Sterba's corydoras (''Corydoras sterbai'') is a member of the South American '' Corydoras'' genus of

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

catfish and one of the most popular species of ''Corydoras'' due to its attractive markings. The fish is native to the Guaporé River region between

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and Brazil. Sterba's cory is distinguishable from other ''Corydoras'' species as it has white spots on a black background on its head. It is occasionally confused with ''

Corydoras haraldschultzi ''Corydoras haraldschultzi'' is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Corydoradinae sub-family of the family Callichthyidae. It is found in Brazil and Bolivia. The fish will grow to 7 centimeters. It lives in a tropical climate in water ...

''; the difference is that the latter has a pattern of black dots on a white background on the head. ''C. sterbai'' has recently become available in an albino form and a black form. Like many ''Corydoras'' species, Sterba's corydoras is a

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

ing catfish, and thus should ideally be kept in groups of 5 or more. In the wild it can be found in Brazil and thus, wild caught fish prefer soft, acidic water. However, Sterba's corydoras is a

hardy fish A hardy fish is any fish which is easy to maintain in a home aquarium due to its ability to adapt to a wide range of water parameters. Such fish are good starter fish and ideal for 'cycling' an aquarium (i.e. reducing ammonia and nitrites to effect ...

and tank bred specimens have adapted to a wider range of water conditions. However, like almost all fish it will not tolerate high levels of

nitrates Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...

. Unlike some other catfish they are not good

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

eaters, but are good at "cleaning up" leftover food and detritus from the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

. ''Corydoras sterbai'' are relatively small for catfish, growing to a maximum size of only .

In the aquarium

In captivity ''Corydoras sterbai'' readily accepts a wide variety of prepared and frozen foods.

Flake food Aquarium fish feed is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pet fish kept in aquariums or ponds. Fish foods normally contain macronutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep captive fish in good health. Approximately ...

is a good staple diet (which will only be consumed once it has fallen to the bottom) as are sinking pellets or wafers. They relish live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia and mosquito larvae, but ideally should only be fed such foods once a week due to the high amount of protein in them. It is often problematic to feed ''Corydoras'' in aquaria with fast feeding mid-water fish such as tetras as flake and

sinking pellets Sinking may refer to: * Sinking of a ship; see shipwrecking * Being submerged * ''Sinking'' (album), a 1996 studio album by The Aloof * Sinking (behavior), the act of pouring out champagne in the sink * Sinking (metalworking), a metalworking te ...

are consumed by such fish before they have hit the bottom and sometimes, even while lying on the substrate. However, this problem can be overcome by placing pellets and flake on the aquarium substrate in caves or under bogwood, or other such areas which are not regularly frequented by mid-water fish. The

compatibility Compatibility may refer to: Computing * Backward compatibility, in which newer devices can understand data generated by older devices * Compatibility card, an expansion card for hardware emulation of another device * Compatibility layer, compon ...

of ''C. sterbai'' is one of their main selling points as with all other ''Corydoras'' species as they are very peaceful catfish and can be kept with other peaceful fish. They should not be kept with overly aggressive bottom dwellers, particularly if there is competition over substrate space as there would be in small tanks or tanks with a large amount of "furniture". Ideal companions would be similar sized tetras or particularly, dwarf cichlids. Ideally ''Corydoras sterbai'' should be housed with a fine

such as sand or gravel in order to avoid doing damage to their delicate barbels. However, large gravel will suffice as long as it is not sharp edged. Their only other requirement is that shade be provided for them, by means of overhanging rock, large leaved plants, arching bogwood or caves. Breeding is not too difficult. A tank with dimensions 18″ x 12″ x 12″ (10 US Gallon) is recommended. The breeding ratio that should be kept is 2 males per female. Good diet together with repeated water changes and drops of temperature are usually sufficient. However, raising the fry is not easy due to its high sensitivity. Occasionally problems can arise while transporting these fish as they are capable of secreting a chemical toxin when stressed or overcrowded. For this reason they are never shipped with other fish.

Name

The species name of this ''Corydoras'' is in honour of Professor Dr. Günther Sterba, professor emeritus of zoology of Leipzig University, member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. Professor Sterba is a professional ichthyologist who nevertheless produced several very popular books regarded as virtual bibles for fishkeepers over the 1970s and 1980s, translated into English under the titles ''Freshwater Fishes of the World'', ''Aquarium Care'' and (with Dick Mills) ''The Aquarists' Encyclopedia'', despite his degree of isolation at that time by virtue of living in the then German Democratic Republic.

References

* *

External links

Sterba's Corydoras
as the July 2003 Catfish of the Month. {{Taxonbar, from=Q965336 Corydoras Taxa named by Joachim Knaack Fish described in 1962

In the aquarium

Name

See also

References

External links