Corydoras robustus
Corydoras robustus was described in 1980 by Nijssen & Isbrücker. The scientific name Corydoras can be broken down into two parts. Cory = helmet and dors = skin. This is a reference to the double row of bony plates that runs across the flank of this genus. They also derive their common name for this group of fish from this armor: Callichthyid Armored Catfish. They belong to the family Callichthydae, which consists of about 9 genera and 190 species. The species name robustus literally means ‘robust’.
Description
With a maximum length of about eight centimeters, Corydoras robustus is one of the larger Corydoras species. It is an attractively colored species. They have many black spots on the light brown background. A black stripe runs across the eye. The dorsal fin is black except for the first fin ray, which is light cream colored.
Origin
Corydoras robustus comes from a small creek (Rio Ipixuna) which flows into the Rio Purus, which flows into the middle course of the Amazon in Brazil.
Diet
Corydoras are considered omnivorous. They gobble with their barbels. They dig through the soil in search of something edible. They ingest some vegetable particles, but the majority consists of animal food such as invertebrates. In the aquarium you can feed them with sinking granules, frozen food or live food such as mosquito larvae, tubifex, krill, mysis, etc.
The Aquarium
Because this species grows somewhat larger and you should keep them in a school, we recommend an aquarium of about 90 centimeters. For example, use (filter) sand on the bottom. When using sharp sand or gravel, the barbels can be damaged. In case of infections of the barbels they can lose them completely.
Breeding Corydoras robustus
Not many details are known for this specific species. In general, they follow pretty much the same method. Also read this article: The 8 steps in breeding Corydoras.
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
GJ van Beek
References
