Adolfo's corydoras guide

Common name: Adolfo's corydoras
Scientific name: Hoplisoma adolfoi
Category: Freshwater fish
Group: Corydoras and allied callichthyid catfishes
Environment: Freshwater aquarium
Origin: Rio Negro basin, Brazil
Care level: Intermediate
Adult size: Up to about 5.7 cm standard length
Expected lifespan: Plan for 8–12 years; long-term care should assume a decade-scale commitment.
Minimum housing: At least 100 L with an 80 cm or longer sand footprint for eight or more
Temperature: 22–26 °C
pH: 6.0–8.0
Hardness / minerals: 2–25 dGH
Salinity: Freshwater; 0 ppt routine salinity
Lighting: Subdued to moderate, with shaded cover
Placement / zone: Bottom and lower water
Filtration: Use mature biological filtration with a gentle sand-safe flow pattern, guarded intakes and mechanical capture that can be cleaned without destabilising the biofilter.
Aeration: Maintain reliable surface agitation and well-oxygenated bottom water. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication or any rise in group size and feeding.
Maintenance: Change water regularly according to measured nitrate and waste, siphon trapped food and detritus, rinse mechanical media in removed aquarium water and verify that every fish is feeding and maintaining condition.

Identity and search names

Single-species profile for Hoplisoma adolfoi. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 10, slug adolfo-s-corydoras and route species/adolfo-s-corydoras/index.html; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.

Search names: Adolfo’s cory, Adolfo’s corydoras, Corydoras adolfoi

Environment and housing

Use fine sand, smooth wood, leaf litter or plants, shaded refuges, clean oxygenated water and an unobstructed route to the surface.

Social structure: Keep at least eight; do not use a pair or trio as a substitute for a shoal

Feeding and nutrition

Feeding ecology: Small sinking omnivore foods, aquatic invertebrates and varied frozen or live foods

Feeding routine: One or two measured feeds daily, ensuring food reaches every fish

Breeding, reproduction or spread

Eggs are deposited adhesively on glass, plants or other surfaces after callichthyid courtship; adults do not guard the clutch

Parental care: None after egg deposition; adults may eat eggs

Detailed care and app-ready planning

Identity scope: Single-species profile for Hoplisoma adolfoi. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 10, slug adolfo-s-corydoras and route species/adolfo-s-corydoras/index.html; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.
Adult size and space: Expected adult size: Up to about 5.7 cm standard length. Minimum permanent housing: At least 100 L with an 80 cm or longer sand footprint for eight or more. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression, oxygen demand and waste production rather than sale size.
Social structure: Keep at least eight; do not use a pair or trio as a substitute for a shoal
Swimming zone or placement: Primary zone: Bottom and lower water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
Feeding ecology: Small sinking omnivore foods, aquatic invertebrates and varied frozen or live foods
Feeding plan: One or two measured feeds daily, ensuring food reaches every fish
Water stability: Maintain 22–26 °C; pH 6.0–8.0; hardness or minerals: 2–25 dGH; salinity: Freshwater; 0 ppt routine salinity. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact value.
Habitat structure: Use fine sand, smooth wood, leaf litter or plants, shaded refuges, clean oxygenated water and an unobstructed route to the surface.
Compatibility plan: Choose peaceful fish that will not outcompete or injure bottom dwellers. Avoid coarse or sharp substrate.
Breeding or reproduction plan: Eggs are deposited adhesively on glass, plants or other surfaces after callichthyid courtship; adults do not guard the clutch Parental care: None after egg deposition; adults may eat eggs.
Quarantine: Quarantine new livestock in a separate cycled system for at least 30 days. Observe appetite, respiration, waste, skin, fins and behaviour; use dedicated equipment and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
Welfare checks: Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Sharp gravel, weak oxygenation and token groups cause avoidable damage. The accepted genus is Hoplisoma; Corydoras adolfoi remains a former combination.
Biosecurity and release: Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Main risk: Sharp gravel, weak oxygenation and token groups cause avoidable damage. The accepted genus is Hoplisoma; Corydoras adolfoi remains a former combination.
Adult projected load: A proper shoal of at least eight bottom-feeding catfish creates a moderate concentrated load near the substrate. Plan for the whole adult group, regular sinking foods and waste trapped around wood, leaves and sand.
Filtration: Use mature biological filtration with a gentle sand-safe flow pattern, guarded intakes and mechanical capture that can be cleaned without destabilising the biofilter.
Aeration: Maintain reliable surface agitation and well-oxygenated bottom water. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication or any rise in group size and feeding.
Maintenance: Change water regularly according to measured nitrate and waste, siphon trapped food and detritus, rinse mechanical media in removed aquarium water and verify that every fish is feeding and maintaining condition.
Overridable warnings: Non-overridable: keep a true social group, use a smooth fine substrate, maintain feeding access and never accept barbel erosion or oxygen distress. A different tank volume or filtration layout is defensible only when adult floor area, water quality and group welfare remain equivalent or better.

Compatibility, welfare and risk

Compatibility: Not applicable

Welfare: Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Sharp gravel, weak oxygenation and token groups cause avoidable damage. The accepted genus is Hoplisoma; Corydoras adolfoi remains a former combination.

Main warning: Sharp gravel, weak oxygenation and token groups cause avoidable damage. The accepted genus is Hoplisoma; Corydoras adolfoi remains a former combination.

Biosecurity and release

Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.

Adolfo's corydoras