Gold laser cory

Corydoras melanotaenia

Also known as Elongate Bronze Cory

FreshwaterFish

Gold laser cory (Corydoras melanotaenia) — Bekateen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–73°F (20–23°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 17 gal (65 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Colombia
Family: Callichthyidae

Overview

The gold laser cory is a peaceful shoaling catfish that should be kept in a group of at least six to stay confident and active. It forages across the bottom, sifting sand with its barbels, and suits a calm community of small fish that prefer slightly cooler water. Feed sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and daphnia, and a little algae wafer, checking that the food reaches the floor. A group is comfortable in a tank of around 65 liters or larger.

In the wild

Corydoras melanotaenia comes from the Meta and upper Orinoco drainages of Colombia, over sand in soft, gently flowing water. It prefers cooler temperatures, around 20 to 23 C, so keep it out of a hot tank. Provide a soft sand bed, driftwood, and shaded planting, with pH about 6.0 to 7.5 and clean, well oxygenated water kept moving gently.

Good to know

This armored catfish of the family Callichthyidae reaches about 6 cm and shows a green gold sheen along the body with a darker band toward the back. Its name melanotaenia comes from the Greek for black band. The elongated, bronze toned form gives rise to its alternate name, the elongate bronze cory. It has been bred in aquaria but is considered difficult, responding to cool, clean water and conditioning on live foods.

Did you know

The name melanotaenia means black band in Greek, for the dark stripe along the body, while the trade name gold laser points to the bright metallic green gold line that can light up the flank of a well kept fish.