Care
Black Band Corydoras are ideal for the community aquarium. Must be kept on a soft sand substrate and maintained in groups of 5 or more due to shoaling nature. Some shady planted areas should be provided. Corydoras have the ability to breathe air intestinally, so a small gap should be left between the surface of the water and the cover slides in order for the fish to come up to the surface and take air in. It may do this numerous times per day.
Similar in appearance to O. rabauti, but the fry of these species look very different to one another.
Osteogaster was recently split from Corydoras and contains the Bronze cory group.
Feeding
Sinking catfish pellets, frozen foods such as mosquito larvae and brineshrimp.
Breeding
Mature pairs can be triggered into spawning by performing a large, slightly cooler water change. Several reports suggest gradually lowering the water temperature to 16 °C. The pair will adopt the classic "T position" where the male fertilises the eggs that are held between the female's pelvic fins. The adhesive eggs will then be deposited onto plants, decor, or the sides of the aquarium etc and the process repeated until up to 600 eggs are laid/fertilised. The eggs generally take 3-4 days to hatch after which time the tiny fry should be offered finely powdered first foods. A few days later they will be able to take newly hatched brineshrimp. To avoid predation and ensure a higher success rate, many fishkeepers move the parents to another aquarium after the eggs have all been deposited.
