There is a saying: “The Internet forgets nothing”. This may be true, but books are even more durable, especially if errors have been printed in them. These are often so stubborn that one could almost despair. This is what happened to a very pretty armored catfish that occurs in huge numbers in the tri-border area of Peru-Colombia-Brazil, i.e. in the upper Amazon. Because it is so common, it was also brought to Europe early, to Germany in 1935, when it was misidentified as Corydoras punctatus (which is a completely different species that looks similar to C. julii), an error that was carried over into the most important identification book on exotic ornamental fishes at the time, the “Arnold-Ahl”, in 1936. Since then, this error has apparently stuck, and exporters still send this species (and some close relatives that look very similar) under this misnomer. In reality it is a species from the close relationship of C. agassizii and C. ambiacus. Since this group of species is scientifically very poorly researched, nothing can be said for sure, but it is very probable that this particular Corydoras is scientifically still undescribed and best named Corydoras sp. aff. agassizii.
The species is, as already mentioned, widespread in the entire upper Amazonas drainage up to at least Manaus in Brazil and appears here in huge swarms. A particularly nice variety comes from the Rio Nanay in Peru, which we currently have in stock. The Rio Nanay is a left bank Amazon tributary and about 450 km long. It is considered a blackwater river. Concerning the water values and the care Corydoras “punctatus” Nanay is however everything else than demanding. Only breeding has not been successful yet, which is probably due to the fact that the animals spawn at night and are strong spawn predators, which is why the egg blessing has already landed in the stomach of the parents before the breeder notices anything.
For our customers: the fish have code 242053 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
We received a limited number of this extraordinary Corydoras from Colombia. The overall appearance is very much alike Corydoras brevirostris (formerly known as Corydoras melanistius brevirostris), but CW 27 has a much much higher dorsal fin and the “glowspot” on the nape is much brighter.
For our customers: the animals have code 224954 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Because of its bright yellow fins Corydoras melanotaenia surely belongs to the most beautiful armored catfishes at all. It is, so to speak, the long snout to the bronze cory type, which can be found throughout South America. In contrast to its ubiquitous cousin, C. melanotaenia is an endemic of Colombia, i.e. it occurs exclusively there.
The origin of C. melanotaenia, which was already scientifically described in 1912, was unclear for a long time. It is said that the animals on which the first description was based were caught in the Rio Magdalena basin, where later expeditions searched for them in vain. Already in 1922 it was assumed that the type specimens were sent to London via Honda (this place is located at the Rio Magdalena), but in reality they came from the Rio Meta basin. In fact, to date, not a single species of Corydoras has been reported from the Rio Magdalena and it is generally agreed that C. melanotaenia comes from the Rio Meta basin.
This Corydoras grows to about 5 cm and has all the positive characteristics that make Corydoras so popular in the aquarium: a lively and completely peaceful nature and uncomplicated keeping.
For our customers: C. melanotaenia has code 235503 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Corydoras leucomelas belongs to the frequently imported species of its genus. Typical characteristics of the round-nosed species are a strongly pronounced eye band, the coloration of the dorsal fin in connection with the black dorsal spot located at the beginning of the dorsal fin, a vertical black band at the end of the caudal peduncle and the stripes of the caudal fin. The body markings, on the other hand, are so varied in animals up to about 4 cm in length that each individual can be recognized individually by them; only fully grown fish develop a uniform pattern of black spots. The maximum size of the species is 5 – 5.5 cm.
Main export region of Corydoras leucomelas is Peru, where is also the type locality (i.e. the place where the type specimen used for the scientific description of the species was collected): Yarina Cocha. However, C. leucomelas is quite widespread in the upper Amazon watershed, eg in Colombia (Rio Orteguaza) , Bolivia and Ecuador. The species looks especially pretty when kept in a shoal of 10-15 specimens. The swarm cohesion of C. leucomelas is much more pronounced than in many other armored catfishes and thus often results in the very beautiful picture of such a troop foraging through the aquarium.
For our customers: the animals have code 233503 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This Corydoras belongs to the most attractive and at the same time easy to keep species of the large genus Corydoras. One should only consider that C. loxozonus – it originates from the Orinoco and its tributaries – likes it warm; below 24°C the temperature of the water should not sink in the long run.
