Author Archives: Frank Schäfer

Hoplisoma knaacki originates from the Madre de Dios region in Peru and belongs to a group of armored catfishes that are very close to the type species of the genus Hoplisoma Swainson, 1838 – H. punctatus (Bloch, 1794). Aquarists are best familiar with the two species H. julii and H. trilineatus from this group, which are very common and offered in different color variants in the pet trade. H. knaacki can be easily distinguished from all described species of the Hoplisoma group by the massive longitudinal stripe in the middle of the body, which begins at about the level of the posterior edge of the dorsal fin and ends at the caudal fin, in combination with the species-specific dorsal fin pattern, in which the first fin ray and the membrane to the spine are darkly pigmented and the remaining fin rays are dotted, as well as the significantly black and white banded caudal fin. Prior to the scientific description of the species in honor of Joachim Knaack, this armored catfish was referred to as Corydoras sp. “Morse” or Corydoras sp. CW 32.

There are at least two other species from the Madre de Dios that look almost identical but are still scientifically undescribed. Corydoras sp. C120 (see Datz 12/2003), CW 62 and CW 109 are referred to by Peruvian exporters as Corydoras sp. “Manu4” and differ from H. knaacki in approximately the same way as various populations currently assigned to H. trilineatus differ from each other; probably all these forms belong to the genus Hoplisoma. Another, practically identically colored species is Corydoras sp. “Manu2 Semi Longnose”, which to our knowledge does not yet have a C or CW number and has a longer snout (a longer mesethmoid); it should – with reservations – be assigned to the genus Brochis.

We can now offer the beautiful Hoplisoma knaacki as a German offspring.

We have also made a small film about these fish, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUQYNZvoej8

For our customers: the species has code 232862 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The characteristics of Brochis sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin Longnose” are identical to Hoplisoma sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28”, except that Super Schwartzi Hifin Longnose is a longnose and Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28 is a roundnose.

Brochis sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin Longnose” has usually only appeared in single specimens mixed with the other species from the Rio Purus. However, when reviewing our photo material, we found that the species had already been exported in 2017 under the name “labrina” or “labrea”. At that time, however, we only considered it to be a color variant of B. pulcher and therefore did not create an article number for it. The maximum length is 6-6.5 cm (standard length without caudal fin).

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The characteristics of Brochis sp. “CW28 Longnose” are identical to Hoplisoma sp. “CW28”, but Brochis sp. “CW28 Longnose” is a longnose, CW28 a roundnose. 

This species is usually sent mixed with CW28, but occasionally also mixed with Brochis pulcher. We have often received this species purely sorted as Brochis pulcher. In the aquarium literature, Brochis sp. “CW28 Longnose” is usually referred to as a color variant of B. pulcher. The maximum length is 6-6.5 cm (standard length without caudal fin).

For our customers: Brochis sp. “CW28 Longnose” has code 241713 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The characteristics of Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28 are: Round snout; two thin longitudinal bands, sometimes resolved to dots, running parallel, one above and one below the midline; usually two more thin longitudinal bands are present, so usually four in total; the dorsal fin spine is conspicuously cream-colored; the dorsal fin is conspicuously high in males in breeding condition. The maximum length is 6-6.5 cm (standard length without caudal fin).

This armored catfish is usually traded in adult specimens, as juveniles can hardly be distinguished from Hoplisoma schwartzi with certainty. The most reliable distinguishing feature from H. schwartzi is the strikingly colored dorsal fin spine. Occasionally there are specimens with somewhat broader longitudinal bands, which cannot be reliably distinguished from Hoplisoma sp. CW28. Hoplisoma sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28” is occasionally exported mixed with H. sp. CW28, with Brochis pulcher and B. sp. “CW28 Longnose”.

For our customers: Hoplisoma sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28” has code 244565 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The characteristics of CW28 are: Round snout; two broad, parallel longitudinal bands on the bony plates, one above and one below the midline; the dorsal fin spine has a conspicuous cream color. The maximum length is 6-6.5 cm (standard length without caudal fin).

