Panda corydoras

The panda cory takes its name from the black eye patch and dark fin and tail markings set against a pale body. It reaches about 5 cm standard length. Wild fish come from clear and blackwater streams of the upper Amazon in Peru, often flowing over sand, and several of those streams are fed by Andean meltwater at times of year when the flow rises and the water drops to around 19 °C. Wild-caught specimens are now hard to find; almost everything in the trade is farmed, much of it in Eastern Europe or the Far East, and those fish are hardier and more adaptable than their wild ancestors.

A tank of 45 by 30 cm, about 41 litres, suits a small group, and a group is the point: keep at least six. Fine river sand is the right substrate, with driftwood, twisted roots and a few dried leaves left to stain the water the colour of weak tea. Aquatic plants are not a feature of the natural habitat, so a planted tank is a matter of taste rather than need. Lighting is best kept dim.

Hold the water at 22 to 25 °C, pH 6.0 to 7.4 and 1 to 12 dGH. Temperature is the one parameter worth being strict about, because kept warmer than 25 °C long term this species does poorly and its lifespan shortens considerably. Substrate hygiene is the other: corys kept over a dirty or poorly maintained bed can lose their barbels, and undergravel filtration should not be used. Feeding is easy, with sinking pellets or tablets as the staple plus live and frozen daphnia, artemia and bloodworm. Panda corys are peaceful and mix well with small characins, cyprinids and dwarf cichlids.