At present we can offer beautiful wild catches. Among them there are always specimens with different coloration, which in the past led to confusion with other species. Today we know that C. loxozonus can be very variable in coloration. Thus, according to current knowledge, even such completely different looking animals as C82 and C83 belong to this species.
For our customers: Corydoras loxozonus has code 233703 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
The changed export regulations in Brazil, which have been valid for some time, have now made it possible to import Corydoras narcissus again after a long time.
Corydoras narcissus is a beautiful, relatively large armored catfish. The maximum length is given with 10 cm. The species comes from Brazil, more precisely from the drainage of the Rio Purus. Like all saddlenosed Corydoras, C. narcissus is less gregarious than other Corydoras. Breeding requires large aquariums. When breeding approaches, it should be noted that many saddlenoses can become very aggressive towards each other when in a mating mood; breeders have even reported deaths. In “normal” care, however, such a thing does not happen!
The unusual name was given to the beautiful and otherwise very peaceful fish because the collectors who gave the animals to the first describers suggested to them that they should name the new species in their (the collectors’) honor. However, the first descriptors did not want to put up with this impudent encroachment on the freedom of science and therefore named the armored catfish after the Greek demigod Narciss, who fell in love with his own reflection and whose name has since been synonymous with self-indulgence.
From Peru comes a second, similar species that has only recently (2021) been scientifically described: Corydoras bethanae. In the hobby, it has therefore been referred to as C. narcissus II or CW6, while the actual species has been referred to as C. narcissus I. This is somewhat misleading, as the two species are not particularly closely related and may even be placed in different genera once Corydoras are scientifically revised. Corydoras bethanae is a longnose, does not grow quite as large, is more flesh colored (unlike the whitish C. narcissus), has a transparent dorsal fin spine (black in C. narcissus), and the dorsal band ends at the eye (runs across the snout in C. narcissus).
Therefore, one can easily tell the two species apart even without knowing their origin.
For our customers: Corydoras narcissus has code 237104, C. bethanae 237204 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
There are still Corydoras species which are imported so rarely and in such small numbers that they belong to the unfulfilled dreams of armored catfish lovers. One of the most attractive species of this group is certainly the “Tukano Longnose”, as it was first named, then it received the code CW011 and finally the species was scientifically described as Corydoras desana.
Of course these animals are not rare in the real sense of the word in nature, but they live individually and are very shy, so that in a period of time, when you can catch thousands of Corydoras tukano, only one or two specimens of the Longnose go into the net.
For our customers: the animals have code 245635 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The species name pulcher means “the beautiful one”. And that actually says it all. We can currently offer this really beautiful armored catfish, which, along with a whole range of species with which it can easily be confused, comes from the Rio Purus drainage in Brazil.
Corydoras pulcher grows to about 6-7 cm in length. It is distinguished from similarly colored species by the combination of a long, pointed snout and cream-colored dorsal and pectoral fin spines. One should beware of being stung by these spines, it hurts a lot. But the peaceful armored catfish would never actively use their spines to attack.
For our customers: the animals have code 241704 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
In the last years we reported more often about Corydoras imports, which are similar to Corydoras armatus (= sp. aff. armatus or cf. armatus), but not identical. Now we received again the “real” C. armatus from Peru. The enormously high dorsal fin is really an eye-catcher. In addition it is always carried tautly upright, which reminds involuntarily of a group of dwarfs with a pointed cap.
The care of C. armatus, which grows to about 5-6 cm long, is the same as for other armored catfishes, but there are two special features. Firstly, C. armatus is one of the most social Corydoras and should therefore be kept in groups of 5 or more. Single animals do not feel well! And second, this species is somewhat sensitive to high water temperatures. The range between 22 and 26°C is correct, but for most of the year the lower value should be used as a guideline.
For our customers: the animals have code 222105 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Currently we have beautiful CW 51 in different sizes in the stock. The extension of the saddle patch towards the belly edge is individually quite different. In some specimens the saddle patch actually extends to the belly edge, in others only just to the middle of the body.
