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Corydoras, yes it is a fish AND a pretty cute one too
Anecdotes and Behavior
I know what you are thinking, Corydoras sounds like a poisonous plant or possibly even sounds like the annoying neighbors daughter (I leave it to you to decide on whether its the neighbor or the daughter that is annoying! :P) but really, they are small cute little fishies that you will enjoy. First of, the Corydoras (Corydora or Cories) looks like a stunted fish. They tend to be small and yes they come in various colors, some slightly bigger than others but they have a distinctively small body with a little mustache. They are catfish and this kinda getup just makes them look super cute! (Okay I know all you girls out there start getting interested when the cute word comes about.. but seriously these guys really are cute). Now the Corydora is ideal for a small fish tank. I know I know, I dont recommend small fish tanks but a small to medium one with a pair or two of Corydoras can make a huge difference to you in College. Let me tell ya. So you know that I have had fish around me since a wee fella right, so when I went off to college, it was a bit of a downer moment not having fish. I mean freshman year (first year in university) was cool in the dorms, and you know freshman year in college is cool all around, if you know what I mean. By the time my college allowed us to stay off campus, it was junior year (third year of university) and so was an ideal time to get me back to my tropical fish roots (even though it does get snowy in Maryland sometimes in winter :) ). What would be more ideal than to have a small to medium fish tank but what kind of fish would work? Well that's when I met the Corydoras. The moment I saw the Cories at the pet store (which incidentally took a bus and a tram trip to get to), I knew this cute little catfish would be it for me. As a rule, catfish tend to be resilient, they are also bottom feeders which means they can help 'clean up'. Now since this fish is small (they can be the size of 1/3rd of your little finger to be maybe 2/3rds... did I say they were small? :) ), it also means that they would fit into a smallish fish tank and even a couple of them may work and not create too much doodoo that they would drown themselves in their own excrement. It turned out to be quite cool. They didnt need that much tending to and the waterfall filter I had, not only made the whole thing look cool (its a waterfall after all right) but it was indeed good enough to filter out any crap that may have been created by a couple of these tiny Corydoras. So any specific behavior to speak of? Well they hung out a lot doing nothing. At other times, especially feeding time, they will get a bit more active and investigate the aquarium gravel or lunge at the surface ever so often if I gave them floating pellets. They dont care too much about needing aquarium driftwood or some sort of shelter, they seem as happy out in the open. You see part of the thing of keeping fish is watching fish. Each kind of fish gives you a different kind of satisfaction. The Corydoras I guess reminds me of the penguins in the bird world (especially those smaller ones in Happy Feet the movie?), basically stunted cute little fish just like those stunted little penguin birdies. They are probably an ideal first fish too. You will not be disappointed with the Corydoras, I assure you that! Fish Satisfaction Index (FSI)That's right, I came up with my own criteria on how satisfying a fish is in some way, I am calling it FSI. How? Well in the following way: Easy care? Nice colors? Fishing/Reeling satisfaction? Overall FSI?
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