Tukano cory

Hoplisoma tukano

Also known as Corydoras tukano, C64

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 5.2–6.8
Adult size: 2 in (5 cm)
Minimum tank: 16 gal (60 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Shoaling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Tiquie, upper Rio Negro drainage, Amazonas, Brazil
Family: Callichthyidae

Overview

Six or more in 60 liters of soft, warm water over sand suits it. It eats sinking prepared and frozen foods eagerly and has been bred repeatedly in captivity, with soft acidic water and cool changes as the trigger. Community research along the Tiquie has studied its wild populations, so captive breeding genuinely takes pressure off the river.

In the wild

The tukano cory comes from the Rio Tiquie in the upper Rio Negro system, a blackwater river flowing through indigenous Tukano territory. It shoals over sand and litter in warm, soft, acidic water. Keep it at 24 to 28 degrees Celsius, pH 5.2 to 6.8, over fine sand with leaves and shade.

Good to know

Britto and Lima described this species in 2003, naming it for the Tukano people of the Tiquie; it had circulated in the hobby as C64. The 2024 revision lists it as Hoplisoma tukano. It reaches about 5 centimeters and wears warm orange over bold black saddles, one of the prettiest Rio Negro corys.

Did you know

The Tukano communities of its home river helped researchers monitor this fish, one of the first corys whose trade was studied with the people who actually catch it.