Identity and search names
- Common name
- Hastatus corydoras
- Scientific name
- Gastrodermus hastatus
- Other names
- Corydoras hastatus, Dwarf cory, Dwarf corydoras, Tail-spot cory, dwarf cory, dwarf corydoras
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Corydoradine catfish
- Origin
- Amazon and Paraguay drainage systems
- Review outcome
- PASSED
Environment and housing
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- About 3 cm
- Expected lifespan
- 4–6 years
- Minimum housing
- 60 L or larger
- Temperature
- 22–26 °C
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Hardness or minerals
- 2–15 dGH
- Salinity
- Freshwater
- Lighting
- Subdued to normal lighting with shaded areas
- Social structure
- Keep ten or more
- Placement or swimming zone
- Bottom to lower midwater
- Temperament
- Peaceful social catfish
- Compatibility
- Best with peaceful fish that do not monopolise food at the substrate.
- Habitat structure
- Use smooth sand or fine rounded substrate, shaded cover, clean oxygenated water and unobstructed surface access.
Feeding and nutrition
- Diet
- Sinking omnivore foods, small invertebrate foods and frozen fare
- Feeding frequency
- Feed one or two measured meals daily and confirm food reaches every fish
Breeding and reproduction
- Breeding or reproduction
- T-position spawning followed by adhesive eggs placed on glass, plants or décor
- Parental care
- None; adults may eat eggs
System demands
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
Detailed husbandry
- Identity scope
- Single-species profile for Gastrodermus hastatus. This is the canonical AquaNexus route for the species formerly known as Corydoras hastatus. Permanent AquaNexus ID 370, slug hastatus-corydoras and public route /species/hastatus-corydoras/ are preserved.
- Adult size and space
- Expected adult size: About 3 cm. Minimum permanent housing: 60 L or larger. Adult dimensions, group or territory needs, swimming footprint, oxygen demand and waste production matter more than juvenile sale size.
- Social structure
- Keep ten or more
- Placement or swimming zone
- Primary zone: Bottom to lower midwater. Keep that zone open enough for normal movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
- Feeding ecology
- Sinking omnivore foods, small invertebrate foods and frozen fare
- Feeding plan
- Deliver small sinking and suspended foods through the lower-midwater shoal as well as onto sand. Confirm the species is not starved by faster surface fish.
- Water stability
- Maintain 22–26 °C; pH 6.0–7.5; minerals: 2–15 dGH; salinity: Freshwater. Stability, dissolved oxygen and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact reading.
- Adult projected load
- Moderate for ten or more adults; low individual mass does not remove the need for mature filtration and direct waste removal.
- Filtration
- Use mature gentle filtration with fine intake guards, clean lower-midwater circulation and unobstructed surface access.
- Aeration
- Maintain gentle reliable gas exchange and clear surface access; repeated frantic surfacing still requires investigation.
- Maintenance
- Use regular gentle water changes, clean sand and intake guards, and confirm all fish continue normal lower-midwater shoaling and feeding.
- Habitat structure
- Use smooth sand or fine rounded substrate, shaded cover, clean oxygenated water and unobstructed surface access.
- Compatibility plan
- Best with peaceful fish that do not monopolise food at the substrate. Retain a cycled separation option for aggression, feeding exclusion, predation, injury or disease.
- Breeding plan
- T-position spawning followed by adhesive eggs placed on glass, plants or décor Do not compromise adult welfare, genetic identity, quarantine capacity or lawful rehoming to attempt breeding.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine new fish in a separate fully cycled system for at least 30 days at the intended temperature and mineral chemistry. Use dedicated equipment; observe appetite, respiration, faeces, skin, fins, gills and behaviour; never add transport water to the display.
- Welfare checks
- Corydoradines are not scavenging equipment. They need direct feeding, a proper shoal and a substrate that does not damage their barbels. Track individual body condition, feeding access, respiration, injury, abnormal hiding or aggression and use of the intended swimming zone.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, aquarium water, sediment, plants, live food or wet equipment into drains, dams or natural waterways. Australian import eligibility is species-specific: check the current permitted ornamental-fish list and BICON conditions by accepted scientific name. Import requires a permit, an approved source country and approved-arrangement isolation. Check current South Australian noxious-fish and movement rules before purchase, sale, transport or disposal.
- Main risk
- Inadequate shoal size, food exclusion and treating a partly midwater species as only a bottom scavenger.
- Overridable warnings
- This midwater-oriented dwarf cory needs a larger shoal and calm tankmates, not just bottom space.
Welfare and risk
- Welfare checks
- Corydoradines are not scavenging equipment. They need direct feeding, a proper shoal and a substrate that does not damage their barbels.
- Main warning
- This midwater-oriented dwarf cory needs a larger shoal and calm tankmates, not just bottom space.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, aquarium water, sediment, plants, live food or wet equipment into drains, dams or natural waterways. Australian import eligibility is species-specific: check the current permitted ornamental-fish list and BICON conditions by accepted scientific name. Import requires a permit, an approved source country and approved-arrangement isolation. Check current South Australian noxious-fish and movement rules before purchase, sale, transport or disposal.
Sources
Source note
Current identity or scope, husbandry, system-demand, welfare and Australian biosecurity evidence checked; active retired-source links removed; all AquaNexus wording is original.
- Catalog of Fishes search for Gastrodermus hastatus — Taxonomy and accepted-name check
- Australian Biosecurity Import Conditions system — Australian biosecurity context
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Gastrodermus hastatus — Current fish taxonomy and synonym cross-check
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Australian live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning
- Dias et al. — revised Corydoradinae classification — Primary phylogenomic and morphological evidence for Hoplisoma and Gastrodermus combinations
- DAFF — Permitted live freshwater and marine ornamental fish — Permitted-species pathway; exact eligibility must be checked by accepted scientific name
- PIRSA — Noxious fish list — Current South Australian noxious-fish restrictions
- PIRSA — Moving aquatic animals — South Australian movement, pest, disease and no-release context
- RSPCA Australia — Tropical fish care and water quality — General fish-welfare evidence for mature filtration, water quality, appropriate space and maintenance