Panda Corydoras

Overview

• The Panda Corydoras is a small armoured catfish from cool, clear foothill streams of the Peruvian upper Amazon, named for the black eye patches, dorsal blotch and tail spot that mark its pale, pinkish-cream body.
• At around 5 cm (2 in), with females the largest, it stays noticeably smaller than the Bronze Corydoras and shoals even more tightly.

• It is also the more delicate of the two.
• Tank-bred pandas fade fast in new, unstable or overly warm aquariums, so this is a fish for a mature setup rather than a first stocking choice.
• If your aquarium has been running for less than three months, the honest answer is not yet.

Housing

• House a shoal in at least 20 gallons (75 L), with as much open floor as you can give them; a 30 in (75 cm) long footprint suits a group of six, and ten or more want more than that.
• Cover the base with soft sand or very smooth, rounded fine gravel to protect their delicate barbels, and keep the water soft to moderately hard (about 2-15 dGH) at pH 6.0-7.5, well oxygenated with a gentle current.

• Temperature matters more here than for most cories.
• Aim for 20-25 C (68-77 F): the species comes from cool, fast foothill streams that run several degrees below a typical tropical tank, and sustained temperatures above about 26 C (79 F) stress it, lower dissolved oxygen and shorten its life.
• Do not pair pandas with heat-loving species and then split the difference on the thermostat.

• The tank must be fully cycled and mature, with zero ammonia and nitrite and nitrate held under 20 ppm.
• Provide shade, plants and driftwood for security, and leave an air gap under the lid, because they dart to the surface to gulp air through the gut.

Diet

• Panda Corydoras are omnivores that must be fed deliberately with sinking foods, not left to scavenge leftovers.
• Offer small sinking granules, pellets and wafers sized for their small mouths, plus frozen or live bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp several times a week.

• Make sure the food actually reaches the bottom past faster midwater fish, or add a portion after lights-out, when the pandas forage most confidently.
• Gradual starvation of the supposed clean-up crew is one of the most common ways this species is lost.
• They eat almost no algae, so they are not a substitute for tank maintenance.

Health

• The two biggest killers of Panda Corydoras are immature tanks and chronic heat.
• New-tank instability causes rapid losses in the first weeks, while sustained warmth above about 26 C (79 F) lowers oxygen and slowly wears them down; fast gill movement and constant trips to the surface are warning signs.

• Watch for barbel erosion from sharp or dirty substrate, and for red blotch disease, which shows as reddish sores on the belly and flanks and is linked to stress and poor substrate hygiene.
• Like all cories they tolerate salt and copper-based medications poorly, so dose cautiously at reduced strength and quarantine every new fish.

Temperament

• Panda Corydoras are completely peaceful and among the most tightly shoaling of all cories, often moving as a single coordinated group and sometimes rising to school with midwater fish.
• Keep at least six, and ideally ten or more, because small groups sit hidden and inactive.

• Choose calm tankmates that are happy at the cooler end of tropical, such as small rasboras, peaceful tetras, dwarf danios and Kuhli Loaches.
• Skip warmth-loving species like Discus and German Blue Rams, whose preferred temperatures are too high for pandas, and avoid anything boisterous enough to outcompete them at feeding time.