For our customers: the animals have code 240183 (lg) and 240184 (lg-xlg) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Widespread species often show coloration differences in the different parts of the distribution area. So also the beautiful Corydoras sodalis, which is reported from Peru, Brazil and Colombia. From Colombia we could now import C. sodalis, which differ quite clearly in color and figure from e.g. animals imported from Brazil (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras-sodalis-2/).
For our customers: the fish have code 246705 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This Corydoras belongs with 9-11 cm of total-length to the biggest and most splendid species of the genus at all. Both sexes develop, when they are sexually active, long dorsal fins. The males can be recognized by the additional long ventral fins.
Corydoras armatus is a rather distinctive cory from Peru. We have also received this beautiful species, which is notable for its particularly high dorsal fin, from Venezuela from time to time (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/corydoras_armatus_venezuela_de/). Geographically this all fits together well, the catching regions both belong to the upper drainage of the Amazon.
However, there is a sibling species of Corydoras armatus from Brazil. It inhabits the Rio Abuna in the border area between Brazil and Bolivia. The Brazilian was given the invalid trade names “Corydoras dorsalis” and “Corydoras ogawae”, freely invented names without scientific meaning. In addition, the form received the number CW86.
The Brazilian lookalike is hardly distinguishable from the “real” Corydoras armatus. However, there are about 2,500 km as the crow flies between the Rio Huallaga (the type locality of C. armatus) and the Rio Abuna! Additionally CW86 has somewhat coarser spots than its cousins.
We have now after a long time again this beautiful armored catfish imported.
For our customers: CW86 has code 222113 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
One of the most important arguments for importing wild-caught fish for aquaristics is the gain in knowledge it allows. For the majority of small fish species this is only possible by observing living specimens. Without this there is no species knowledge, without species knowledge there is no species conservation.
A wonderful example of the above is the Corydoras, which we received from Brazil a few weeks ago under the name Corydoras davidsandsi. It seemed to us a bit too high-backed and pointy-nosed for C. davidsandsi, but because they are particularly large animals and we had no better name to offer in a hurry, we let it go for the time being.
In the meantime, however, we did further research and came to surprising results. Since the 1980s a very beautiful armored catfish is imported from Colombia, which several scientists identified in scientific studies as Corydoras melini. This Colombian is a round-nosed armored catfish with a black eye band; a broad black dorsal band begins below the dorsal fin and runs down the root of the tail to the lower base of the caudal fin and continues along the lower edge of the caudal fin. We will refer to this color pattern as the “Melini pattern” in the following text.
Nowadays we have learned that there are several developmental lineages in armored catfishes that differ in terms of head shape (and thus food acquisition). Very often there are round-, long- and saddle-snouts with almost identical color pattern, without these species being more closely related to each other; in addition, there are twin species with the same head shape, which, however, occur in spatially far apart areas, therefore at least represent different populations and are usually distinguished by details of coloration. And to make it even more complicated: the head or snout shape is also subject to a certain variation within a population and also changes in the course of individual development (ontogenesis). For example, a very young long snout is recognizable as such only to very experienced specialists, and the relative length of the snout increases considerably during growth.
The examination of the first scientific description of Corydoras melini showed that it is clearly a longnose, even if the animals on which the description was based were still relatively small. They were collected in 1924 in the Rio Uaupes in the border area between Brazil and Colombia by D. Melini, in whose honor the species was named at the first description by Lönnberg and Rendahl. Rendahl was not only a zoologist but also a recognized artist and made a detailed drawing of the largest, 44.4 mm (without caudal fin) long animal, which Nijssen & Isbrücker declared to be the lectotype in 1980 (thus it is the reference specimen for all subsequent determinations). Because this work is not so readily available, we reproduce the drawing here for comparison purposes.
An easily recognizable difference between the “false” C. melini from Colombia and the “true” C. melini from the Rio Uaupes (in Colombia the same river is called Vaupes) is the coloration of the dorsal fin. The “false” C. melini has a black triangle in the dorsal fin that extends from the tip of the dorsal fin spine to the posterior lower end of this fin. The dorsal fin triangle is merged in color with the dorsal band. In the “true” C. melini, however, the dorsal fin is transparent and only in the lower, dorsal region is there a flat, black rectangle that is also connected to the dorsal band. Further coloration differences are easily seen in the attached photos. By the way, according to Castro (1987) the “false” C. melini occurs in the Rio Guaviare (Colombia, Orinoco drainage) and in the Rio Caqueta (Amazonian drainage in Colombia, in Brazil the same river is called Japurá).
