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Sterba's Corydoras
Corydoras sterbai
Also known as: sterbai cory
The standard warm-water cory for discus and apistogramma tanks. Tolerates 28–30 °C without the health decline that affects most corydoras at those temperatures.
Sterba's Corydoras tank mates · 100L tank size hub
peaceful · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: good
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Warm soft-water community tanks 100L or more, especially discus and apistogramma setups at 27–30 °C.
Avoid if: Sharp gravel, tanks under 80L, or if you can only source fewer than six fish.
Common mistakeMixing sterbai with cool-water corydoras in one tank is how keepers invent temperature conflict where one group always suffers quietly. Sterbai prefer warmer water than many common cory species. Keep temperature-matched schools — pretty mixed cory communities are often a compromise that fails slowly.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: all corydoras share the same cool community defaults, so sterbai mix fine with peppered or panda cories in any tank. Reality: sterbai prefer warmer water — mixed-temperature cory communities leave one group chronically stressed while the other looks fine.
- 2.Mixed in with peppered or panda corys at the species' shared minimum temp. Sterbai pale and refuse food below 24°C.
- 3.Single sterbai bought as a 'discus floor cleaner'. They forage in groups of six or more, not as a one-fish service.
- 4.Needs warm stable water. A poor match for cool rooms or unheated tanks. A group of six or more.
About this species
- Bronze corydoras100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Upside-down Catfish100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Adolfoi cory80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Emerald catfish (Brochis)120L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Glass Catfish80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Peppered Corydoras80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Corydoras Catfish60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Julii Corydoras60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- African freshwater butterflyfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Boesemani Rainbowfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease56
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit79
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness54
- Energy24
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Rough 100L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safer directions include: Cardinal Tetra, Dwarf Gourami, Rummy Nose Tetra.
Prioritise 6+ of Sterba's Corydoras in 100L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Sterba's Corydoras
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Cardinal Tetra, Dwarf Gourami, Rummy Nose Tetra. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Discus. Avoid (RISKY): Jack Dempsey, Oscar, White Cloud Mountain Minnow. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Sterba's Corydoras + Cardinal Tetra
Behaviour and temperament
Sterba’s corydoras are peaceful schoolers that stay calmer in groups of six or more on soft sand in warmer softish water. They do not bully robust neighbours. Stress shows as hiding and barbel damage when under-grouped or kept too cool on sharp gravel for months.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly sized community fish; fry and dwarf shrimp are still fair game for most species.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Six or more forage the sand together after lights soften.
- Occasional surface gulps are normal ownership, not instant crisis alone.
- Daytime hiding in a cool mixed cory tank usually means temperature mismatch.
- Frayed barbels on sharp gravel mean substrate failed first.
- Low listed malice toward peaceful community fish.
- Large cichlids and diggers are the usual failure modes — not cory spite.
- Split cool- and warm-water cories before chasing mystery disease only.
- Grow the school to six on soft sand before adding another bottom species.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Sterba’s corydoras are bottom-feeding omnivores that need sinking wafers, frozen foods, and leftover midwater food that reaches soft sand. A flake-only surface feed leaves them thin under busy midwater fish. Offer sinking food after lights soften, keep a group of six or more, and match warmer softish water — not a cool-water cory mix.
Shrimp & snails
Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 24 to 30 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 100L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 24–30°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 100L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 400L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–30°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Sterba's Corydoras does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–30°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Corydoras sterbai
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Corydoras sterbai
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Corydoras sterbai
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Sterba's Corydoras
- How big do Sterba's Corydoras get?
- Sterba's Corydoras adults reach about 7 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Sterba's Corydoras need?
- 100L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 122L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Sterba's Corydoras aggressive?
- Sterba’s corydoras are peaceful schoolers that stay calmer in groups of six or more on soft sand in warmer softish water. They do not bully robust neighbours. Stress shows as hiding and barbel damage when under-grouped or kept too cool on sharp gravel for months.
- Do Sterba's Corydoras need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Sterba's Corydoras?
- Mixing sterbai with cool-water corydoras in one tank is how keepers invent temperature conflict where one group always suffers quietly. Sterbai prefer warmer water than many common cory species. Keep temperature-matched schools — pretty mixed cory communities are often a compromise that fails slowly.
- What fish can live with Sterba's Corydoras?
- The Sterba's Corydoras profile lists Cardinal Tetra, Dwarf Gourami, Rummy Nose Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Discus is conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on its pair page. Avoid Jack Dempsey, Oscar, White Cloud Mountain Minnow (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.