Fun Sterbai Cory Facts For Kids

The Sterba's Cory is a freshwater catfish that belongs to the Callichthyidae catfish family. These fish are reef-safe, aquarium-safe species, and are often sought after as a pet due to their beautiful dark body with dazzling spots. This species is endemic to South America, specifically to the Guapore river in between Bolivia and Brazil. These fish are popular aquarium fish as they are quite hardy, which means that they can adapt to a variety of different water conditions. They also eat a diverse range of foods, from dried foods to frozen foods. However, these fish require a specific habitat including a sandy substrate, plenty of plants, and rocks. These fish are characterized by their dark bodies, beautiful white spots, and sharp pectoral fins. Since they are a very popular captive fish, breeding often takes place in captivity. A unique fact about these fish is that they are facultative air breathers, which means that you will often see them breaking the surface of the water to take a gulp of nice, fresh air!

Read on to learn some fun Cory Sterbai facts, and do check out our cory catfish facts, and redtail catfish facts pages.

What type of animal is a Sterbai Cory?

The Sterbai Cory catfish (Corydoras sterbai) is a freshwater catfish that belongs to the Corydoras catfish genus. Other catfish species include the channel catfish, blue catfish, and the Mekong giant catfish.

What class of animal does a Sterbai Cory belong to?

The Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai) is a freshwater fish belonging to the Actinopterygii class of fish and Corydoras catfish genus.

How many Sterbai Cory catfish are there in the world?

The exact number of these fish is unknown.

Where does a Sterbai Cory live?

The Sterbai Cory Catfish (Corydoras sterbai) is a freshwater fish that is native to the Guapore River, located in between Bolivia and Brazil in South America. They are also a popular aquarium fish due to their colorful markings.

What is a Sterbai Cory's habitat?

The Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai) is a freshwater fish or a tropical fish. This means that they require temperate and tropical freshwater like in rivers and lakes. These fish are native to the Guapore River in South America. They can also be captive-bred in an aquarium with cooler water, plants, and a sandy substrate.

Who do Sterbai Cory catfish live with?

The Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai) is a shoaling fish, which means that they travel in groups or schools for various social activities. As a result, they are always found in schools of fish. When kept captive in a tank or aquarium, they require five or more fish of the same species.

How long does a Sterbai Cory live?

The Cory Sterbai has an average lifespan of 15-20 years in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

The Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai) is oviparous in nature, which means that they reproduce by means of eggs. Females will get chased around by males during the breeding season. Fertilization takes place in the open water, where the males and females release their gametes simultaneously. Once the eggs are fertilized, they settle down to the bottom, where they take three to five days to hatch. In a tank or aquarium environment, these fish can be captive-bred by adding two males for every female in the tank or aquarium. Once you notice that the females have become rounder and larger, the water temperature should be made cooler. Once the eggs are fertilized, it is best to remove adult males and females from the tank or aquarium to prevent them from eating the eggs.

What is their conservation status?

These fish have been classified as Not Extinct.

What do Sterbai Cory catfish look like?

The Sterbai Cory Catfish (Corydoras sterbai) or the Sterba's Cory is a smaller catfish, with a black body and white spots. They are a popular aquarium fish due to their beautiful white spots. They have a white underside and spots all over its body. There are two types of the Sterbai Cory Catfish (Corydoras sterbai), one is albino with white spots, and one is black with white spots. They are smaller than regular catfish and can grow to a length in the range of 2-2.6 in (5.1-6.6 cm).

How cute are they?

The Sterbai Cory Catfish (Corydoras sterbai) is considered to be very beautiful due to the breathtaking patterns of spots all over their bodies. Due to this, these fish are very popular aquarium fish and are much sought after to be placed in a tank.

How do they communicate?

It is speculated that this species communicates through a combination of chemical signals, sight, and vibrations in the water. This allows them to pinpoint the exact location of possible prey.

How big is a Sterbai Cory?

The Sterbai Corydoras (Corydoras sterbai) is a smaller catfish, and can only grow to a maximum length of 2-2.6 in (5.1-6.6 cm). This makes them almost 15 times smaller than the bonito fish.

How fast can a Sterbai Cory swim?

The exact speed of this fish species is not known.

How much does a weigh?

These fish are speculated to weigh around 0.22 lb (0.1 kg). However, females full of eggs may weigh slightly more.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is no particular name for a male or female Sterbai Corydoras (Corydoras sterbai). They are simply referred to as male or female.

What would you call a baby Sterbai Cory?

Baby cory catfish (Corydoras sterbai) are referred to as fry or juveniles.

What do they eat?

Cory catfish (Corydoras Sterbai) are omnivorous in nature and eat a combination of live and frozen foods. They eat small dried foods like shrimps, insects, frozen foods, pellets, and planktons.

Are they poisonous?

No, the Corydoras sterbai is not poisonous or harmful to humans. However, they do have very hard and spiny pectoral fins and a venom gland that wards off predators. These pectoral fins can tear through human flesh, so they need to be handled carefully.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, the Corydoras Sterbai would make a good pet. They are aquarium fish, which means that they can be kept captive and handled in a tank or aquarium with no problem. They are reef-safe fish and can live healthy lives in an aquarium environment. They are quite a beautiful addition to any aquarium or tank!

Did you know...

The Sterbai corydoras is a facultative air breather, which means that they often break the surface of the water to get a breath of fresh air. This is because they have a very vascularized intestine, which makes it necessary for them to inhale oxygen in the air.

These fish are aquarium safe and can thrive in a tank environment. The tank size should be medium to large, have a water pH in the range of 6.0-7.6, and cool temperatures in the range of 73-79 F (22.7-26.1 C). They also require sandy bottoms as they are bottom dwellers and should also have rocks, branches and plants. These fish are not aggressive, and hence can thrive in an aquarium or tank, as long as they are housed with other peaceful fish.

Are Sterbai Cory catfish hardy? 

Yes, the Sterbai Cory are hardy fish, which means that they can thrive in an aquarium or tank environment, and can adapt to different water conditions and temperatures. They are easy to take care of, and they require only occasional water change. They also eat a variety of foods, including dried food, live food, and frozen food. They are also peaceful tank mates and can live with other fish easily. In addition to this, these fish help clean up the tank by eating leftover food and other remnants that may gather on the sandy substrate, plants, and rocks.

Sterbai Cory breeding

Since these fish are hardy and tank safe, they can be captive-bred in a tank environment. For this, it is advised that for every female in the tank, there must be two males. When the females begin to look more rounded and large, it means that they are full of eggs and are ready to breed. When this happens, you must change the water to cooler water and increase the oxygenation in the tank. During the breeding season, males chase females around the tank until a suitor is chosen. Males and females release their sperms and eggs into the open water simultaneously, and fertilization takes place in the tank. Following this, the eggs settle at the bottom of the tank. Since these fish are bottom dwellers, they often look for food at the bottom of the tank. Hence, the adults must be removed from the tank so that they do not eat the eggs.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fishes from our angelfish facts and redbreast sunfish facts pages. 

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable sutchi catfish coloring pages.