Evelyn's cory

Corydoras evelynae

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 15 gal (55 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Brazil
Family: Callichthyidae

Overview

Evelyn's cory is a small, peaceful shoaler that needs a group of at least six to feel secure and stay out in the open. It spends the day working the sand bed with its barbels and pairs nicely with small, gentle community fish that will not crowd the bottom. Feed sinking pellets, frozen daphnia and bloodworm, and crushed wafers, and check that food actually reaches the floor. A group is at home in a modest tank of around 55 liters or larger.

In the wild

Corydoras evelynae comes from the Purus and Solimoes drainages of the Brazilian Amazon, living over sand and leaf litter in warm, soft, tannin stained water. Recreate that with a soft sand substrate, driftwood, dried leaves, and shade, using clean, gently moving water. Keep the temperature between 22 and 26 C and the pH from about 6.0 to 7.5, with regular water changes.

Good to know

A small armored catfish of the family Callichthyidae, Evelyn's cory reaches only about 4 cm. A broken dark band runs along the back, with a squarish blotch beneath the dorsal fin and a dark eye stripe. Bony plates armor the flanks in place of scales. Reliable aquarium spawning is not well documented, though cories of this type deposit sticky eggs the female positions with her clasped pelvic fins.

Did you know

The species name honors Evelyn Axelrod, wife of the aquarium publisher Herbert Axelrod. Fittingly, another cory in this same round up, the pink cory Corydoras axelrodi, is named for Herbert himself.