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How to look after
Scleromystax barbatus
Bearded catfish, Banded cory, Giant cory
Quoy & Gaimard, 1824

(Other members of the genus Scleromystax)

ADULT SIZE: 10 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Not critical

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 20-25 C

FOOD: Feed Scleromystax barbatus live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Brazil

AQUARIUM CARE: This larger cory-type cat can reach sizes of almost four inches. Although often referred to as Corydoras barbatus, it has recently been moved to the genus Scleromystax. Best kept in a shoal of at least six individuals. An ideal tank will have a fine substrate, and slightly cooler, well-oxygenated water.

BREEDING: Like many other similar catfish species, spawning in S. barbatus can be induced by heavy feeding of livefoods, followed by large water changes of cooler water.

Have you bred Scleromystax barbatus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Scleromystax barbatus breeding reports

Scleromystax barbatus
Bearded catfish, Banded cory, Giant cory

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Scleromystax barbatus
Bearded catfish, Banded cory, Giant cory
breeding notes

BREEDING: Like many other similar catfish species, spawning in S. barbatus can be induced by heavy feeding of livefoods, followed by large water changes of cooler water.

Have you bred Scleromystax barbatus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

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This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute - whatever your experience! 1 breeder has filled in a breeding report, a summary of which is shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Scleromystax barbatus, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.
Would Scleromystax barbatus be a good addition to a community tank? Never Doubtful, only with VERY calm fish Only with species of similar size Yes, a good community fish	How would you describe the disposition of Scleromystax barbatus? Very timid Slightly timid Neutral Somewhat aggresive on occasions Very aggressive
In which water conditions do you keep these fish? Very soft and acidic Moderately soft and acidic Neutral Moderately hard and alkaline Very hard and alkaline	At what average temperature? 10-15°C 16-19°C 20-23°C 24-27°C 28°C+
What, if any is the biggest difficulty encountered when breeding these fish? Poor egg production Poor egg survival Poor fry survival rate Deformities Skewed sex ratio	How would you describe sex ratios when breeding Scleromystax barbatus? If you are unsure please leave this question unanswered. Almost all males Somewhat male heavy Roughly equal Somewhat female heavy Almost all females
In general, how difficult is Scleromystax barbatus to keep and breed? Very easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult	How sucessful have you been at breeding Scleromystax barbatus? Very unsucessful Fairly unsucessful Average Fairly sucessful Very sucessful

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences

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Water conditions: Moderately hard and alkaline	Water temperature: 20-23oC
Disposition: Very timid	Community tank?: Only with species of similar size
Spawning Method: Other (see below)	Breeding problems: Poor fry survival rate
Sex ratio: Roughly equal	Breeding difficulty: Very easy
Sucess: Fairly sucessful	Years Experience: 1
Other Comments: Make sure you feed them (the parents) a variety of foods, they love sinking pellets but need some live foods (freezer) as well. When the eggs are laid the parents wont touch them but other fish will so remove them. After a month you will see a a growth change, fry will be about 1 inch. After approx 5 days they hatch, and another 2/3 days to eat the egg sack. Then you should start feeding them baby food. After about a month you can start feeding them 'real' food. I just had around 30 eggs hatch today!
Date this record created: 18th June 2011	Breeding date: 2011
Breeder: S	Location: the Netherlands