Bandit Corydora

CHARACTERISTICS

The Bandit Corydora (Corydoras metae) is a unique, peaceful catfish species from Colombia.

"Bandit" Corydora have white bodies and a distinct black "mask" over their eyes. They look similar to Panda Corydora; the main difference is that Bandit Corydora have a black stripe travelling from their tails up their backs, while Panda Corydora have a black spot near the base of their tails.

Corydora catfish do best in water temperatures in the mid-70's. A minimum shoal of 3 should be kept for this animal's wellbeing. Three corydora can generally live well in a 10-gallon aquarium (though a shoal of 6+ is generally preferred, and should be kept in a 29-gallon aquarium). Most cory catfish will reach 2" in length when fully grown, and live to be 4 years old on average.

It is important that these fish are kept on a sand substrate (or very fine gravel). Corydoras enjoy sifting the substrate through their barbels; that said, if your substrate is too large or sharp, these barbels can break off and lead to infection. These fish are very sensitive to poor water quality. Do not add corydora to an aquarium that is not fully cycled. 

Cory cats will eat essentially any foods that fall to the bottom of the aquarium, and are very efficient scavengers and bottom feeders. These fish are extraordinarily peaceful and can be kept with any species of community fish not inclined to harm or eat the corydora. They can easily live with other peaceful bottom-feeding animals. 

Photo of a Bandit Corydora by Gonzalo Valenzuela - originally posted to Flickr as Acuario, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8221133