General Information about Corys

Learn more about the coolest fish in the tank!

Corydoras albolineatus, Knaack, 2004 - Lineage 6 (ln6), True Corydoras (C056, C56, cf. xinguensis), female; Corydoras Zone Aquatics<br>Copyright © Kristian Adolfsson / corydoras.zone
Corydoras albolineatus, Knaack, 2004 - Lineage 6 (ln6), True Corydoras (C056, C56, cf. xinguensis), female; Corydoras Zone Aquatics

This site holds information about the currently 4 groups (a lot of changes are on the way, read more here Corydoradinae Lineages) in the Corydoradinae family.

  • Corydoras
  • Aspidoras
  • Scleromystax
  • Brochis

All of the catfish above come from mainland South America and one island, Trinidad (and then only the species Corydoras "aeneus"). The only country without Corys is Chile.

The map below shows roughly the area in South America where Cory type catfish can be found, which is pretty much all but Chile and southernmost Argentina!

The fish are mostly found in the lowlands, below 500 m (1700 ft), where the water temperature easily can reach over 30°C (86°F) in the dry season. Some are found in higher areas, such as Scleromystax barbatus and Scleromystax macropterus, in the highlands in eastern Brazil around São Paolo.

Many species also come from the small rivers close to the Andes (eg. Corydoras metae, Corydoras napoensis, Corydoras panda, Corydoras reynoldsi, and Corydoras stenocephalus). During the rainy season the water temperature in the highlands and in waters near the Andean slopes drops to well below 15°C (59°F) in many rivers.

Some species (Corydoras paleatus, Corydoras longipinnis, and Corydoras undulatus) come from the southern parts, Uruguay and north central Argentina, a temperate climate. During the winter the air temperature can temporarily drop to below 0°C (32°F) and ponds be ice-covered!

I've been collecting in Uruguay during the spring and we measured as low as 13°C (55°F) in a small creek close to the coast. After one month the water temperature had risen only 0.8°C (1.4°F)! The creek was full of 1-2 month old Corydoras longipinnis fry!

Even in Uruguay we caught fish in flooded grasslands where the temperature almost reached 30°C (86°F) in the middle of the day.

Find out more about them here:

Leave a Comment