Best Cory catfish?

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Interesting!
My normal sterbai tend towards skittishness too, old cory expert friend suggested they may be wild caught sterbai. I don't know how often sterbai in the trade are wild caught vs tank raised, since they're apparently not that hard to breed either... but albinos will definitely have been captive bred, any chance your normal sterbai might have been wild caught?

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No they're not wild caught.
It quite weird sometimes. You could have outgoing Corys, you make a slight change in your tank and suddenly they are skittish as .... C.sterbai is known about such sudden changes in behaviour. Must have to do with Feng Shui somehow hahaha.

DoubleDutch said:

No they're not wild caught.
It quite weird sometimes. You could have outgoing Corys, you make a slight change in your tank and suddenly they are skittish as .... C.sterbai is known about such sudden changes in behaviour. Must have to do with Feng Shui somehow hahaha.

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Haha, maybe!
I honestly have no idea whether my sterbai are wild caught or captive bred, I didn't think to ask at the time. But they're definitely way more skittish than the bronzes, which is a bit disappointing.

Out of the cories I've kept, I think the pygmies would have to be my favourite so far. Even though they're shy too! They're adorable and fun to watch from a safe distance though, and even when they spook and hide, they come out of hiding quickly. They're fascinating to watch when kept in a group of 20 plus. Much lower bioload than the bigger cories, and I've found them easier to breed since they raise themselves in the tank, while bronzes have needed more intervention to save and raise the fry once the adults decide to spawn (usually at the worst possible time!)

Next I want to get a colony of habrosus going. I might end up liking them even more, who knows?

itiwhetu said:

Either Pygmy's or Sterbai. Sterbai would be my favorite by a long shot

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What temperament do sterbai typically have? Are they more skittish or easy going? I have a 20% coupon and the choice is between Sterbai and albinos

Edit: whoops just reread. People were talking about Sterbai being skittish lol. I never wanna see another fish Crash into the side of a tank again and hurt their necks QAQ

biofish said:

What temperament do sterbai typically have? Are they more skittish or easy going? I have a 20% coupon and the choice is between Sterbai and albinos

Edit: whoops just reread. People were talking about Sterbai being skittish lol. I never wanna see another fish Crash into the side of a tank again and hurt their necks QAQ

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Hmm, my sterbai have never crashed into the tank glass! To be fair, any cory could do that if spooked enough. But if you wanna go for sterbai, get six minimum. They'll also likely be a little more confident if they're sharing a tank with other cories. Just provide enough hiding spots and some dense plant cover for them. But if you want super mellow, not too skittish, then albino bronze will be the better choice.

Mind that if you get albino paleatus, they like a cooler temp than most other cories. Easiest way to tell them apart is the head shape and dorsal fin, compare pics of the normal colour forms to get the idea. paleatus has a much slimmer head shape, more horse like, while aeneus is chunkier.

biofish said:

What temperament do sterbai typically have? Are they more skittish or easy going? I have a 20% coupon and the choice is between Sterbai and albinos

Edit: whoops just reread. People were talking about Sterbai being skittish lol. I never wanna see another fish Crash into the side of a tank again and hurt their necks QAQ

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I had Sterbai with my Silver Dollars, they were great. The Sterbai bred continously under these guys

Well, there's sterbai, and metae, and armatus is cool, and aeneus is great, and while it isn't considered a Cory anymore, Scleromystax barbatus may be the best, but sp. Calamar is nice, and it's hard to beat C panda, but atropersonatus were fun to keep, and yeah, it's really easy to pick your favourite Cory!

In a seriousness, the number of newly discovered Corydoras species is hard to keep up with. Those "C numbers" are the ones waiting for real names, and there are a lot waiting even for temporary C numbers. If you enjoy being absolutely surprised by nature on a regular basis, try to keep up with the new Cory arrivals.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Albino cories aren't a species though - just a colour mutation. In the hobby the most common are albino forms of C.aeneus (bronzes) C.paleatus (peppered) or C.Sterbai (much rarer).

Bronzes, whether in their more normal colour mutation or albino, are known for being pretty mellow, bumbling and used to people, largely because they're super easy to breed and are likely tank bred, and definitely tank bred if you have albino aeneus. If you post photos of your albinos, someone will be able to tell you which species your albinos really are.

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These are my new little guys (my main tanks all have sand and my usual QT tank is currently out of commission ) are these guys also albino bronze cories?

biofish said:

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These are my new little guys (my main tanks all have sand and my usual QT tank is currently out of commission ) are these guys also albino bronze cories?

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Yep, cute little guys!