4 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful, hardy and sociable; keep in groups of 6 or more.
318 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful, hardy and sociable; keep in groups of 6 or more.
Sinking micro-pellets, wafers, frozen bloodworms and daphnia, fed after lights-out.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Females grow considerably bigger and are much rounder than males, especially when in breeding condition; easiest to see from above.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer (sticky eggs) · Moderate
Easy to spawn and widely captive bred: condition a group (at least two males per female) on live/frozen food, then do a large water change about 5 °C cooler, repeated over several days if needed.
Keep a group with more males than females; condition with live and frozen foods. Males chase females in a 'T-position' before spawning.
40 L tank with a sponge filter, fine sand and java moss or spawning mops; a cool water change is often what sets them off.
A large cool (3-5 C) water change, lower barometric pressure feel, and heavy feeding of live foods.
The female carries 2-4 eggs at a time in her pelvic fins and sticks them to glass or plants, about 100 per spawning (several hundred when several pairs spawn together); eggs hatch in about 3 days.
Move eggs to a hatching tub with an air stone and a pinch of methylene blue or alder cone. Feed microworms and newly hatched brine shrimp; keep water spotless.
Discovered by Charles Darwin and described by Jenyns in 1842, the peppered cory (long known as Corydoras paleatus, now Hoplisoma paleatum) is, with the bronze cory, one of the most common corys in the hobby. It comes from southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina and is a subtropical species that handles cooler water than most corys. Most fish sold are captive bred; wild fish are more vividly coloured.
The peppered cory was first collected by Charles Darwin during the voyage of HMS Beagle and described by Leonard Jenyns in 1842. It became one of the first catfishes to be bred in aquariums, with spawnings reported in France in the late 1800s. Today it is one of the most widely bred cories in the world.
First described by Leonard Jenyns in 1842.
16 facts checked with sources
Moved out of Corydoras by Dias et al. (2024 phylogenomic study of Corydoradinae, 'Phylogenomic analyses in the complex Neotropical subfamily Corydoradinae ... with a new classification', Zool. J. Linn. Soc., issue 2025), which split Corydoras into several genera. Peppered cory went to the resurrected genus Hoplisoma; the species ending changes to agree (paleatus -> paleatum). Described by Jenyns, 1842 (collected by Darwin); keep Corydoras paleatus as an other name. Albino and long-fin forms in the trade are the same species.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summary · Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumLegacy has no family field; sourced value recorded.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summaryBoth are SL (standard length). Seriously Fish 7.0 cm SL; FishBase 6.6 cm SL males, 7.1 cm SL females. Total length is a little longer.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum · FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summarySources disagree. Seriously Fish (preferred for husbandry) gives 22-26 °C; FishBase classes it as subtropical at 18-23 °C, which supports the legacy cool range (18-24). The two sources overlap only at 22-23 °C; the site may want to show the Seriously Fish range and mention that it tolerates cooler water (FishBase 18-23 °C).
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum · FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summarySeriously Fish 6.0-7.0; FishBase wider at 6.0-8.0. Legacy 6.5-7.8 is shifted alkaline relative to Seriously Fish.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum · FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summaryLegacy has no hardness; Seriously Fish range recorded (preferred for husbandry). FishBase gives dH 5-19.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum · FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summarySeriously Fish tank base 61 x 38 cm at 30 cm height: 61 x 38 x 30 = 69,540 cm³ ≈ 70 L (page shows ~70 litres). FishBase: 'minimum aquarium size 60 cm'.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumFishBase says 5 or more; Seriously Fish gives no number. Legacy 6 is a reasonable recommendation above the sourced minimum.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summary · Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumDemersal = lives on/near the bottom.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summaryLegacy has no nativeRange field; sourced value recorded. FishBase omits Paraguay.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum · FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summaryAgrees with legacy. The legacy 'males often more colourful' is not stated by the sources checked.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumSupports legacy 'easy to spawn in cool water with large water changes'.
Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumLegacy 'dozens' understates the count; hatch time ~3 days is within legacy 3-5.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summary · Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatumAdded the Darwin/Jenyns history and the captive-bred note. 'One of the first corys introduced to the hobby' was not checked. 'Suitable for unheated tanks' depends on room temperature; FishBase's 18-23 °C supports cool tolerance but Seriously Fish recommends 22-26 °C.
FishBase: Hoplisoma paleatum summary · Seriously Fish: Hoplisoma paleatum