Pet Fish Care

Bronze Cory
corydoras aeneus

Click here to learn more about the catfish in general.

Cost: The Bronze Cory is one of the cheapest and most readily available Corydoras available these days. Most Bronze Cory’s can be purchased for $5-10.

Short Bio: The Bronze Cory is originally described from the island of Trinidad, but now a days this very popular Cory is distributed by farmers in the Far East to all over the world, and is very rarely imported from the wild anymore. There are many different forms available, more popular forms are the albino and long-finned types. These two particular forms were actually produced in the aquarium, the latter is man-made and not a natural form.
Cordoras Aeneus is cheap, hardy, and a great Cory for the first time Corydoras breeder.

Origin:
First described from the clear streams in western Trinidad. So-called variations are found in most of South America.

Sexual distinctions:

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Female Bronze Corys will be broader in the body, and will grow to a longer length then the males. The males will also have longer , more pointed pelvic fins.

Tank conditions:
The tank measurements should be at least 24 x 12 x 12 inches (60 x 30 x 30 cm).
The temperature should be between 64-68 degrees Fahrenheit ( 18-26 Celsius). Water quality is not that important, the Bronze Cory can live in water that is soft/acid to moderately hard/alkaline. Just do normal water changes, other then that the Bronze Cory will be fine.

The tank should have a substrate that is of smooth-grained sand, should be well-planted. There should also be some bogwood for hiding places, some nice smooth stones, and some floating plants that will help create subdued lighting.
You can keep up to 6 in one tank.
The Bronze Cory is a bottom-dweller that will forage amongst the plants, occasionally you can see the Bronze Cory dart to the surface to take a quick breath of air.

Food:
In the wild the Bronze Cory will eat insect larvae, shrimps, worms, and crustaceans. But in a controlled environment such as an aquarium, the Bronze Cory will readily accept flake food, tablets and granular.

Behavior:
The Bronze Cory behaves very peacefully and is a great addition to any aquarium.

Breeding:
The Bronze Cory is one of the easiest Corydoras species to breed. Cory pairs will come together and form the classic “T” mating clinch, after a spell of group courtship, the female will lay her eggs on plants, rock, and usually the aquarium sides. The eggs are very small, only measuring 1.7 millimeters in diameter.
Feed the Bronze Cory live daphnia, bloodworm and tubifex to help get the Bronze Cory into breeding condition.
A ratio of 2 males to 1 female will be the best if trying to breed.

Here is a video of some Bronze Corys corydoras aeneus eating an algae tablet.

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Pictus Catfish
pimelodus pictus

Click here to learn more about the catfish in general.

Cost: $10-45, the price really depends on where you live and how far the Pictus Catfish had to be imported. Most buyers should be able to find the Pictus Catfish for sale at the cheaper end of the price range.

Short Bio: The Pictus Catfish with its silver body, elegant lines, and black dots is a truly striking species. To see this fish at its best be sure to provide plenty of swimming space. When ever handling the Pictus Catfish be sure to avoid the pectoral fins. The pectoral fins are very sharp and serrated and will easily get snagged in nets, and can easily prick your skin, which is a short, but painful experience.

Moving the Pictus Catfish to your tank, or another tank:
Normally I don’t need to explain how to transfer a fish, but when dealing with the Pictus Catfish there is a little extra work that must be done to ensure the fishes safety as well as yours.
When your try to catch the Pictus Catfish don’t use a net. As mentioned before the pectoral fins will get snagged in the net. So what you do is take a jar, large bowl, or Tupperware of some kind and try to scoop up the Pictus Catfish. This helps to avoid the fins getting snagged and will give you a better chance of not getting poked.
They are fast, so have fun try to catch them I know that I always do ;).

Origin:
Peru and Columbia.

Size:
Both males and females will roughly reach the length of 5.3 inches (13.5 cm).

Sexual distinctions:

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The only method that I know of is venting, because there is not way to determined a Pictus Catfish’s gender by just looking at one.

Tank conditions:
The minimum tank measurements should be 36 x 12 x 12 inches ( 90 x 30 x 30 cm).
Temperature 71-79 degrees Fahrenheit (22-26 Celsius). The water should be of good quality, soft to medium hard, with a Ph reading of 5.6—7.0, which is slight acid to neutral.
The tank should be decorated with plants, and have many hiding places. To create some hiding places try using trees roots, and be sure to have plenty of open areas.
You should only keep around 4 in a single tank (that has the dimensions mentioned earlier).
The Pictus Catfish tends to utilize the entire tank, and so it’s not a bottom dweller or surface fish, it’s a fish that uses all areas of the tank.

Food:
In the wild will eat smaller fish, and insect larvae. In the aquarium will eat a wide range of foods. You can feed the Pictus Catfish fish pieces, frozen foods, tablets, flakes, and even small strips of beef.

Behavior:
If the Pictus Catfish is kept with tankmates that are at least half its size there is usually not problem and the Pictus Catfish is generalized as a peaceful fish. As mentioned before the Pictus Catfish will eat small fish in the wild, so just don’t have small fish species such as Characins as tankmates.

Click here to learn more about the smaller fish that are of the Characins species and that shouldn’t be kept with the Pictus Catfish.

Breeding:
No known records of captive breeding. I once saw a documentary that showed wild Pictus Catfish breeding, and what the Pictus Catfish were doing was while a mouthbrooding cichlid was trying to scoop up eggs into its mouth the Pictus Catfish would fight a little bit with the cichlid while it layed its own eggs. Then the Pictus would swim away and the mouthbrooding cichlid would suck up the Pictus eggs, where they would hatch later on and eat the smaller cichlid fry that were hatching at the same time. Finally after eating all of the cichlid fry the Pictus babies would raise their dorsal, which would poke the mouthbrooder in the mouth and the Pitcus babies would swim out and start their own lives. Usually own 2-4 Pictus Catfish are born at a time.
If you have any information on the breeding the Pictus Catfish, please, feel free to leave a comment. You don’t need to join the site to leave a comment.

Here is a video of a single Pictus Catfish just doing its thing.

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