Taxonomy & naming
Corydoras incolicana was described in 1993 by Warren Burgess, with the specific name referring to its type locality, the Rio Içana (rendered 'Incali' / Içana) in the upper Rio Negro basin of Amazonas State, Brazil. It is also one of the foundational entries in the hobby's 'C-number' system for unidentified or newly noticed corys, holding the very first code, C001.
The genus Corydoras Lacépède, 1803 had grown into an unwieldy, non-monophyletic group of more than 170 species. The 2024 revision of the Corydoradinae by Dias, Tencatt and colleagues split it into several lineages, and under that scheme this species becomes Brochis incolicana — placed within the resurrected and greatly expanded genus Brochis (in the sub-clade structure tracked by specialist sources). The combination is recent and the hobby still says 'Corydoras incolicana,' so we keep that heading while recording the current placement.
Morphology
This is a medium-sized cory, reaching roughly 2–3 in in standard length depending on source — FishBase gives about 2 in SL while specialist accounts cite 3 in — with females growing larger, broader and deeper-bodied than males. It carries the standard Corydoras armour: two rows of overlapping bony scutes along each flank, a hard helmeted head, and three pairs of barbels around a small ventral mouth.
The colouration is relatively subdued and patterned, suited to its tannin-stained habitat. As in all corys, the dorsal, pectoral and adipose fins each bear a stiff locking spine.
Habitat
Corydoras incolicana is known from the Rio Içana in the upper Rio Negro basin of Amazonas State, northern Brazil, and presumably ranges into adjacent border areas of eastern Colombia (Guainía, Guaviare and Vaupés) where the Içana drainage extends. This is classic blackwater country — soft, acidic, tannin-stained water flowing over sandy bottoms with leaf litter and wood.
Wild conditions are notably soft and acidic: the species is associated with low conductivity and a pH that can run well below neutral, with reports spanning roughly pH 4.0 to 7.0 in the wild and a tolerated aquarium range up to about 8.0, at temperatures around 68–79 °F. Like all corys it is a facultative air-breather, surfacing to gulp air and absorb oxygen through a vascularised hindgut, which helps it cope with warm, oxygen-poor blackwater pools.
Feeding
Corydoras incolicana is a benthic omnivore that forages by sifting the bottom — working its snout and barbels through sand and leaf litter to taste out small invertebrates, insect larvae, micro-crustaceans and organic detritus, and expelling cleaned substrate through the gills. It is an opportunist rather than a specialist. In aquaria it accepts sinking dried foods, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and Tubifex and other small sinking fare, but needs varied nutrition fed directly rather than being left to scavenge aquarium debris.
Mating
Spawning of Corydoras incolicana follows the general cory pattern, although it is not documented in fine detail. These are egg-laying shoalers with no pair bond: a ripe female cleans a surface and the group becomes active, a male takes the classic 'T-position' at right angles to her head, and the female appears to take milt into her mouth. The sperm passes through the gut to fertilise the small clutch of eggs she clasps in a basket formed by her pelvic fins, which she presses onto the cleaned site, repeating the sequence a few eggs at a time.
Breeding
Corydoras incolicana is bred only occasionally and there is no detailed published account specific to it, so exact clutch size, egg size and fry timing are not well established. Hobby guidance follows the standard cory approach: condition a group skewed toward more males than females, then trigger spawning with a large, cooler water change (on the order of 50–70%) and increased oxygenation to mimic the rains. The adhesive eggs receive no parental care and hatch in roughly three to four days; the fry need small live foods and clean, soft water over sand. Given its blackwater origins, soft acidic water is likely to help induce spawning, but the specifics should be treated as inference rather than firm record.
In the aquarium
Corydoras incolicana is a soft-water cory best kept in a blackwater-style South American community by aquarists who can provide acidic, low-mineral water. Like all corys it is a shoaling fish and should be kept in groups of six or more, where it is confident and active; kept singly it is stressed and reclusive. Provide a tank with a generous footprint, since bottom area matters more than height.
Substrate should be soft sand or very fine, smooth, rounded gravel — corys feed by sifting, and sharp or coarse grit erodes and infects their barbels, leaving the blunted faces that mark poor husbandry. Tannin-stained, soft, acidic, warm and well-oxygenated water with leaf litter and wood best reflects its Rio Içana home, and it is less forgiving of hard, alkaline water than the ubiquitous bronze cory. It is peaceful and belongs only with small, gentle blackwater tankmates such as tetras, pencilfish and dwarf cichlids. The usual cautions apply: the fin spines tangle in nets, so a cup is safer, and a badly stressed cory can release a skin toxin that can be lethal in the small volume of a transport bag.
Conservation
Corydoras incolicana has been assessed by the IUCN as Data Deficient — meaning there is not enough information on its range, population and threats to judge its risk of extinction. It is known from a restricted part of the upper Rio Negro basin, the Rio Içana, an area that remains relatively remote and forested, which is reassuring, but the Data Deficient listing reflects genuine uncertainty rather than confirmed security. Blackwater headwaters of the upper Negro can be affected by deforestation, mining and ornamental-fishery collection pressure, and a narrowly distributed species there could be sensitive to local disturbance. A clearer assessment awaits better field data.