Paperwork built around a corydoras school
A corydoras catfish application usually asks for the purchase receipt, the exact species or variety, and the number in the school, since these fish should live in groups. Photographs need to show the flank pattern, body shape, and the whisker-like barbels around the mouth that distinguish healthy fish. Insurers ask about substrate, feeding, and tankmates, because corydoras spend their day sifting the bottom for food. Diet notes should include sinking wafers, small frozen foods, and any live foods, rather than assuming the school survives on scraps missed by other fish.
Why substrate and barbels feature in a catfish file
A corydoras catfish explores with its barbels, so a record stating sand or smooth, fine substrate tells an insurer the keeper understands this species' basic need. Rough or sharp gravel can wear barbels down, and dirty bottom water can follow the same path, so cleaning schedules and gravel or sand depth belong in the file. Note spawning behaviour if it occurs, because corydoras often lay eggs on glass or leaves when conditions and a water change trigger them, and breeding is a strong sign of a settled school. Temperature and oxygen notes matter during warm weather, when bottom oxygen falls first.
Documenting a group that changes over time
Document the school by photographing the group resting together on open substrate, where patterns and barbels can be compared fish by fish. Save receipts for each batch added, noting source and date, because schools are often built in stages and an insurer will want that timeline. Log water changes, substrate vacuuming, and any barbel regrowth or loss you observe, with dates beside each entry. If individual fish are moved to a hospital tank for observation, record which markings identified that fish so its absence from the main group is explained.
Maintaining the corydoras record school by school
A corydoras record stays useful when each species in a mixed school is tracked on its own line. Note the count per variety, which group spawns after water changes, and whether barbels stay full across all of them, because one variety can struggle while another thrives in the same water. Update photographs after any substrate change, since a move from gravel to sand often brings visible barbel recovery worth documenting. When elderly fish slow down or a young batch joins, file the age mix honestly, as an insurer pricing a school needs to know whether it covers mostly juveniles, prime adults, or fish nearing the end of their natural span.
School records that leave an insurer guessing
A corydoras file leaves an insurer guessing when the species is listed only as cory catfish, when the school count never changes despite additions, or when substrate is not mentioned at all. Mixed-species schools are common, and vague paperwork cannot show which fish were covered. If several corydoras develop shortened barbels, reddened undersides, or stop sifting the substrate, seek aquatic veterinary advice early, as bottom conditions affect the whole group. Keeping the school's batch receipts, resting-group photos, substrate details, and spawning notes together in KinsLe Pet Passport gives each catfish a traceable history.