Aquarium 75L / 20gal long minimum for 6 (30gal+ better)
Social needs
Shoaling - keep 6+ together, more is better
Diet
Omnivore (bottom-feeder)
Time
Low-moderate (daily feed, weekly water changes)
Cost
Low-Medium
Overview
Sterba's Corydoras is a small armoured catfish from the upper Rio Guapore basin on the Brazil-Bolivia border, patterned with rows of fine white-to-cream spots over a dark head and body and set off by warm orange pectoral fins.
Its defining practical trait is heat tolerance: it does well at ordinary corydoras temperatures but also stays comfortable up at the 28-30C (82-86F) that discus keepers run, which makes it the standard cory for warm-water tanks where the Bronze Corydoras would struggle.
Virtually all fish sold today are tank-bred, hardy, and genuinely beginner-friendly, provided the basics are met: a shoal of six or more, soft sand, and food that actually reaches the bottom.
It is often confused with Corydoras haraldschultzi, which reverses the pattern with dark spots on a pale ground; on sterbai the head is dark and the spots are pale.
Housing
House a group of six in at least a 75-litre 20-gallon long, and give more floor space for larger groups, prioritising footprint over height because these fish live on the bottom.
A soft sand substrate is non-negotiable, since sharp or coarse gravel erodes the sensory barbels they feed with.
Keep the water at 24-28C (75-82F) with tolerance to 30C (86F), pH 6.0-7.6, soft to moderately hard (roughly 2-15 dGH), and low nitrate in a fully cycled tank.
Furnish with driftwood, plants, leaf litter, and shaded resting spots, and leave open sand for foraging.
They dash to the surface to gulp air, so keep an air gap beneath a tight-fitting lid.
Warm water holds less oxygen, so at discus temperatures add extra surface agitation or an air stone.
Diet
Sterba's Corydoras is an omnivore that must be fed deliberately, never left to survive on leftovers.
Offer sinking wafers, pellets, and tablets, supplemented several times a week with frozen or live bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp.
Make sure food gets past faster mid-water fish; feeding after lights-out or dropping food at several spots helps the cories get their share.
Quiet, slow starvation in busy community tanks is the most common way this species fails.
Vacuum the sand regularly, because food rotting in the substrate drives the barbel infections that cost them the ability to find food.
Health
The main preventable problems are barbel erosion and red blotch disease, both driven by sharp or dirty substrate and poor water quality.
They are sensitive to salt and copper-based medications, so treat at reduced doses or choose catfish-safe alternatives.
Watch barbel length, breathing rate, and skin condition, and quarantine all new arrivals.
The orange pectoral spines lock outward under stress; they tangle hopelessly in fine nets and can give a mildly venomous prick, so move these fish with a rigid container or a bag rather than a net.
Corydoras can also release a stress toxin in cramped transport bags, so bag them in generous water, a few fish per bag, for short journeys only.
A well-kept sterbai commonly lives 5-10 years and can pass a decade with excellent care, so plan for a long-term resident.
Temperament
This is a peaceful, day-active shoaling catfish that must be kept in a group of six or more of its own species.
In proper numbers they forage in a loose pack, rest in piles, and show the characteristic corydoras eye-wink; kept alone or in pairs they hide and waste away.
They are the classic bottom-dwellers for discus, cardinal tetras, rummy-nose tetras, and other warm-water community fish.
Avoid large cichlids or anything big enough to try swallowing them, because the locking spines can lodge in a predator's throat and kill both fish.
They bother no tankmate and are among the more willing corydoras to spawn in home aquaria, laying adhesive eggs on the glass after cool-water changes.
Beginner
Beginner
Intermediate
Intermediate
Beginner
Beginner