Care guide
Overview
Adolfo's Cory (Corydoras adolfoi, recently reclassified as Hoplisoma adolfoi) is a strikingly handsome blackwater catfish endemic to the Upper Rio Negro in Brazil. With its bright orange shoulder patch, sharp black eye-mask, and silvery body, it ranks among the most beautiful small Corydoras species — a social, peaceful bottom-dweller that brings personality to the lower levels of a community tank.
Natural Habitat
Endemic to soft, acidic blackwater tributaries of the Upper Rio Negro in Amazonas, Brazil, deeply stained with tannins from leaf litter and submerged wood. Substrates are fine white sand among leaves, branches, and roots, in shallow margins beneath dense canopy.
Tank Setup
A 20-gallon (~75 L) aquarium is the recommended minimum for a group. Use fine sand — coarse gravel damages their delicate barbels. Provide shaded driftwood, roots, smooth stones, and dried leaves, with hardy low-light plants such as Anubias and Cryptocoryne. Good oxygenation is essential.
Diet
A foraging omnivore. Offer quality sinking pellets or wafers, supplemented with frozen or live bloodworm, tubifex, and daphnia. Despite the myth, cories are not 'cleaners' — they need their own dedicated sinking food or they will starve.
Temperament & Tankmates
Peaceful and gregarious — keep 6 or more. Ideal companions are small blackwater community species: Neon, Cardinal, Ember and Rummynose Tetras, Hatchetfish, Pencilfish, Otocinclus, dwarf rasboras, and peaceful Apistogramma. Avoid aggressive or large predatory tankmates.
Approximate Shipping Size
Adolfo's Cories ship at approximately 0.75–1 inch (2–2.5 cm). Adult size is approximately 2–2.4 inch (50–60 mm). All orders are covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee.
