Cory catfish are the most common fish aquarists like to add to their community tank because of their hardy and peaceful nature. They are easy to take care of, which makes them the best option for beginners.
They will thrive when kept in good water conditions. The query of how long they live arises when your cory catfish start passing away lately. So, How long do cory catfish live? Let us find out.
Cory catfish can live in the aquarium for 5-10 years when kept in the right water conditions and parameters. However, they will live longer if you provide them with their ideal living conditions. Feed them regularly and keep at least 5-6 corydoras in a large tank to make them live longer.
This article will discuss how long corydoras live and how we can increase their lifespan in captivity. So, let us get into it.
Contents
- 1 How long do cory catfish live in captivity?
- 2 How can we increase their lifespan in captivity?
- 2.1 1. Keep them in clean water conditions.
- 2.2 2. Provide them with their ideal water parameters.
- 2.3 3. Keep them in a large-size tank.
- 2.4 4. Maintain the appropriate school of your cory catfish.
- 2.5 5. Feed your cory catfish regularly.
- 2.6 6. Add plenty of live aquatic plants to your cory catfish tank.
- 2.7 7. Avoid overcrowding your cory catfish tank.
- 2.8 8. Run proper maintenance of your cory catfish tank.
- 2.9 Provide them with soft and good-quality sand as a substrate.
- 3 How long can corydoras live without food?
- 4 Conclusion:
How long do cory catfish live in captivity?
Cory catfish can live for 5-10 years long in captivity.
However, this duration can be increased when they are kept in the right water conditions.
Provide your cory catfish with their ideal water conditions and parameters, and they will thrive.
Feeding them with high-quality nutritional food to ensure their faster growth and longer lifespan.
They are hardy fish and can live in a wide range of water parameters and conditions.
They are easy to take care of, which makes them the best option for beginners.
How can we increase their lifespan in captivity?
1. Keep them in clean water conditions.
Cory catfish are tropical freshwater fish and prefer to live in clean water conditions.
Providing them with clean water conditions will make them thrive and live longer.
| Particulars | Cory Catfish |
|---|---|
| Water condition | Clean water condition |
| Ammonia | 0ppm |
| Nitrite | 0ppm |
| Nitrate | Below 20ppm |
Ensure a weekly water change of at least 35% to keep the water clean.
Add a good filtration system with biofilter media to keep the water clean and protected from harmful toxins like ammonia.
Always keep a check on ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate level and ensure to maintain the ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, whereas nitrate should be below 20ppm.
We recommend using the API master kit to check ammonia and nitrite levels as it will show accurate results.
You can buy it from amazon: API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT.
2. Provide them with their ideal water parameters.
Cory catfish are hardy fish that can live in a wide range of water parameters.
Provide them with their ideal water parameters, and they will thrive.
| Particulars | Cory Catfish |
|---|---|
| Water Temperature | Between 70-82 °F |
| Water pH level | Between 7 and 8 |
| Water TDS level | Between 400-600ppm |
| Water Hardness | Between 5 and 19 dGH |
Ensure to keep them in a water temperature between 70-82 °F.
Consider adding a heater to your cory catfish tank to stabilize the water temperature.
The unstable water temperature will affect their health, making them weak and prone to various diseases and parasites.
Maintain the water pH level between 7 and 8.
The TDS level of your cory catfish tank should be between 400-600ppm.
Also, the water hardness of your cory catfish tank should be between 5 and 19 dGH.
Also read: Ideal pH level For Cory Catfish?
3. Keep them in a large-size tank.
Cory catfish are peaceful fish and love to live and interact with other peaceful fish in a community tank.
They will thrive living in a community tank with other peaceful fish like neon tetras and guppies.
They require a large enough tank to live and swim comfortably.
Keeping them in a small size tank will make the tank overcrowded, and also, it will affect their growth.
Consider keeping your cory catfish in a minimum size 20-gallon tank.
4. Maintain the appropriate school of your cory catfish.
Cory catfish are schooling fish and prefer to live in a large group of their species.
Keeping them alone or in a small group will make them come under stress and become prone to diseases.
Also, they will start avoiding the food when kept in a small group.
So, consider keeping them in a group of at least 5-6 to form a good school for them.
5. Feed your cory catfish regularly.
Feeding your cory catfish regularly is essential to ensure their faster growth and longer lifespan.
Cory catfish are bottom dwellers and spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom, searching for food.
They will feed on leftovers and other waste like decaying plants and passed away small fish.
However, we should not let them rely only on these leftovers and should feed them with various food to ensure their healthy lifespan.
| Cory Catfish Food | Serving Quantity | No Of Times |
|---|---|---|
| Brine shrimp | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 10-15 pieces | 2-3 times a week |
| Bloodworms | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Tubifex Worms | One pinch at a time | 1 time a week |
| Sinking flake food | One pinch at a time | 2-3 times a week |
| Shrimp pellets | One pinch at a time | 2-3 times a week |
| Bottom feeder tablets | One tablet at a time | 2-3 times a week |
| Algae rounds | One round per fish | 1-2 times a week |
| Blanched vegetables (Zucchini, cucumber, and lettuce) | One small slice and piece per fish | 1-2 times a week |
Cory catfish are omnivore fish that require meat and plant-based nutrition to fulfill their ideal dietary requirements.
Provide them bloodworms, tubifex worms, mosquito larvae, sinking flakes and pellets, brine shrimp, blanched vegetables like cucumber and zucchini, and boiled peas.
Feeding them various types of food containing both plant and meat-based nutrition will help them grow faster and live a longer life.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Eat Brine Shrimp?
6. Add plenty of live aquatic plants to your cory catfish tank.
Adding plenty of live aquatic plants to your cory catfish tank will help you make a good hiding spot for your cory catfish.
With a big size tank, they also require plenty of hiding spots to feel safe and comfortable in their tank.
Adding live aquatic plants to your cory catfish tank will create great hiding spots for them and help you keep the water clean.
These are some of the best plants for your cory catfish tank:
- Java fern
- Micro Sword
- Amazon sword
- Vallisneria
- Lobelia Cardinalis
- Blyxa Japonica
- Marimo moss balls
You can also consider adding hiding spots like a cave, sunken ships, terra cotta pots, and driftwood to create hiding spots for your cory catfish.
However, plants are the best when it comes to hiding spots.
7. Avoid overcrowding your cory catfish tank.
An overcrowded tank comes with all these issues:
- The tank will get polluted faster than usual.
- Your fish will not be able to live and swim comfortably.
- There will be a risk of an ammonia spike in your tank.
- There will be an oxygen deficiency in your cory catfish tank.
All these will make your cory catfish come under stress and become weak, prone to various diseases and parasites.
So, to ensure that you are not overcrowding your tank, follow the one-inch one-gallon rule.
The one-inch one-gallon rule means one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Cory catfish can be anywhere between 1-4 inches, with an average size of 2-2.5 inches.
Also, they are schooling fish and prefer to live in a group of at least 5-6 of their species.
So, all this makes a 20-gallon or above tank the idle tank size for your cory catfish.
Also read: How Many Cory Catfish In A 10-Gallon Tank?
8. Run proper maintenance of your cory catfish tank.
Monthly maintenance of your cory catfish tank is essential to ensure their longer lifespan.
Performing a water change will not clean the entire tank as some debris and waste get attached to the substrate and at the corner of the glasses.
You have to clean them using your hand and gravel siphon.
Also, cleaning the filter every month is necessary to keep the water chemistry ideal.
Consider cleaning the biofilter media with the aquarium water; for rest, you can use the tap water to clean.
Provide them with soft and good-quality sand as a substrate.
Cory catfish are bottom dwellers and spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom of the tank in search of food.
They use their delicate barbels to search for food and then use their mouth to dig into the substrate and suck the food up.
So, keeping a rough substrate will result in them getting their barbels and skin injured by digging into them.
So, make sure to keep at least a 2-inch soft and good-quality sand as a substrate for your cory catfish.
Also read: Best Substrate For Corydoras.
How long can corydoras live without food?
Cory catfish can live up to 10-12 days without food.
However, we don’t suggest keeping them without food for these long times as it will affect their growth and they will become weak.
Until and unless there is no option left to feed your cory catfish, like you are out for a vacation and there is nobody to feed them, then your corydoras will manage for 10-12 days on their own.
However, you can consider setting up an automatic feeder to feed your cory catfish when you are away and there is no one to feed them.
Just make sure not to place the automatic feeder above anything that causes surface agitation.
Also read: How Often To Feed Cory Catfish?
Conclusion:
Cory catfish can live up to five to ten years.
They can live longer when kept in the right water conditions and parameters.
Cory catfish are hardy fish and can live in a wide range of water conditions and parameters.
Feed them regularly, provide ideal water parameters and stable water temperature, and keep them in a large size tank with a large size group to ensure their longer lifespan.
Reference: Wikipedia