Virginia Cory
Brochis virginiae
Callichthyidae
No photo of this species yet
Got one of your own? Send it and your name goes under it.
About
Corydoras virginiae is a Peruvian fish from the río Ucayali drainage, named after Virginia Schwartz, wife of the aquarium exporter who collected the holotype - which is also why the trade sold it for years as Corydoras sp. 'Sangama' or 'Zangama' before Burgess described it in 1993. Seriously Fish heads its page 'Miguelito Cory' and files the fish under the C-number C004, so the same species answers to at least four labels. Before its description it had been filed under two other names entirely, C. bicolor and C. delphax, so old books and old shop labels are not to be trusted on this one. It is a mid-sized cory at 5-6 cm, and it likes its water warmer than most of the Colombian and Brazilian species around it: Seriously Fish gives 22-28 °C, where C. metae and C. elegans get 20-26 °C. Like every Corydoras it carries stiffened pectoral-fin spines that can pierce skin painfully, and Seriously Fish notes the axillary gland secretions at their base may be mildly toxic - which matters when you net one, not when it swims past. The 2024 revision of the subfamily moved it from Corydoras into Brochis, so older books and most shop labels still call it Corydoras virginiae — same fish, same care.
Care
A group of six or more at 24-26 °C, in soft to medium water over fine sand. It sits at the warm end of the genus, so it partners better with sterbai corys and warm-water tetras than with a panda cory. Feed sinking food deliberately: it forages, it does not scavenge, and it will not live on leftovers. Catch it with a container rather than a net - the pectoral spines lock out, tangle in the mesh and hurt.
Diet
Foraging omnivore. Sinking dried food plus small live and frozen bloodworm and tubifex.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (228)
Possible with care (136)
Avoid (54)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Width from aboveStrong · from about 8 months, once they are adult-sized
Corydoras are sexed from directly above, never from the side. Look down at the group while they rest on the sand.
- Bristles and cheek spinesA hint only · from about a year
Male plecos grow odontodes — spiny growths on the cheeks and along the leading pectoral rays. Bristlenose males additionally grow branching tentacles across the snout and over the top of the head.
Also in these lists
Similar species
Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.
Health
Disease guide entries relevant to this species — worth a read before you reach for medicine.
The full disease guide →Sold in Lithuania
These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.
These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Virginia Cory need?
- A Virginia Cory needs an aquarium of at least 70 litres (18.5 US gallons) with a footprint at least 60 cm (23.6 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Virginia Cory need?
- Virginia Cory does best at 22–28 °C (71.6–82.4 °F), pH 6–7.5 and a general hardness of 2–12 °dGH.
- What group size does a Virginia Cory need?
- Virginia Cory is a social species — keep a group of at least 6 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.
- Is the Virginia Cory suitable for beginners?
- Virginia Cory sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.