Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Other animals

Looking to add corydoras to your aquarium? Here’s what you need to know first

Read this before bringing home a cory catfish to add to your tank

Rebekkah Adams
By

One thing you might not know about aquariums until you get one: Every tank needs a janitor, which may wind up just being you. When you first dive into this hobby, it can take a while to realize how much maintenance is really involved — don’t think that the filter will do all the work. But if you want a little a help in that department, you can add a catfish to the fray. If you don’t have a ton of experience with these bottom feeders, we recommend one of the corydoras since they’re generally best for beginners.

Two cory catfish hang out on the bottom of the tank
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What are corydoras?

This is a type of catfish, but there are actually more than 170 species to choose from. These are a well-known group of swimmers who get their name from their barbels, which look a bit like whiskers. While you’ll find dozens of options in the pet store, you will likely narrow it down quickly based on the size of your tank, temperature, habitat you’ve chosen, and the other fish that they’ll live with eventually.

Recommended Videos

Are corydoras friendly?

Yes, corydoras are sweet and gentle fish. They particularly like spending time together, but get along with many others as well. In some cases, you should not buy just one as they’ll get lonely. Instead grab a pair of the same type and watch them become best friends. You’ll often see them as bottom feeders, well, at the base of the tank, but cory cats also come up to the surface for air or food from time to time.

Two small spotted cory catfish side by side

How do you care for cory catfish?

These guys work well as entry-level catfish, but they still need you to take good care of them. Like all fish, they have a few specific wants unique to their species.

Related

Water requirements

You need clean water for these catfish, though that will remain true for most fish. Also note that they prefer a slightly cooler temperature than some others, around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Only place a corydora in a housing where you can ensure these conditions will be met.

Favorite foods

While they’ll absolutely eat the leftovers, cories need their own food, too. Include bottom-feeder tabs as part of your standard feeding so they get enough. Don’t forget that you also should not put off any type of standard cleaning even though you have a helper in the ring.

Tank needs

One important note, because they eat off the floor, it’s important to include extra substrate in your tank — a few inches. Cories can act a bit shy as well, meaning you want plenty of hiding opportunities in there. Live plants are their favorite, so if that’s at all an option, consider adding them to the decor.

The last thing you need to know about these fun fish, they live a long time. Cory catfish often make it to five years or even longer. It’s important to bring home these pets knowing that you’re signing up for this commitment since other species often live just a couple years at most. They’ll get to meet a lot of other friends as they come and go, but you’ll always be there for your cory cat.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rebekkah Adams
Rebekkah Adams
Contributor
Rebekkah’s been a writer and editor for more than 10 years, both in print and digital. In addition to writing about pets…
What you need to know about sugar gliders before you get an exotic pet
Follow these steps to set your sugar glider up for success
Sugar glider clings to their owner's thumb

Choosing a small pet involves almost as much deliberation as selecting a breed of dog. While there are a lot of factors to take into account, a sugar glider might turn out to be the perfect fit with their curious personality, attachment to your family, and fondness for pockets.

Like any exotic pet, gliders require expert care plus some dedicated research to choose the right breeder or pet store. But with the right prep, your new mammal will fit in perfectly and bond with the whole family. Keep reading to find out if sugar gliders are good pets.
What are sugar gliders?
Unlike most little pets, sugar gliders aren't rodents but marsupials. This gives you a few distinct advantages, as they behave differently from hamsters, guinea pigs, or gerbils. For starters, these are highly social creatures and they will bond with every member of the family and even other pets in the house. Because gliders don't smell like the animals your cats and dogs like to chase — rats, gophers, and bunnies, to name a few — many bigger pets can get along with your new friend. You'll need to introduce them carefully, but they can form lifelong attachments to each other.

Read more
Add rainbowfish to your tank – these beauties will brighten up any aquarium
There are a few things you need to know before you get a rainbowfish
A colorful rainbowfish swims in front of plants in an aquarium

You might know of rainbowfish from the beloved children's book, but these are real animals that you can keep in your own home. As the name suggests, this group of swimmers is well regarded for being beautiful to behold. Many also get along nicely with other fish and can be handled by beginners. This is what you need to know before bringing home a rainbowfish.
What are rainbow fish?
It's a bit of a catch-all term because there are at least 50 species that all fall under the rainbowfish umbrella. Some work better as pets than others, and you'll probably be looking at boesemani rainbowfish, turquoise rainbowfish, featherfin rainbowfish, or red neon rainbowfish. If you're adding to an existing tank, research carefully to ensure you only get ones that will make friends with your current animals.
What conditions do they need to live in?
These are all freshwater fish, but their exact temperature and pH balance needs vary depending on which species you bring home. You can use your existing tank specs to narrow it down or do the opposite — pick the prettiest fish and then build your ecosystem around it. One thing to note right away is that you shouldn't keep males together and no rainbowfish wants to live on its own because they like to school. Consider keeping a group of six females if you want to prevent expansion.

Why should you add them to your tank?
Here are four excellent reasons to keep rainbowfish as pets.
They look beautiful
You can find just about any gradient you want in a rainbowfish. Some incorporate many colors, more like a traditional rainbow, while others skew toward blue, such as the turquoise rainbowfish, or red, such as the aptly named red rainbowfish.
They get along with other fish
While you want them to have friends of their own species, they'll also do great with others. Female rainbowfish can sometimes live with female bettas if you want to create a color explosion. Otherwise consider catfish, gouramis, and loaches as tank mates.
They're good beginner fish
The care level of most rainbowfish sits at about the same as a neon tetra (in fact, they can live together). Make sure your tank stays clean and that you change and test the water frequently, but they don't have any specialty needs.
They live a long time
Many tank dwellers have short life spans, and rainbowfish won't be any different if not properly cared for. However, boesemani rainbowfish, in the right environment, regularly make it to 5 years and sometimes even t10 years!

Read more
Bunny care 101: If Easter inspires you to adopt a rabbit, read this first
These are the things you need to think about before you bring a rabbit home
Brown bunny sits in the grass

Around this time of year, you'll spot bunnies everywhere — in the yard, the grocery candy aisle, and on TV. You may suddenly find yourself thinking about owning one of these cute small pets, and before you know it, you've adopted and brought home a hoppy and floppy pet.

We generally don't recommend impulse purchases when it comes to animals, but if you find yourself walking away from a shelter or pet store with Peter Rabbit in hand, you'll need to brush up quickly. It takes a lot: housing, food, cleaning, playtime, grooming, and vet bills. Understanding each piece of the puzzle will allow you to flourish as a pet parent and help your four-legger to live their best life, too. Keep reading to learn more about owning a bunny.

Read more