For the longest time, I have been a fan of the Corydoras Catfish.
And one of the interesting and also most inexpensive scavenger fish is the Albino Corydoras Aeneus Catfish and their origin is that they were found on the Amazon River. Now I have had several Corydoras but why am I focusing on the albino, well, it’s because it’s a fish that most people tend to get because they are cheap!
The Albino Corydoras Aeneus Catfish may be cheap but there are a few things you need to know about these peaceful bottom dwelling scavengers.
- Use a smooth sand or gravel substrate that is not sharp and is rounded. They have barbels around their mouth that can easily be damaged. So, if you want a wonderful bottom dwelling scavenger, have substrate that are rounded or even better smooth sand-like.
- The more the merrier – They are much happier when they are in bigger numbers. Just don’t expect them to hang out a lot. Scavenging is their priority. I’ve noticed that I have two who want to be together all the time. Where one can be out scavenging, these two prefer to scavenge together. But when you add more, you will see these cory’s more active together.
- They are peaceful fish – They are peaceful fish that keep to themselves (or their own kind). Although Cichlids and Bettas may be fish that you want to keep away from them, as more aggressive fish may not like these scavengers going into their territory.
- These Cory’s are Spazz! Seriously they are like kids who are on a sugar rush! They will swim everywhere, high and low and high speeds and sometimes you wonder…they are going to run into another fish because they are such a spazz.
- They sleep throughout the day – Because they are scavengers, they are often scavenging and during light or no light, they sleep. Because they are spazzes, they probably use up a lot of energy. So, there are times where you think they may be dead, but more than likely, they are taking a short nap.
- To be blind or not to be blind?…that is the question! – This is debated online quite often. It seems like the consensus is that Albino Corydoras Aeneus Catfish are susceptible to UV light, prefer things that are not as lighted and may be blind (there is no definitive fact if they are or not). But know this, you can be doing your gravel vacuum, resetting a plant or rock, they aren’t scared. No, it’s not because they don’t fear you. It’s because they either don’t care because their priority is scavenging or they can’t see you. As mentioned, they are spazz and when they are going super quick all over your aquarium, you wonder, can they see the fish that they are about to run over? Fortunately, most fish manage to get out of their way.
- They are omnivores, so they can eat pellet food, frozen brine and live worms.
- Conditions – They thrive 72-79F, but go cooler if you are breeding. They like a KH of 2-12 and pH of 6.0-7.2. For 6 or more, have them in a 30 gallon tank or more.
- Max Size – The Albino Corydoras Aeneus Catfish grows up to 2.5 inches.
These are fun fish to have and quite interesting to see them in action. They are energetic spazzy fish that you will love to have in your aquarium and they are extremely peaceful.
