Blackfin Cory

Corydoras leucomelas

Also known as Peruvian Freckled Cory

FreshwaterFish

Blackfin Cory (Corydoras leucomelas) — karsten_s · CC BY 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–79°F (23–26°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 1.8 in (4.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 16 gal (60 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Origin: Peru
Family: Callichthyidae

Overview

Keep the blackfin cory in a group of at least six so it feels secure and stays active out on the sand. It is a peaceful, small bottom dweller that spends the day nosing through the substrate, so give it gentle community tankmates such as small tetras or rasboras that will not crowd the floor. Offer sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and daphnia, and a little algae wafer, always checking that food settles where it can reach it. A group is comfortable in a tank of around 60 liters or more.

In the wild

Corydoras leucomelas comes from the western Amazon in Peru, living over sand and leaf litter in warm, soft, slightly acidic waters. Set up a soft sand bed so its barbels stay healthy, add driftwood and dried leaves for cover, and shade part of the tank with planting. Keep the temperature warm, between 23 and 26 C, and the pH from about 6.0 to 7.5, with clean water and gentle flow.

Good to know

Part of the armored catfish family Callichthyidae, this small cory reaches roughly 4.5 cm. Its scientific name leucomelas comes from the Greek for white and black, describing the clear body marked by a dark eye mask and a black dorsal fin. Bony plates replace scales along the flanks. Regular aquarium spawning of this species is not widely recorded, though cories of this type lay adhesive eggs the female positions using her clasped pelvic fins.

Did you know

The name leucomelas simply means white and black in Greek, a fitting label for a see through, silvery fish set off by an inky dorsal fin and a dark bar through the eye. It is one of several look alike freckled cories exported from Peru.