CW28 has been known in the hobby since the 1960s. A specimen of CW28 was already depicted in the original description of Corydoras schwartzi (today: Hoplisoma schwartzi). At that time it was assumed that the animals with the broad bands could be a variant of C. schwartzi.

Later, this round snout was classified as a variant of Corydoras pulcher (today: Brochis pulcher), which is doubly confusing, as B. pulcher is clearly a long-snouted species, whereas CW28 is a round-snouted species. Nevertheless, the term “cf. pulcher”, i.e. “similar to pulcher”, was used for a long time (also in our stocklist). The coloration of CW28 is fairly constant, but there are occasional specimens with narrow bands that cannot be reliably distinguished from Hoplisoma sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin”. CW28 is occasionally exported mixed with Brochis pulcher and Hoplisoma sp. “Super Schwartzi Hifin”.

For our customers: CW28 has code 241715 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The Rio Purus is one of the major tributaries of the Amazon. Its length is over 3,200 km. The source and upper reaches of the Rio Purus are in Peru, the middle and lower reaches are in Brazil. The Rio Purus is home to numerous ornamental fish, including various armored catfish. A species flock of armored catfish from the Rio Purus always causes great confusion when it comes to identification. Of the six species in the species flock, only two have been scientifically described to date (Brochis pulcher and Hoplisoma schwartzi), the rest have only auxiliary names. These armored catfish are often sent mixed, which increases the confusion even more, which is why we want to try to establish a uniform naming system here, at least for our fish.

These are the species:

Hoplisoma schwartzi https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/corydoras-schwartzi/

Hoplisoma sp. „Super Schwartzi Hifin CW28“ (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/hoplisoma-sp-super-schwartzi-hifin-cw28-2/)

Hoplisoma sp. „CW28“ ( = cf. pulcher) (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/hoplisoma-sp-cw28-cf-pulcher-2/)

Brochis pulcher, this post

Brochis sp. „CW28 Longnose“ ( = pulcher Variante) (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/brochis-sp-cw28-longnose-pulcher-variant/)

Brochis sp. „Super Schwartzi Hifin Longnose“ (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/brochis-sp-super-schwartzi-hifin-longnose-corydoras-sp-labrina-or-labrea/)

Common to all six species is a black longitudinal stripe pattern on a light background, an eye band is present, the caudal fin is banded. The dorsal fin spine is strikingly cream-colored (only in H. schwartzi are there also specimens with gray or blackish dorsal fin spines), the rest of the dorsal fin without a distinct pattern.

The characteristics of Brochis pulcher are: Long-snouted; three broad, parallel longitudinal bands, which can sometimes be broken up into dots, one above, one on and one below the midline; the dorsal fin spine is conspicuously cream-colored; the dorsal fin is conspicuously high in males in breeding condition. The maximum length is 6-6.5 cm (standard length without caudal fin).

This armoured catfish is well characterized by its three longitudinal bands. Similar are C141 (origin unknown, https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/10-catfishes/corydoras_sp_c141_en/) with significantly narrower bands and Brochis ornatus from the Rio Tapajos, which also has three significantly narrower longitudinal bands. B. ornatus also does not have the striking cream-colored dorsal fin spine (C141 does).

For our customers: Brochis pulcher has code 241704 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Three magnificent Corydoras species from Peru undoubtedly form a closely related group. They are very pointed-headed and comparatively large (around 6 cm, sometimes up to 8 cm) Corydoras, namely C. fowleri, C. coriatae and C. semiaquilus. The independence of C. coriatae is often doubted, as numerous locality variants of C. fowleri have become known and, in the opinion of numerous specialists, C. coriatae is merely one of them. However, hardly anyone doubts C. semiaquilus. C. semiaquilus, which in the past was occasionally referred to as “Black Peru”, can be distinguished from C. fowleri in the broadest sense by looking at the nuchal region. In C. fowleri in the broad sense, the dark eye band and the body band beginning below the dorsal fin are clearly separated from each other, whereas in C. semiaquilus both markings are connected by a black band.