The following longnose with “melini pattern” and the coloration of the “true” C. melini are currently known: C52 (Peru), C85 (Peru), C138 (Peru), C159 (Brazil: Rio Purus), CW89 (Colombia, Rio Vaupes), CW106 (Colombia, Rio Cuduyaria, a tributary of Rio Vaupes). Of these, ours, sent as C. davidsandsi, correspond best to C159 and from our point of view CW89 is the fish closest to the first description of C. melini.
Finally, a word about C. davidsandsi: this species occurs in the Rio Negro drainage (Rio Unini) in Brazil and has the “melini pattern”, but the nuchal shield between the eye patch and the dorsal fin base is colored pale orange-red, which places it more in the relationship of Corydoras adolfoi, C. burgessi, C. imitator and similar species.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
Literature cited:
Castro, D. M. (1987): The fresh-water fishes of the genus Corydoras from Colombia, including two new species (Pisces, Siluriformes, Callichthyidae). Boletin Ecotrópica. No. 16: 23-57, Pls. 1-11.
Lönnberg, E. & H. Rendahl (1930): Eine neue Art der Gattung Corydoras. Arkiv för Zoologi v. 22 A (no. 5): 1-6.
Nijssen, H. & I. J. H. Isbrücker (1980): A review of the genus Corydoras Lacépède, 1803 (Pisces, Siluriformes, Callichthyidae). Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde v. 50 (no. 1): 190-220.
For a long time this fish, the type species of the genus Corydoras, was a mystery. Until today it is a top rarity among the armored catfishes. And so we are especially pleased to be able to offer offspring of this precious fish once again. The animals are still a bit inconspicuous, so we would like to thank Ernst-Otto von Drachenfels and Jürgen Glaser for providing us with some pictures of adult animals!
Corydoras geoffroy comes from the Guyana countries Suriname and French Guyana, from where there are no ornamental fish exports. The species, described as early as 1803, could therefore only be made available to the hobby by adventurous traveling aquarists. Since 2018, Corydoras specialists have been successfully engaged in breeding these unusual animals.
For our customers: the fish have code 230212 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Text: Frank Schäfer, Photos: Ernst-Otto von Drachenfels, Jürgen Glaser and Frank Schäfer
The beautiful Corydoras undulatus belongs to the relationship of C. elegans. Like most representatives of this group the species swims rather in free water than on the ground. Also typical for the group is that males and females differ clearly in color. In the case of C. undulatus the males become very dark with bright points.
Corydoras undulatus comes to us from Paraguay and grows 5-6 cm long. The species has some siblings: C88 from the Mato Grosso in Brazil is very similar and also C. bilineatus from Bolivia is a species that can be easily confused with C. undulatus.
For our customers: the fish have code 248004 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The changed legal situation in Brazil now makes the import of several species from the south of Brazil possible again, which for many years were only available as offspring, among them the magnificent Scleromystax barbatus (formerly Corydoras b.). We have been able to import a good number of wonderful, fully grown specimens. For more information on the species, please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/scleromystax-barbatus/
The sexes are extremely differently marked in S. barbatus; the easiest way to go is by the light-colored forehead blaze, which only the male shows. By the way, the „Banded Coryoras“ is one of the very few species among the typical armored catfishes, which show rudimentary brood care. The male defends the spawning ground for some time.
For our customers: the fish have code 224006 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The very nice Corydoras eversi lives in the Araguaia drainage (Brazil) and became known as C 65. It was only scientifically described in 2016. The scientific treatment of C. eversi is based on a collection by Hans-Georg Evers in 1998, who was also able to bring living animals with him. As mentioned, they were initially assigned the number C65.
The species is present in aquaristics since its first import by conservation breeding – a nice example that conservation breeding is also possible by hobby aquaristics. Also our fish, which we can offer just now, are offsprings. C. eversi is very similar to C. araguiaensis from the same distribution area and differs – apart from color details, especially the golden yellow shimmer – by a structure in the cranial skeleton.
