AquaticRepublic.com - Osteogaster aenea (Callichthyidae) All Fishes

Female
Albino
Red dye injected
do not buy!!!
Eastern Brazil
Long-fin variety
Stamp
Collected in south eastern Peru
Classic
Spawning
Female carrying eggs in pelvic fin
Female about to lay eggs on glass
Suriname
Wild-caught from Suriname river
Wild caught from the type locality, Trinidad
Female leaving eggs laid on glass
Habitat: Trinidad
Habitat: Trinidad
Long-fin variety
Close-up of head
Trinidad
Trinidad
Showing barbel loss

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Osteogaster aenea** (Gill, 1858)
Common Names	Bronze Cory Albino Cory, Bronze Catfish, Bronze Corydoras, Kobberpansermalle (Denmark), Metallpansarmal (Sweden), Panzerwels (Germany)
Type Locality	Trinidad Island, West Indies.
Synonym(s)	Callichthys aeneus, Corydoras aeneus, Corydoras macrosteus, Corydoras microps, Hoplosoma aeneum
Pronunciation	os tee oh gas terr - ah NAY uss
Etymology	The Latin aeneus, means brazen, of copper and refers to this species' metallic green sheen when in top or natural conditions.
Species Information
Size	75mm or 3" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	A very variable species. See catfish of the month link below. Occasionally confused with Brochis spp. but can be distinguished fairly easily by the number of rays and shape of dorsal fin - Corydoras have less than ten rays, Brochis have ten or more rays.
Sexing	Males are smaller (up to 65mm) and slimmer. Females grow larger and are much wider which can most easily be observed from above.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Colombia and Trinidad to La Plata River basin east of the Andes. Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there) La Plata, Paraná, Paraguay (click on these areas to find other species found there) La Plata, Paraná (click on these areas to find other species found there) Trinidad rivers (click on these areas to find other species found there) Orinoco (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Not Evaluated
pH	6.5 - 7.5
Temperature	21.0-27.0°C or 69.8-80.6°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Generally should be kept at a temperature of around 24°C, water current should not be fierce.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	All prepared and suitably sized live foods are taken. User data.
Furniture	Ideally substrate should be sand, but rounded gravel is an imperfect alternative. Avoid keeping over rough edged (chipped) gravel, this will increase this risk of damage the fishes barbels when it tries to dig. Substrate should be bordered with driftwood and aquatic plants leaving an open area for them to search for food and swim. The shade provided by overhanging rock work, arching bogwood, tall or floating plants are all that is required to settle these fishes.
Compatibility	A perfect citizen.
Suggested Tankmates	Keep in a shoal of at least 6 individuals - ideal first catfish for a beginner's community aquarium.
Breeding	Easily accomplished with captive raised stock. Some colour varieties are more challenging than others. Given the presence of a suitably egg-laden female and a mature male or two, spawning can be triggered by a large, cool water change. Try changing 30-40% of the aquarium water (at 21°C) and bring the temperature down to 16°C. Do this slowly over an hour or two.The fish should respond by spawning in the classic 'T' formation method. Here, using one of his pectoral fins, the male clamps the female to his side by her barbels and fertilizes a small batch of eggs held within the protective basket formed by her pelvic fins. The adhesive eggs are then placed on plants or aquarium walls and the process repeated. The eggs take 3-4 days to hatch. It is safe to leave well fed parents with the eggs, but some breeders prefer to remove the eggs, or indeed parents, to avoid any temptation of an easy snack. For the first few days of their life, pre-soaked powdered flake food should be fed to the fry. After the first 3 or 4 days, newly hatched brineshrimp can also be sparingly used to bring on the fishes growth. As the fish grow more and more foods can be offered in line with the size of the developing juveniles. Adult colouration is reached in around nine weeks.
Breeding Reports	There is but a single breeding report, read it here.
Further Information
Reference	Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York v. 6 (nos 10-13, art. 38), pp 403 [43].
Registered Keepers	There are 10 registered keepers, view all "my fish" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 12 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode

	Look up O. aenea on PlanetCatfish.com
	Look up O. aenea on Fishbase
	Look up O. aenea on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up O. aenea on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.1.1579.51
Last Update	2025 Jan 02 01:36 (species record created: 2001 Apr 19 00:00)