All of the species mentioned are demanding aquarium fish that require excellent water quality. Even if hardness and pH value are generally of secondary importance for the fish, it has been clearly shown in practice that soft and slightly acidic water usually results in considerably less bacterial development. And these Corydoras are very sensitive to this – i.e. a high bacterial load. As they live in relatively cool streams in the wild, a water temperature of 26°C should not be exceeded permanently if possible. Keeping them at room temperature (18-22°C) at least some of the time seems to have a very positive effect on their health.

For our customers: C. semiaquilus has code 244554 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

We receive these beautiful armored catfish both as captive-bred and wild-caught specimens. Both are currently classified in the genus Hoplisoma. The correct species identification of these animals is still unclear. There are clearly two types, a high-backed one with a very broad dorsal band (duplicareus) and a slimmer one with a narrow dorsal band (adolfoi). The inner sides of the pectoral fin spines are said to be serrated in H. duplicareus and smooth in H. adolfoi. In the wild-caught specimens of all phenotypes shown here, however, the inner side of the pectoral fin spine is smooth. The pictures show only wild-caught specimens.

Regardless of whether H. adolfoi and H. duplicareus are different species, ecotypes, habitat variants or selections: both are among the most attractive armored catfish species of all. They have the shiny spot on the back of the neck so that the animals can blend together in the dark, cola-colored black water. Both forms are easy to keep in the aquarium and adapt very well to the respective tap water. Soft, acidic water is only required for breeding, otherwise the spawn will not be fertilized or will not develop.

For our customers: the animals have code 220203 (adolfoi) and 227603 (duplicareus) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras ambiacus is one of the longest known species of the enormously diverse armored catfish, which has recently been assigned to the genus Brochis in a major review of armored catfish. The species Corydoras ambiacus was formally described from the Rio Ambyiacu in Peru as early as 1872. At that time, only 5 Corydoras species were known (today there are 171 valid species, 231 have been described, plus almost as many with C or CW numbers that are not clearly identified). The description was correspondingly sparse, as there was not much to be differentiated and it is correspondingly difficult to correctly identify this species today. Corydoras grafi and Corydoras melanistius longirostris are considered synonyms.

We currently have beautiful Brochis ambiacus (that still reads very unusual, doesn’t it?) from Colombia in our stock. We will report separately on the major renaming to Corydoras. The fish correspond very well to the concept that most Cory specialists currently have for B. ambiacus. But – and this should be mentioned at the end of this topic – when the numerous dotted species from the upper Amazon are revised, it is to be expected that there will be many a name change/new description.

The care of Brochis ambiacus is simple and corresponds in all basic features to the usual (shoaling, sandy soil in places, not only feeding waste, pH and hardness as usual for drinking water). Incidentally, our males are currently in a spawning mood, as you can clearly see from the sometimes extremely long pelvic fins. Breeding B. ambiacus is considered a challenge and has not often been successful – at least not reported. The maximum length of B. ambiacus is around 6 cm.

For our customers: Brochis ambiacus has code 221704 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The armored catfish (Callichthyidae) are a species-rich family that occurs exclusively in South America. There are two subfamilies, the callichthyid catfishes (Callichthyinae) and the corydoras-like armored catfishes (Corydoradinae). The latter are particularly species-rich.  Currently (June 2024), 231 species are considered to be described, 171 of which are generally recognized as valid; in addition, there are 159 C-numbers and 207 CW-numbers, most of which cannot be clearly assigned to any of the described species.

In a brand-new revision of all corydoradine armored catfishes (the callichthyid catfishes were not included), this large number was distributed among various genera. This had been expected for a long time and largely corresponds to what Corydoras friends all over the world think. 

