Delphax Corydoras (Corydoras Delphax) Species Profile & Care Guide

The Delphax Corydoras is a peaceful, timid and sociable species and is ideal for the mature community aquarium. Please keep these fish in groups of five or more due to their shoaling nature.

These are incredibly curious little fish, and it is quite captivating to watch them winking back at you through the aquarium glass.

The Corydoras has a flat-bellied body with an arched back ahead of the dorsal fin. They have a flesh-coloured body and running vertically over its head is a grey band which ends below each eye. There is a further, grey band starting behind the gill plates and extending up the frontal half of the dorsal fin. The body displays dark grey dots from behind the gill plates to the tip of the caudal fin. The spots fade out towards the belly of the fish. The remaining fins are generally transparent.

The Delphax Cory is defined by having an outspread, grey snout and comparatively long barbels which will be exposed to potential damage on sharp or abrasive surfaces, making them susceptible to infection.

Natural Habitat of the Delphax Corydoras

The Delphax Corydoras is endemic to the Rio Inirida and other parts of the upper Orinoco basins in Western Colombia and Northeastern Peru and Trinidad as well as East of the Andes to the Atlantic coast and from the Rio de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina in South America.

They inhabit clear, slow-moving shallow rivers and streams, usually with dense vegetation. These fish prefer a softer substrate and are typically seen in sandy or muddy-bottomed areas, where there is plenty of mulm or leaf litter.

Other Corydoras of interest

Diet

Delphax Corydoras are scavenging omnivores and will accept most sinking dried foods such as algae wafers or pellets, as well as small live and frozen fares such as mosquito larvae, bloodworm or tubifex. You should also provide them with plenty of vegetable matter as feeding a varied diet will ensure the fish are in optimum health and condition.

Under no situations should they be expected to survive on left-over food from other inhabitants of the aquarium or relied on to clean the aquarium.

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Sexing the Delphax Corydoras

It is relatively easy to distinguish the sex of adult Delphax Corys because the adult female is often larger, broader and fuller-bodied when viewed from above, especially when gravid. In contrast, males are slimmer and are more distinctly coloured than females.

Breeding the Delphax Corydoras

If you would like to breed Delphax Corydoras, then it is recommended that you have a separate breeding tank prepared. This tank can be undecorated, but a soft substrate is a must, as your Corydoras will prefer to feed by rummaging in the substrate for food and the female will lay her eggs there.

The water should be mature, soft and acidic with a low level of light and broad-leaved plants and have gentle aeration, bearing in mind Corydoras do not enjoy still water.

As the female gets close to spawning, you will notice that she will start to clean the surface of leaves or the glass of the aquarium on which she will lay her adhesive eggs.

Large water changes with rainwater or cold water as well as conditioning them with live foods can mimic their natural spawning behaviour and may encourage spawning to take place.

The female may lay anything up to 100 eggs during a single spawning.

After that, the adults will take no further part in rearing their offspring and may consume the eggs if given a chance, so it would be best to return them to their usual tank.

It usually takes around one to three days for the eggs to hatch, depending on the water temperature and conditions and an additional two to three days for the yolk sacs to be consumed by the fry and for them to become free-swimming. Once they are free swimming, you can provide the fry with infusoria type foods such as rotifers.

In a well-planted aquarium, the Corydoras can often spawn in the community tank with some of the fittest fry surviving to adulthood.

Once the fry is adequate in size, you can then introduce them into the community tank where they will join the existent shoal. However, before moving the adolescent fish into the community tank, make sure you have balanced the water temperatures to decrease the risk of White Spot or other diseases being triggered.

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