For our customers: the animals have code 229575 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From the Brazilian state of Amazonas, more precisely from the surroundings of the city of Anori, we once again received a good number of a beautiful armored catfish, which is known to science for a long time, but rarely appears aquaristically: Corydoras eques.
This typical schooling Corydoras looks most attractive when kept in black water. The bright orange neck banding undoubtedly serves to keep the swarm together when underwater visibility is poor. C. eques becomes about 6 cm long.
For our customers: the animals have code 227814 on our stocklist.Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Corydoras loxozonus belongs to the beautiful armored catfishes, which we receive relatively regularly from Colombia. The species is quite variable in pattern and therefore has already received the C-numbers C79 and C83. There was never any “proof” that these C-numbers really belong to the species C. loxozonus; this was only concluded from the fact that these unusually patterned C-numbers were always imported together with C. loxozonus.
We just received pretty Corydoras loxozonus and between them was a longnose with amazingly similar coloration. This longnose has so far not been described scientifically nor in the hobby, in the hobby an extremely similar species has the code number C16. C16 in turn has always been imported as a bycatch of another Colombian species, namely C. melini. C. melini is clearly more high-backed than C. loxozonus and originates from the Rio Uaupes (= Rio Vaupes), which belongs to the Amazon River system, whereas C. loxozonus originates from the Rio Meta, an Orinoco tributary. Therefore, the C16-like bycatch to C. loxozonus is probably not a C16, but another undescribed species! Unfortunately, this animal is not expected to ever enter the trade in larger numbers.
However, this example shows once again that it is worth to have a closer look also at “common” species. They also hold many a surprise!
For our customers: Corydoras loxozonus has code 233703 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesaler.
This well known, but still beautiful Corydoras originates from the Rio Purus system in Brazil. It was named in honor of the exporter Willy Schwartz. In Corydoras schwartzi, which belongs to the stocky, round-headed members of the genus, the dorsal fin is marked very slightly differently in each animal, the coloration of the spine ranges from bright white-cream to gray; there are sometimes spots on the membranes. Usually Corydoras schwartzi has a widened black spot just below the dorsal fin, also its size and shape varies individually.
C. schwartzi grows to a length of about 5 cm and is a typical corydoras in terms of care, so it wants to be kept in a group, likes fine sand as substrate in places and eats any ornamental fish food. Because of their origin they like it warm (26-30°C), therefore they fit well as bottom fish in aquariums with Discus fish.
For our customers: the animals have code 244503 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
The beautiful Corydoras elegans is widely distributed in the Amazon region and locally forms numerous color forms. Possibly all these variants are even independent species, but scientifically this has not been investigated yet. A color variant from the Rio Nanay in Peru stands out above all by yellow-orange tinted fins. Some males (they have higher dorsal fins with dark bands) have even strongly orange colored dorsal fins, but only in old age and our animals are still quite young. Anyway, this Rio Nanay variant has been given the code number C123 to facilitate communication among enthusiasts.
Apart from the pretty fin coloration, C123 is a typical Corydoras elegans. The fish are very social and peaceful, swimming in open water more often than most other Corydoras. The maximum length is about 5-6 cm.
For our customers: the fish have code 229102 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Only very rarely we receive wild collected Corydoras paleatus. Imports of this species, which is widespread in southern South America, didn´t appear for more than 10 years, because many export stations in southern Brazil had to close down when some of the most important ornamental fishes of the region were forgotten on the Brazilian positive list, which regulated which species could be caught and exported as ornamental fish. Now a negative list is in effect, meaning that all species may again be caught and exported unless they are specially protected.
This veteran among the aquarium fishes was already bred in 1878 by the Parisian aquarium pioneer Pierre Carbonnier, outside France the species is available since 1893. Since then there have always been offspring and also various breeding forms (long-finned, albino etc.) are always available in the trade.
For our customers: the wild caught species have code 239553 (lg) and 239554 (xlg) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From Colombia we received a nice Corydoras species, which threw us into some confusion during identification. They were sent as C. armatus, a species described from the Rio Huallaga, a right-bank tributary of the Rio Maranon (the larger of the two headwaters of the Amazon) in Peru. C. armatus is a conspicuously high-backed species with a black, particularly elongate dorsal-fin spine, and is one of the first species of Corydoras ever known to science. The species was described in 1868 as Callichthys armatus.