In Corydoras only most of the long-snouted „saddle-snouted“ type remained. The type species is Corydoras geoffroy from Surinam, a species that has long been a mystery. You can find out more about C. geoffroy here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/10-catfishes/corydoras-geoffroy-4/. The following species are referred to as belonging to Corydoras in the revision: Corydoras acutus, Corydoras amapaensis, Corydoras areio, Corydoras aurofrenatus, Corydoras blochi, Corydoras caramater, Corydoras cervinus, Corydoras coriatae, Corydoras cortesi, Corydoras desana, Corydoras filamentosus, Corydoras fowleri, Corydoras fulleri, Corydoras geoffroy (type species), Corydoras maculifer, Corydoras narcissus, Corydoras negro, Corydoras ourastigma, Corydoras oxyrhynchus, Corydoras pastazensis, Corydoras saramaccensis, Corydoras sarareensis, Corydoras semiaquilus, Corydoras septentrionalis, Corydoras serratus, Corydoras simulatus, Corydoras solox, Corydoras spilurus, Corydoras stenocephalus, Corydoras treitlii, Corydoras vittatus and Corydoras zawadzkii.

Aspidoras basically remains the same. The authors list these species: Aspidoras albater, Aspidoras aldebaran, Aspidoras azaghal, Aspidoras belenos, Aspidoras brunneus, Aspidoras carvalhoi, Aspidoras depinnai, Aspidoras fuscoguttatus, Aspidoras gabrieli; Aspidoras kiriri, Aspidoras lakoi, Aspidoras maculosus, Aspidoras mephisto, Aspidoras poecilus, Aspidoras psammatides, Aspidoras raimundi, Aspidoras rochai (type species) and Aspidoras velites. The pauciradiatus, previously classified as Aspidoras, is missing here. Thus, the authors confirm the previously published revision of Aspidoras (Tencatt, L. F. C., Britto, M.R., Isbrücker, I.J.H. et al. (2022): Taxonomy of the armored catfish genus Aspidoras (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) revisited, with the description of a new species. Neotropical Ichthyology 20: e220040). Currently, pauciradiatus is listed in the genus Gastrodermus (see below) and the correct name combination is Gastrodermus pauciradiatus.

The bearded species from the south are still in Scleromystax. Not much has changed here either, except that Corydoras lacerdai has now also been formally transferred to Scleromystax. In practice, this has been the case for some time. And the transfer of the former Aspidoras virgulatus to Scleromystax has also been confirmed. These are the species: Scleromystax barbatus (type species), Scleromystax lacerdai, Scleromystax macropterus, Scleromystax prionotos, Scleromystax reisi, Scleromystax salmacis and Scleromystax virgulatus.

The elegans-like (including the dwarf armored catfish) were assigned to the old genus Gastrodermus, which was previously considered synonymous with Corydoras. Gastrodermus was established by Cope in 1878 for Corydoras elegans. Previously, this genus included only species that exhibited sexual dichromatism (i.e. sexually mature males and females differed in color) and often swam freely in the water. Currently, however, the genus is defined much more broadly, something that certainly still needs to be discussed. These are the species: Gastrodermus bilineatus, Gastrodermus elegans (type species), Gastrodermus gracilis, Gastrodermus guapore, Gastrodermus hastatus, Gastrodermus latus, Gastrodermus mamore, Gastrodermus nanus, Gastrodermus napoensis, Gastrodermus nijsseni, Gastrodermus paucerna, Gastrodermus pauciradiatus, Gastrodermus pygmaeus and Gastrodermus undulatus. I personally miss pantalanensis here, which was placed with Brochis by the authors.

