Skunk cory

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep skunk cories in groups of six or more over smooth sand at 22 to 26 C in soft, slightly acidic water. They are active daytime foragers that appreciate open swimming room and shaded cover. Offer sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm and other small sinking foods.

In the wild

The skunk cory lives in clear and blackwater tributaries of the upper Amazon over sand and leaf litter. The water is warm, soft and acidic. Groups move along the bottom in open areas near submerged wood and roots.

Good to know

A single black stripe arches from the snout, back through the eye and over the top of the body to the tail base, which gives the fish its common name. The 2024 revision moved it to the genus Brochis, where it is written Brochis arcuata. A longer snouted lookalike often sold as the false skunk cory is the separate species Corydoras narcissus.

Did you know

The true skunk cory has a short, rounded snout and its arched stripe runs through the eye, which tells it apart from the longer nosed false skunk cory.

Related species

• 

  Julii cory

  Corydoras julii

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)

• 

  Spotted cory

  Corydoras melanistius

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Threestripe cory

  Corydoras trilineatus

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Violet cory

  Corydoras similis

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)12 gal (45 L)70–81°F (21–27°C)
• Burgess's cory

  Corydoras burgessi

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• False network catfish

  Corydoras sodalis

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)