TankBud

Blacktop cory

Corydoras acutus

FreshwaterFish

Blacktop cory (Corydoras acutus)
Frank M. Greco · CC BY 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
1.7 in
4.4 cm
Minimum tank
13 gal
50 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Shoaling
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Callichthyidae
Origin
Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia

Overview

The blacktop cory is a small, easygoing shoaling catfish for the floor of a peaceful community tank. It is best with a little experience.

Did you know

The blacktop cory's species name, acutus, is Latin for pointed. It fits both its tapered snout and its high, sharp dorsal fin, and the black tip of that fin gives the fish its everyday name.

Caring for the blacktop cory

Keep blacktop cories in a group of six or more, with open sand to forage on. They are small, but they still need floor space, and 13 gal (50 L) or more suits a modest group. A soft sand bed, driftwood, leaf litter and dappled shade from plants make them at home.

Blacktop cories tolerate a fairly wide warm range, from 72 to 82°F (22 to 28°C), with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Keep the water clean and soft, and the current gentle. Feed a mix of sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, and a little vegetable matter. Make sure it all sinks to the bottom.

They stay down on the bottom, combing the substrate with their barbels. They get along with any peaceful community fish that will not outpace them at dinner. Home spawning of this species is not widely reported. Cories of its kind lay sticky eggs, which the female holds briefly between her pelvic fins.

Good to know

The blacktop cory, Corydoras acutus, is a member of the armored catfish family Callichthyidae. Bony plates armor its flanks in two rows.

In the wild

Blacktop cories range widely across the upper Amazon, in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. They live over sand in warm, soft, slightly acidic water.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The blacktop cory is a peaceful, shoaling species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a blacktop cory need?

A blacktop cory needs at least 13 gal (50 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a blacktop cory need?

A blacktop cory is comfortable at 72–82°F (22–28°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

What does a blacktop cory eat?

A blacktop cory eats sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, along with a little vegetable matter. All of it needs to sink, since the fish feeds on the bottom.

How big does a blacktop cory get?

An adult blacktop cory reaches about 1.7 in (4.4 cm).

Does a blacktop cory need a group?

Yes. A blacktop cory is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

How does a blacktop cory breed?

Blacktop cories are rarely spawned at home. Cories of their kind lay sticky eggs, and the female holds each one briefly between her pelvic fins.

Related species