In the hobby, a scientifically undescribed species from Peru was initially thought to be C. armatus, which today bears the C number 96 and has a conspicuous dark stripe running vertically below the dorsal fin. In addition, this species has a distinctive eye mask. It originates from the Rio Nanay.
There is also a very close resemblance to Corydoras loretoensis, which is less high-backed compared to C. armatus. C. loretoensis comes from the province of Loreto in Peru.
Finally, in the border area of Brazil and Bolivia, in the upper Rio Madeira basin (Rio Abuna), there is a Corydoras optically not separable from C. armatus, which is traded as C. sp. “dorsalis” or C. sp. “ogawae”. If there were not 2.500 km air-line between both localities, nobody would doubt that the animals should be counted to C. armatus. This fish got the code CW86.
Also the Corydoras armatus, which we sometimes receive from Venezuela, are optically indistinguishable from typical specimens from the Rio Huallaga.
Also very similar is Corydoras osteocarus from Venezuela, which is very rare in the trade. It can be recognized quite well by the short dark band immediately in front of the caudal fin and the much lower dorsal fin.
Back to the Colombian: these animals are in their physique rather of the flat type and we suspected at first, it would be C. loretoensis, which the Colombian supplier had bought in Peru. This was indignantly rejected by the supplier and in the two days of correspondence with the supplier some of the animals also developed a black coloration in the dorsal fin spine which was not seen before. In fact, they now look more like C. armatus than any other species in the complex. We have learned that they originate from the Rio Putumayo, a left-sided Amazon tributary in the border region between Colombia and Brazil.
For our customers: the animals have code 222124 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Corydoras reynoldsi is a pretty cory catfish that has been described in 1960. It was collected in the Caquetà province, eastern Colombia. It remained unknown in the hobby quite long, as this area is far away from the usual collecting areas. In 1997 the cory enthusiasts became aware of another, quite similar species of Corydoras that was exported from Brazil. Although the species looked very much like Corydoras reynoldsi, there were also many differences. So the new fish was called Corydoras sp. aff. reynoldsi (= similar species to reynoldsi). Another usual trade name was Corydoras „Asher“ after the exporter. Only 2004 the real Corydoras reynoldsi appeared in the hobby. Now it was clear that we were dealing with two different species. The “Asher“ in the meantime (2003) had been scientifically described as Corydoras tukano. Its natural distribution is the Rio Tique in Brazil, which is a tributary of the Rio Negro basin.
Both Corydoras species are really nice and stay relative small. They hardly reach 5 cm. However, they should be kept by experienced aquarists only, as they are rather delicate and easily get bacterial infections. It is necessary to keep them at high temperatures (26-28°C), and soft and acidic water.
For our customers: Corydoras tukano has code 245622, Corydoras reynoldsi 243603 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
This beautiful Corydoras belongs to a scientifically undescribed species. It originates from the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. Because of the bright orange neck spot it is usually misidentified as Corydoras burgessi, which also comes from this region, especially as C. burgessi has a very variable pattern and there are also spotted colour variants of this species. Overall, CW 98 reminds us more of C. brevirostris from the Orinoco drainage.
For our customers: the animals have code 225043 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Just as L-numbers are assigned for undetermined loricariids, C- and CW-numbers are assigned for undetermined Corydoras. One of the first species to receive such a number was Corydoras parallelus, which was assigned the number C2 in 1993. In the same year Burgess described it as C. parallelus.
The species originates from the upper Rio Negro and never came frequently to Europe, mostly as by-catch to Corydoras schwartzi and C. incolicana. The exporters called him C. “Perreira II”. Why the species is so rarely caught is unknown. It can be bred quite well, but never in large numbers, so that usually the offspring go directly from aquarist to aquarist and never appear in the general trade.
We have now received magnificent XXL-Corydoras from Brazil that almost exactly match the colours of Corydoras parallelus, but actually come from the Rio Jamanxim, a tributary of the Tapajós. These animals are still scientifically undescribed and were given the code number CW127 by Ian Fuller. It is the round snouted sibling species of the Corydoras bifasciatus from the same area, a long snouted species that is currently not available in significant numbers in the hobby.
This is for sure: CW127 are really gorgeous fish!
