Emerald Green Cory Catfish

 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Easy   • Temperament: Peaceful   • Maximum Size: 3"
• Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons   • Water Conditions: 68-75° F, KH 8-10, pH 6.8-7.2
• Diet: Omnivore   • Origin: South America   • Family: Callichthyidae
• Species: Cory Catfish   • Aquarium Type: Community

Help Support AquariumDomain!      

• Your support keeps AquariumDomain advertisement free, lightning fast and fully optimized for both mobile and desktop browsing.

• Visit our Patreon page to learn about the exclusive benefits our Patrons receive!

Emerald Green Cory Cats bring beauty, interest and functionality to the lower areas of the community aquarium, as they work to scavenge excess foodstuffs and decaying plant matter from the aquarium substrate. Their efficiency at keeping the substrate clean along with their unique swimming style and attractive looks have made them a popular community species for decades.

In the wild Emerald Green Cory Cats are found throughout tributaries and flood plains in and around the Amazon river and nearby areas of South America. They are normally found moving along the bottom of the river among the roots and plants savaging for a variety of foods. Emerald Green Cats are also a very peaceful species that can be kept with any variety of other peaceful freshwater community fish.

As is the case with all species in the genus, Cory Cats will regularly swim quickly to the surface for a gulp of air. The fish swallows the air, which blood vessels in the hind gut extract oxygen from; it is then expelled through the vent the next time the fish breaks the surface for another gulp of air. This adaptation is believed to have evolved so that the fish can survive in poorly-oxygenated water such as stagnant pools during the dry season. It is however essential to the fish's well-being that it regularly swallows air.

Emerald Green Cory Cats should be kept in aquariums that contain ample vegetation, driftwood or root structures, so that the Emerald Green Cory Cat can retreat from the bright aquarium lights when it feels the need. The Emerald Green Cory Cat will search the aquarium substrate for most of its food, but usually will require supplemental feeding via sinking wafers or pellets if not enough excess food is present in the aquarium substrate.

This species can be kept singularly or in groups of any size, and in the case where they are kept in large enough groups it is not uncommon for specimens to pair off and even mate within a suitably aquascaped aquarium. While they can be kept singularly, they are a social species that does live in groups in the wild and will be better off in the long term if they are kept in a small group within the aquarium as well.

In the aquarium environment Emerald Green Cats will readily accept a variety of meaty and vegetable matter foodstuffs including: flake, freeze-dried, frozen, live foods and pellets. This species is an excellent scavenger that will work to keep the aquarium substrate clean of excess foodstuffs and some decaying plant matter. While this species is an excellent scavenger, supplemental foods such as bloodworms, tubifex, flake food, or sinking carnivore pellets should be offered to ensure proper nutrition.