





Great article, Books. Very informative.[/font][/font]

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Slightly off topic ... Cory_Addict, is that a duplicareus snacking on the freeze dried tubifex with your melanotaenia ?

Meanwhile, just one thing to add to Sirbooks' excellent article. Bronze Corys are one of the most domesticated of Cory species, so finding ones that are compatible with your local water shouldn't pose too many headaches. And consequently, they should be pretty tough even in the hands of well-meaning but un-co-ordinated newbies

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002