For our customers: the animals have code 240254 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
The armored catfishes of the closer relationship around Corydoras elegans belong to the most interesting species of this huge genus. They do not live as strongly bottom-bound as most other armored catfishes and are very nicely colored. Males and females differ relatively clearly in coloration. However, it is not easy to provide a color description of these extremely variable colored animals because coloration changes with sexual activity. Animals ready to spawn are the most colorful and contrasting in coloration, the males also more intense than the females. Outside the spawning period the color intensity decreases.
Corydoras fowleri from Peru becomes 6-8 cm long and certainly belongs to the most beautiful Corydoras at all. Nevertheless, the species is only rarely bred, because the eggs are relatively small and the fish – despite their size – relatively unproductive. Therefore we are especially pleased to be able to offer wonderful German bred ones now.
Now the season for the very beautiful and much beloved orange blotch corys has started. There does exist a good number of different species and varieties, all have in common a brightly shining spot on the neck. Depending on light this glows from yellow to almosr red. This glowing spot helps the fish in the black waters of their homeland to stay together in a school.
In the past years it was often difficult for us to obtain Corydoras burgessi. Most often varieties reached us, for example spotted ones that were not as popular as the plain varieties among many of our customers. But now – finally – the pure stuff is available agian!
For our customers: the fish have code 225104 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
We received very nice, fully grown specimens of this only very rarely available species from Peru. This species of Corydoras is very variable in respect of the pattern. However, we think the darkest animals are the males.
For our customers: the fish have code 225215 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
From the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, more precisely from the upper Rio Guaporé, comes the pretty Corydoras caudimaculatus, which reaches 5-6 cm in length. C. caudimaculatus is the most round-nosed and high-backed species of the “tail-spotted armored catfish”, which all have a similar pattern, but without being closely related to each other. The evolutionary advantage of the similar pattern is that fish-eaters – birds, snakes, predatory fish, etc. – who have once tried such a spiny, armored fish, will avoid it in the future, because it scratches the throat considerably. This is how this colour similarity, which is often found in Corydoras catfish, occurs between different species living in the same area.
Corydoras caudimaculatus is a much sought-after species, which unfortunately can only occasionally be found on export lists. However, it is also easy to breed; many enthusiasts report that this species needs comparatively high water temperatures (26-28°C) to feel comfortable in the long term. Cooler kept animals are often shy and nervous.
For our customers: the animals have code 225604 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
For the first time, we have this beautiful Corydoras, that was described already 1903 from Paraguay, as bred ones in stock. However, there is no possibility to distinguish the Corydoras aurofrenatus from C. ellisae, which was also described from Paraguay in 1940.
Therefore both species were synonymised by Axenrot and Kullander in 2003, the name C. aurofrenatus is older and therefore valid. According to this we know Corydoras aurofrenatus quite well in our hobby, because C. ellisae is a quite popular and well breedable Corydoras catfish, which we can also import from time to time (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras_ellisae_en/).
For our customers: the animals have code 223002 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Sometimes it is coincidence that determines whether a fish species can establish itself in the hobby. In the case of this Corydoras sp. Peru, a Corydoras fan noticed the fish when visiting a wholesaler; they were so-called by-catches that had been sorted out. Unfortunately, the wholesaler could not remember exactly where the animals originally came from, but believes it was Peru. The Corydoras fan took the fish with him and was able to breed them. So they first spread among Corydoras specialists. We have now received offspring from one of these specialists.
This Corydoras species does not really fit to any species known so far. It has a lot of similarity to C115/C116 (also from Peru), but the horizontal stripe on the middle of the tail, which is so typical for C115/C116, is missing.
Corydoras sp. Peru is in any case a very beautiful Corydoras catfish, which can be predicted to have a long aquaristic career because of its easy breeding.
For our customers: the animals have code 245548 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
There are three beautiful, very closely related, small (4-5 cm) armored catfish species on the Guyana Shield in South America, which look so similar to each other that they have already been seen as synonymous with each other in the past: Corydoras bondi, C. coppenamensis and C. sipaliwini. However, most lovers of Corydoras share the current view of the scientists working on them that these are three good, valid species. Nevertheless, their determination is a tricky matter.
