Panda Corydoras are commonly known as Panda Cory Cats, Spotted Corys, GP Cory Cats or Panda Catfish, they are named after their similarity in markings of the Giant Panda. They are a very popular choice for freshwater tanks thanks to their active, social nature, along with being easy to care for.
Tank Requirements
- Community with non-aggressive tank mates.
- Temperatures between 22°C and 26°C
- Water between pH 5.8 and pH 7.0
- A school of at least 5 fish is desirable
- Lots of live plants & driftwood are preferred
- Minimum of 10 gallons (45 litres) per fish
- They do better in an established with stable parameters
- They require a substrate to sift through
Temperament wise, these fish are very social, but can be shy, particularly if they are kept alone in an aquarium. With a small school of them, they are likely to be much more active & social. Once they have formed a social group, and they have settled into you aquarium, they will spend their day sifting through the substrate in your aquarium, looking for morsels of food.
They prefer a mature tank with stable water parameters, but once the tank is established they are very easy to care for and add great movement to the bottom of your tank.
They do not require a lot of flow in the tank, they have the ability to breath air from the surface of the water. You will occasionally observe them darting to the surface of your aquarium, taking a deep breath, then darting back down to the bottom. They are one of only a handful of fish species that can do this.
If you have a planted tank, it is worth nothing that these fish can sometimes dislodge plants that are buried in the substrate, just make sure your plants are anchored down and you should be fine.
Feeding
- These are omnivores.
- They will eat pretty much anything that is put in the tank.
- They are fairly fast eaters but will rarely eat from the water column. They only really eat from the floor of the tank.
- Sinking foods are a good idea to help ensure enough food is reaching the bottom of the tank.
Male & Female Panda Cory’s
Size: Maximum length 5cm
Colour: Panda Cory’s have a creamy coloured base with distinctive black spots. The first covers their head and eyes, the second a black dorsal fin, then a third black spot at the start of their tail.
Sexing: Females have larger underbelly’s, and when viewed from above they look a lot wider than the males. The males have a longer, slimmer appearance.
Personal Review
I would never have a community tropical tank without a Cory Cat or two in it! I love these little fish.
Once they have settled in, they are active and interesting to watch. I like that you can keep them with other types of Cory Cats too. It means you can have a school of 5 to 10 Cory’s with lots of different types, colours and patterns.
I think they provide an invaluable service to your aquarium by stirring up anything the settles on the bottom of your tank, giving your filter the chance to pick it up, and they eat up left overs that have been missed they the free swimmers in the tank, meaning that food is not given the chance to break down in the tank.
I would never put anyone off of adding Cory’s to tank.
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