An old name was also reactivated for the bronze corys: Osteogaster. Osteogaster was established by Cope in 1894 for Corydoras eques. The authors of the revision concede that this is probably a paraphyletic group that requires further work, especially as some important species could not be included in the analyses and the alpha taxonomy (i.e. the question of how many species there really are and how they can be distinguished from one another) is completely unclear, especially in the case of the true bronze corys. Until this can be investigated in more detail, the following species are included in Osteogaster: Osteogaster aeneus, Osteogaster eques (type species), Osteogaster hephaestus, Osteogaster maclurei, Osteogaster melanotaenia, Osteogaster rabauti and Osteogaster zygatus. In the discussion with the authors of the revision on Research Gate (a kind of Facebook for scientists), it is pointed out that the grammatical gender of Osteogaster is female. Accordingly, species names that are of adjectival origin must be adapted in gender. This concerns Osteogaster zygatus, which should therefore be called Osteogaster zygata. 

Up to this point, anyone who has studied these fish can probably follow. Now, however, it becomes quite debatable: a large number of species are included in a large genus Brochis with the emerald armored catfish! The former Corydoras agassizii is now also included here, along with closely related spotted species and a number of completely different species. This is at least intuitively incomprehensible. The classic concept of Brochis is based primarily on the long dorsal fin with considerably more rays than in all other Corydoradinae. This was previously (incomprehensibly to me) dismissed as irrelevant. Let’s see how this new concept of Brochis, which (among numerous other findings) is essentially based on the fact that the inner teeth of the pectoral fin spine are predominantly directed towards the body, will be accepted. These species are assigned to Brochis: Brochis agassizii, Brochis amandajanea, Brochis ambiacus, Brochis approuaguensis, Brochis arcuatus, Brochis bethanae, Brochis bifasciatus, Brochis britskii, Brochis brittoi, Brochis condiscipulus, Brochis costai, Brochis crimmeni, Brochis crypticus, Brochis delphax, Brochis deweyeri, Brochis difluviatilis, Brochis ephippifer, Brochis garbei, Brochis geryi, Brochis gomezi, Brochis haraldschultzi, Brochis heteromorphus, Brochis imitator, Brochis incolicana, Brochis isbrueckeri, Brochis lamberti, Brochis leopardus, Brochis multiradiatus, Brochis noelkempffi, Brochis ornatus, Brochis orphnopterus, Brochis pantanalensis, Brochis pinheiroi, Brochis pulcher, Brochis reticulatus, Brochis robineae, Brochis robustus, Brochis seussi, Brochis sodalis, Brochis spectabilis, Brochis splendens (type species), Brochis sychri and Brochis virginiae. To me, this Brochis group seems heterogeneous and most likely polyphyletic; it is mainly what we in the hobby call “long-snouted”. However, I would have preferred to see some of these animals (especially heteromorphus) in Corydoras s. str., but as I said, let’s wait and see.

