Panda cory

Water parameters

Tolerated range for this species. Aim for the middle of each band rather than the extremes.

Tank and habitat

Substrate: sand required.

Behavior

Plant interaction: plant safe.

Feeding

Sinking pellets and wafers are the dietary staple. They're omnivores that eat whatever reaches the bottom: crushed flake, sinking granules, frozen bloodworm, frozen brine shrimp, frozen daphnia, and live blackworms. Algae wafers are taken but aren't a significant food source. The common misconception that corys are "cleanup crew" that survive on leftovers is harmful. They need targeted feeding with sinking food, not just scraps from surface feeders. Drop sinking pellets after lights-out if daytime competition from midwater fish is a problem. Panda corys are less assertive at feeding time than bronze or peppered corys; they'll lose out if larger catfish or loaches are in the tank. One or two small sinking pellets per fish daily, supplemented with frozen food 2-3 times a week.

Compatibility

• Peaceful bottom-dweller that pairs well with anything that won't eat it. Classic community fish with tetras, rasboras, guppies, and other small peaceful species.
• Keep in groups. Corydoras are social catfish and panda corys show the most natural behavior in groups of 6 or more. A solo cory hides constantly and often stops eating. Even 3 is noticeably less active than 6.
• Can be mixed with other Corydoras species in the same tank. They tend to school with their own kind when given the choice, but mixed-species cory groups still show more activity than same-species groups that are too small.
• Barbel damage is a real concern. Panda corys constantly nose through the substrate foraging for food. Coarse gravel wears down the barbels over months, leading to bacterial infections and impaired feeding ability. Sand is the correct substrate for any Corydoras tank.

Origin and habitat

Corydoras panda, now placed in the genus Hoplisoma after a recent revision, is a small armoured catfish from the cool Andean-fed streams of central Peru, around the Huanuco region in the Rio Aquas, Rio Amarillae, and the wider Ucayali system. Nijssen and Isbrucker described it in 1971 from fish collected a few years earlier, and the name comes from the giant panda, for the black eye mask, the dark patch on the dorsal fin, and the spot on the tail base over a creamy body. Because its home waters are fed by snowmelt, it prefers cooler water than most tropical fish, which is the main thing to plan around when choosing tankmates. IUCN lists it as Near Threatened, with habitat loss from mining and deforestation and collection for the trade as pressures, though the species breeds readily in captivity and most fish sold now are tank-bred. Like all corydoras it is armoured with two rows of bony plates rather than scales, reaches about 5 cm, and can gulp air at the surface.

Breeding

Breeds along standard corydoras lines, with moderate effort. The trigger is a large water change a few degrees cooler than the tank, mimicking the rainy season, after a couple of weeks of conditioning on rich foods. Spawning uses the genus T-position: the male lies across the female's barbels while she takes a sperm packet and uses it to fertilise a small batch of eggs cupped in her pelvic fins, then sticks them to glass, leaves, or equipment, repeating over an hour or two for twenty to forty eggs in all. The eggs hatch in three to five days, and the fry are delicate at first and need fine foods like microworms and baby brine shrimp. Panda clutches are smaller and the fry slower-growing than bronze or peppered corys, which is part of why they cost more.

Common problems

Heat is the main pitfall. Panda corys come from cool streams and do poorly in sustained warmth, so a tank held in the high twenties for heat-loving fish like discus will wear them down, while the low-to-mid twenties suits them. The other classic issue is barbel erosion: they root constantly through the bottom, and sharp gravel grinds down the barbels and invites infection, so fine sand is the right substrate. Sitting in the lowest layer all day, they are often the first to show bacterial fin rot or fungus when water quality drops, so regular substrate cleaning helps. They are armoured but still medication-sensitive, so chemical treatments are best started at reduced doses. Wild-caught pandas have a poor record of surviving the first few weeks, so any wild stock should be quarantined and fed well to recover condition.

Bioload

Further reading

• Stocking ideas by tank size