Salt and pepper cory

Hoplisoma habrosum

Also known as Corydoras habrosus, Dwarf Spotted Cory

FreshwaterFish

Salt and pepper cory (Hoplisoma habrosum) — D.W. · CC0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–79°F; 20–26°C
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 1.4 in; 3.5 cm
Minimum tank: 15 gal; 55 L

Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Shoaling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Family: Callichthyidae
Origin: Colombia, Venezuela

Overview

Keep them in a group of at least six, ideally more, since they are far more confident and active in a shoal. They work the bottom, sifting sand for food, and a tank around 55 liters gives a decent group room. Feed sinking pellets and wafers plus occasional live or frozen brine shrimp and daphnia, making sure food reaches the floor. They want soft to neutral water, pH about 6 to 7.5, in the low to mid 20s C, and stay peaceful with small, calm tankmates.

In the wild

Salt and pepper corys come from the Orinoco basin in Colombia and Venezuela, in shallow, slow streams and pools with sandy or fine-gravel bottoms and lots of plants. The water there is soft and runs from slightly acidic to neutral. Give them a soft, sandy substrate so they can sift it without damaging their barbels, plus planting and gentle flow. They are a true dwarf cory, so they fit smaller setups better than most.

Good to know

This is an armored catfish in the family Callichthyidae and one of the smallest Corydoras, reaching about 3.5 cm. The body is pale with scattered black blotches, hence the salt-and-pepper look. They are egg layers that scatter and stick eggs on surfaces with no parental care, and eggs hatch in roughly three to five days. Captive breeding is on the harder side. Wild populations are not currently listed as threatened.

Did you know

Unlike most corys that mostly hug the bottom, salt and pepper corys often hover and swim partway up the tank, almost like a tiny shoaling tetra. That mid-water behavior makes a group of them more visible than their larger relatives.

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Tank mates

Salt and pepper 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