The second “new” collective genus is Hoplisoma. This genus was also established early on for Corydoras punctatus (1838) but has so far been synonymized with Corydoras. In my opinion, Hoplisoma actually only includes the julii complex (copei, julii, punctatus, trilineatus etc.), but is defined much more broadly by the authors. Practically all so-called “round snouts” can be found here. These are the following species: Hoplisoma acrensis, Hoplisoma adolfoi, Hoplisoma albolineatus, Hoplisoma amphibelus, Hoplisoma apiaka, Hoplisoma araguaiaensis, Hoplisoma armatus, Hoplisoma atropersonatus, Hoplisoma axelrodi, Hoplisoma baderi, Hoplisoma benattii, Hoplisoma bicolor, Hoplisoma boehlkei, Hoplisoma boesemani, Hoplisoma bondi, Hoplisoma breei, Hoplisoma brevirostris, Hoplisoma burgessi, Hoplisoma carlae, Hoplisoma caudimaculatus, Hoplisoma cochui, Hoplisoma colossus, Hoplisoma concolor, Hoplisoma copei, Hoplisoma coppenamensis, Hoplisoma cruziensis, Hoplisoma davidsandsi, Hoplisoma diphyes, Hoplisoma duplicareus, Hoplisoma ehrhardti, Hoplisoma esperanzae, Hoplisoma evelynae, Hoplisoma eversi, Hoplisoma flaveolus, Hoplisoma froehlichi, Hoplisoma gladysae, Hoplisoma gossei, Hoplisoma granti, Hoplisoma griseus, Hoplisoma gryphus, Hoplisoma guianensis, Hoplisoma habrosus, Hoplisoma julii, Hoplisoma kanei, Hoplisoma knaacki, Hoplisoma lacrimostigmata, Hoplisoma leucomelas, Hoplisoma longipinnis, Hoplisoma loretoensis, Hoplisoma loxozonus, Hoplisoma lymnades, Hoplisoma melanistius, Hoplisoma melini, Hoplisoma metae, Hoplisoma micracanthus, Hoplisoma microcephalus, Hoplisoma multimaculatus, Hoplisoma nattereri, Hoplisoma oiapoquensis, Hoplisoma ortegai, Hoplisoma osteocarus, Hoplisoma paleatus, Hoplisoma panda, Hoplisoma paragua, Hoplisoma parallelus, Hoplisoma pavanelliae, Hoplisoma petracinii, Hoplisoma polystictus, Hoplisoma potaroensis, Hoplisoma punctatus (type species), Hoplisoma revelatus (only known in fossil form), Hoplisoma reynoldsi, Hoplisoma sanchesi, Hoplisoma schwartzi, Hoplisoma similis, Hoplisoma sipaliwini, Hoplisoma steindachneri, Hoplisoma sterbai, Hoplisoma surinamensis, Hoplisoma trilineatus, Hoplisoma tukano, Hoplisoma urucu, Hoplisoma weitzmani and Hoplisoma xinguensis.  In the discussion at Research Gate, Corydoras psamathos, C. hypnos and C. thanatos were also assigned to Hoplisoma by the authors; apparently an improved version is currently being worked on, a so-called Erratum, in which grammatical issues are also to be addressed.

Hoplisoma has similar issues to Brochis above. In my opinion, five or more different genera can easily be established in this group. But one must not be too impatient in such matters. Someone has to make a start, which has now been done, and there will undoubtedly be some fine-tuning in subsequent work over the next few years to examine and evaluate these points. This was the case with the former Cichlasoma, with the Barbus/Puntius relatives, with the Botia relatives etc. pp. and it will be the same here. In this respect: let’s start by relearning names, brain jogging keeps you young and fit and the Corydoradinae really do offer enough material for many a brain jogging exercise trail!

Literature:

Dias, A.C., Tencatt, L.F.C., Roxo, F.F., Silva, G.S.C., Santos, S.A., Britto, M.R., Taylor, M.I. & Oliveira, C. (2024): Phylogenomic analyses in the complex Neotropical subfamily Corydoradinae (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) with a new classification based on morphological and molecular data. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, zlae053, Published: 11 June 2024

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

We are once again able to offer fully grown Corydoras reticulatus from Peru. C. reticulatus can be easily distinguished from the similar species Corydoras sodalis (see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/10-catfishes/10a-catfishes-corydoras-co/corydoras-sodalis-2/) by the deep black spot on the dorsal fin.

The maximum length of C. reticulatus is around 6-7 cm in total, including the caudal fin. The species makes no special demands on care. Medium water values, temperatures in the range of 22-26°C and a sandy bottom, company of conspecifics: these are the key data for successful care. A special feature of this species are the extremely pointed fin spines of the dorsal and pectoral fins, which make it very easy for them to get tangled in the net. The risk is reduced (but by no means eliminated) if the nets used are as fine-meshed as possible. However, it is better to catch these animals with a large cup.

For our customers: the animals have code 243506 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Highly sought-after, large, magnificent and rarely on offer: this is Corydoras pantanalensis, which was given the code number C5 before its scientific description. For general information on the species, see here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/10-catfishes/corydoras-pantanalensis-2/

We are very pleased to be able to offer some offspring of this species in the 3-4 cm size. The fish were bred in Taiwan. 

For our customers: the fish have code 240612 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer