20 gallons (75 L) minimum for a group; 30 in (75 cm) long footprint preferred
Social needs
Highly social - keep 6+, ideally 10+
Diet
Omnivore (bottom-feeder)
Time
Low-moderate (daily feed, weekly water changes)
Cost
Low-moderate
Overview
The Panda Corydoras is a small armoured catfish from cool, clear foothill streams of the Peruvian upper Amazon, named for the black eye patches, dorsal blotch and tail spot that mark its pale, pinkish-cream body.
At around 5 cm (2 in), with females the largest, it stays noticeably smaller than the Bronze Corydoras and shoals even more tightly.
It is also the more delicate of the two.
Tank-bred pandas fade fast in new, unstable or overly warm aquariums, so this is a fish for a mature setup rather than a first stocking choice.
If your aquarium has been running for less than three months, the honest answer is not yet.
Housing
House a shoal in at least 20 gallons (75 L), with as much open floor as you can give them; a 30 in (75 cm) long footprint suits a group of six, and ten or more want more than that.
Cover the base with soft sand or very smooth, rounded fine gravel to protect their delicate barbels, and keep the water soft to moderately hard (about 2-15 dGH) at pH 6.0-7.5, well oxygenated with a gentle current.
Temperature matters more here than for most cories.
Aim for 20-25 C (68-77 F): the species comes from cool, fast foothill streams that run several degrees below a typical tropical tank, and sustained temperatures above about 26 C (79 F) stress it, lower dissolved oxygen and shorten its life.
Do not pair pandas with heat-loving species and then split the difference on the thermostat.
The tank must be fully cycled and mature, with zero ammonia and nitrite and nitrate held under 20 ppm.
Provide shade, plants and driftwood for security, and leave an air gap under the lid, because they dart to the surface to gulp air through the gut.
Diet
Panda Corydoras are omnivores that must be fed deliberately with sinking foods, not left to scavenge leftovers.
Offer small sinking granules, pellets and wafers sized for their small mouths, plus frozen or live bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp several times a week.
Make sure the food actually reaches the bottom past faster midwater fish, or add a portion after lights-out, when the pandas forage most confidently.
Gradual starvation of the supposed clean-up crew is one of the most common ways this species is lost.
They eat almost no algae, so they are not a substitute for tank maintenance.
Health
The two biggest killers of Panda Corydoras are immature tanks and chronic heat.
New-tank instability causes rapid losses in the first weeks, while sustained warmth above about 26 C (79 F) lowers oxygen and slowly wears them down; fast gill movement and constant trips to the surface are warning signs.
Watch for barbel erosion from sharp or dirty substrate, and for red blotch disease, which shows as reddish sores on the belly and flanks and is linked to stress and poor substrate hygiene.
Like all cories they tolerate salt and copper-based medications poorly, so dose cautiously at reduced strength and quarantine every new fish.
Temperament
Panda Corydoras are completely peaceful and among the most tightly shoaling of all cories, often moving as a single coordinated group and sometimes rising to school with midwater fish.
Keep at least six, and ideally ten or more, because small groups sit hidden and inactive.
Choose calm tankmates that are happy at the cooler end of tropical, such as small rasboras, peaceful tetras, dwarf danios and Kuhli Loaches.
Skip warmth-loving species like Discus and German Blue Rams, whose preferred temperatures are too high for pandas, and avoid anything boisterous enough to outcompete them at feeding time.
A good fit for
Mature, established community tanks
Keepers who run their tanks on the cool side
Fans of tight, active shoaling behaviour
Sand-bottomed, planted aquariums
Hobbyists stepping up from Bronze Corydoras
Common mistakes to avoid
Adding them to a tank under 3 months old
Sustained temperatures above 26 C (79 F)
Groups smaller than 6
Sharp gravel eroding their barbels
Expecting them to live on leftovers
Salt and copper-based medications
Is your enclosure big enough?
Minimum volume75 litres (20 US gallons)
Swimming length76 cm minimum. A tall tank of the right volume is still the wrong shape.
CompanyCannot be kept alone. The minimum is 6, and the space above is for that group.
In a fish tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat — dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.
Go now
Any detectable ammonia or nitrite in a stocked tankLarge water change now with dechlorinated, temperature-matched water. Stop feeding. Test again in 12 hours. Both are directly toxic. How toxic the ammonia reading is depends on pH and temperature, so the same number can be harmless or lethal.
Now
Fish gasping at the surface, or crowding the filter outflowIncrease surface agitation immediately, then test the water. Either the oxygen has crashed or the gills are being chemically burned. Both are hours-scale problems.
Now
Sudden deaths, more than one fish in a dayTest ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and temperature before doing anything else. Do not add medication yet. Multiple simultaneous deaths point at the water or the equipment, not at a pathogen.
Now
Today
Flashing — repeatedly scraping against decor or substrateTest the water, then look closely for parasites. Irritation is either chemical or parasitic; the test tells you which before you medicate.
Today
White salt-grain spots over the body and finsBegin the appropriate treatment today and check the temperature. The parasite's life cycle is temperature-driven, and it multiplies with every cycle you wait.
Today
Soon
Clamped fins, hiding, or refusing food for more than two daysTest the water and review recent changes. Usually the earliest visible sign of a parameter drifting.
A few days
Never add a new fish to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. A test kit is cheaper than the fish.
This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Beginner
Beginner
Intermediate
Beginner
Beginner
Intermediate