Do Corys Go with Rasboras?

Both corydoras catfishes and rasboras make great community aquarium fish. Both types of fish are small, peaceful and many species are hardy. In general, these smaller fish adapt well to aquarium life. In terms of compatibility, these fish complement each other. In fact, corys and rasboras pretty much get along with any fish that won't actively harm them. The two fish have almost identical requirements.

  1. Cory Catfish

    • Corydoras catfish, or corys, are small peaceful catfish from South America, specifically the Amazon drainage. Though the majority of cory catfish belong to the genus Corydoras, a few closely related genera also sell as corys, like apsidoras (sold as dwarf or pygmy corys). Cory catfish have many of the best features of catfish without many of the drawbacks. Most cory catfish stay small, and are active during the day. Still, they will search aquariums for uneaten food, helping to keep the aquarium clean. Cory catfish generally do their best if you keep them in groups of six. In the wild they school for protection, and feel stressed without enough members of their own species around in captivity.

    Rasboras

    • Rasboras are small, minnow-like fish found in Asia. They fill a similar ecological niche to tetras, and closely resemble them despite not being closely related to them. Though corys and rasboras come from opposite hemispheres, their home waters are remarkably similar. Both consist of soft, acidic rainforest rivers. Additionally, like corys, rasboras are schooling fish and need to be kept in groups. The two fish complement each other in another way. While corys tend to school in the lower levels of an aquarium, rasboras generally school in the middle and upper levels of an aquarium, giving it a more balanced look.

    Community Aquariums

    • Both cory catfish and rasboras adapt well to community-style aquariums. The community-style aquarium is a very common type, wherein all the fish selected are hardy and peaceful. Such a tank does not feature aggressive or hard-to-keep fish with elaborate care requirements. Cory catfish and most rasboras fit this bill. You can keep cory catfish and rasboras with any fish that will not harm them and does not require extreme water chemistry.

    Delicate Rasboras

    • A few species of rasboras are very delicate, and still imported from the wild rather than fish farms. These rasboras often need special water chemistry, specifically soft, acidic water. Fortunately, cory catfish also thrive in water with these parameters. The only possible concern with keeping these fish together is that a handful of rasbora species are so small that they could get inadvertantly harmed by the largest species of cory catfish. These "microrasboras" are best suited to a species-specific tank, but they are not particularly common in the aquarium trade.