Green Gold Cory

Green-Gold Corydoras is found in the Honda, Río Meta system of Río Orinoco, Tolima, Honda, Colombia, in South America.

It is usually found in nature is slow-flowing streams, on the margins of larger rivers, in marshland, in ponds and also in lakes but seldom, if ever, in stagnant water.

The Corydoras has a flat-bellied body with its back arched ahead of the dorsal fin. Corydoras are generally bottom-feeder, which is not to suggest that they eat rubbish, rather they thrive on food which has settled to the bottom. In the aquarium, Corydoras are regularly seen taking algae off the glass of the tank or off rocks within the tank.

Contrary to popular belief, Corydoras prefer to live in small shoals (in nature, such shoals can comprise hundreds, even thousands, of individuals) and, unlike catfish, are active during the daytime and early evening rather than during the night.

Green-Gold Corydoras will grow up to around 5 to 7cm in the aquarium and live for up to 15 years but note that Corydoras can be long-lived, reaching ages of in excess of twenty years so don’t be surprised if your Corydoras outlives “expert” predictions.

Green-Gold Corydoras prefers fairly soft, neutral water with a pH of 6.0 to 7.2 with a temperature range between 68 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit and up to 2 to 15 dGH.

Green-Gold Corydoras enjoys soft to medium, slightly acidic or neutral water conditions so it will be comfortable with other species of similar size that prefer this type of water chemistry.

The female is generally larger, deeper and wider bodied than the male and displays less intense color than the male in the body at spawning times. The male tends to be somewhat slimmer and its coloring is more intense in the body than the female.

The Corydoras, being that it is a river and lake dweller, enjoys flowing water not still or stagnant water so the aquarium needs to be set up in such a way that it has a current of water from one end to the other. This is generally provided by routine aerations and filtration systems. In its natural habitat Corydoras enjoys water flow, The Corydoras is adapted to that environment.

• Species – Corydoras melanotaenia
• Common Name – Green Gold Cory Catfish
• Origin – Rio, Peru
• Diet – omnivore
• PH Range – 5.8 – 7
• Temperature – Tropical 22°c – 26°c
• Breed Type – Egg Layer
• Maximum Size – approximately 7cm
• Sex – Un-sexed