Elegant cory - Corydoras elegans

The Beautiful Corydoras elegans, also called Elegant Corydoras , Elegant Corydoras or Hatched Corydoras, lives up to its name. Corydoras elegans from South America is characterized by a very attractive metallic, golden yellow, turquoise blue or brownish sheen that adorns its body. The fine, highly variable pattern consists of dark lines and dots that are not sharply defined. Often the fins are simply translucent, and some have a reticulated pattern in the dorsal fin. On the mouth, Corydoras elegans has the short pairs of barbels typical of armored catfish.

Male Corydoras elegans can be distinguished from females by their smaller size of only 5 cm and by their slimmer build. The females of this corydoras grow slightly larger at up to 6 cm. The gregarious Beautiful Cory needs the security offered by a group of conspecifics. A group size of 5-10 specimens is recommended. The Elegant Corydoras lives as bottom dwellers mainly in the lower water layers, but as intestinal breathers they need free access to the water surface at all times.

Breeding Corydoras elegans is somewhat more complicated than breeding other Corydoras species in the aquarium. As a seasonal spawner, the elegans catfish needs a water change with cool water that simulates the rainy season. Breeding success can be increased if the Corydoras are fed live food or high quality frozen food beforehand. After mating, the female attaches the strongly adhesive eggs individually to surfaces in the aquarium, with preference to the underside of broad leaves. There may be several hundred eggs per mating. In a breeding aquarium, from which the parent fish are removed, the chance of survival for the small larvae increases enormously. In the community tank only accidental breeding succeeds - if at all. The larvae of the Elegant Cory are best raised with Artemia nauplii.

The Elegant Cory can reach an age of up to 10 years. At an aquarium temperature of 22-26 ° C he feels well, the water should be soft especially for breeding, the attitude succeeds also in soft to medium-hard water and a pH between 6 and 7.8 feels Corydoras elegans very well. Corydoras elegans like to search for fine food in the sandy substrate and chew through the soil, so at least a sandy corner is actually mandatory. Hiding places in the aquarium are important. A small group of the lively elegans can already be kept in aquariums from 54 liters.

The small Elegance Cory is a good choice for the community tank, it gets along very well with small to medium sized calm fish like guppies, tetras or danios and of course also with loricariids. Also Shrimps can be socialized with Corydoras elegans. Crayfish are less suitable, as the same aquarium areas are populated and especially large crayfish can seriously injure the armored catfish.

Like all Corydoras, the Beautiful Corydoras is an omnivore with a preference for animal food. In addition to special food tablets, frozen food and live food as well as flake food or granulated food are suitable. The Elegant Cory does not actively hunt shrimp, but it is possible that careless juveniles may be eaten rather accidentally.

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic Catfish Feed for all sucking catfish in the aquarium that eat aufwuchs is a balanced tablet food, which does not cloud the water and the fish like to eat. The catfish tablets also contain NatureHolic active ingredient complexes that provide sucker catfish with everything they need for a strong immune system, healthy growth and great, contrasting coloration.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.