Fortunately, the determination of the Corydoras sipaliwini, which we currently have as a top rarity in stock, was easy for us, because they are offspring of the world-famous catfish specialist Ingo Seidel and if he does not know the name of his fish, who does? Originally the species comes from Surinam, where it was first collected in the Sipaliwini River.
For our customers: the animals have code 245832 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Again and again we receive imports of Corydoras from the upper Rio Negro area, which differ in details from the well known Corydoras adolfoi, C. duplicareus, C. imitator, C. serratus & Co. It is difficult to classify them in such cases. Are these only colour variations that occur in large numbers somewhere? Are they geographically isolated populations? Or are they simply sorted out from the above mentioned species that occasionally occur in large numbers and thus give the impression that they are something independent? As a rule, we cannot decide that.
In the case of C140, things are such that these long-nosed animals, which fall into the variance of C. imitator except for the red spot behind the gill cover, have been appearing once and again for years. This is also the case now; by the way, the red spot is not always equally visible in every individual. It is not a red coloured zone, but an unpigmented spot through which the blood vessels shimmer.
For our customers: the animals have code 232305 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
216 scientifically described Corydoras species, of which 163 are generally accepted as valid (this number is, of course, constantly changing, as of March 2020), 159 C-numbers and 160 CW-numbers: one should think that gradually all Corydoras are sufficiently known. But there are still several species which are known only because of their scientific description and which are difficult to assign to living imported specimens.
One of these species is Corydoras orphnopterus which has been described in 1970. This long-nosed Corydoras catfish has the following unique combination of colour characteristics: it has a dark eye mask, a black spot in the dorsal fin, which is most intense at the front edge of the centre of the fin, a pattern of relatively small dots, which form three parallel lines on the caudal peduncle in the middle of the body, in the space between which the basic colour of the body – whitish – is lighter than on the rest of the body, resulting in two light bands and a pattern of approximately 6-7 thin bands in the caudal fin, which are dissolved into individual spots. C. orphnopterus has been described on the basis of three specimens collected by an unknown collector at an undocumented time in Ecuador (at the lower Rio Bobonaza between Montalvo (2°06’S, 76°59’W) and Chicherota (2°22’S, 76°38’W, province of Pastaza). The Rio Bobonaza belongs to the catchment area of the Rio Pastaza, which in turn flows into the Amazon in Peru.
For some years now, Corydoras orphnopterus from Peru has been offered, although comparatively rarely and at relatively high prices. Initially, the location where these animals were found was not known. For this reason, and because details of the colour pattern were coarser than in the holotype of C. orphnopterus, and because literally nothing is known about the colour variance of C. orphnopterus, these animals were called CW58 in the hobby as a precaution.
Now we succeeded in importing 40 specimens of this form. The exporter gave us the Rio Tigre as the collecting place. This river originates in Ecuador, also in the province of Pastaza, and flows into the Amazon in Peru. Our current import shows the large individual range of colour patterns typical for long-nosed corys. You can recognize each individual by its pattern of drawings. Among our animals there are some that correspond almost in every detail to the holotype of C. orphnopterus, as well as roughly patterned specimens of type CW58. In between there are all conceivable transitions. From the similar, also highly variable Corydoras leopardus, C. orphnopterus and CW58 are always distinguished by the dark eye-band, which is missing in C. leopardus.
Taking all the facts together, CW58 is a variant of Corydoras orphnopterus originating from the Rio Tigre according to current knowledge. There are still some doubts, because there are still no known living specimens from the Rio Bobonazo, but all in all it can be said that thanks to aquarium science a white spot on the map of knowledge about Corydoras could be filled with content.
For our customers: C. cf. orphnopterus from em Rio Tigre has code 238205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
For the first time ever we have received a very attractive Corydoras (called „Moriocha“) from Peru (unfortunately not more details), which looks very similar to Corydoras atropersonatus (this species also comes from Peru – Rio Nanay basin – and we have received this at the same time), but is even more attractive.
Corydoras atropersonatus has been described by specimens from Ecuador (Rio Tigre basin). These show a few spots in the dorsal fin, which are located on the fin rays. The remaining fins show no spots. The muzzle is not dotted.
The C. atropersonatus (Rio Nanay) imported from Peru since years have no spots in the fins or on the muzzle.
The now imported “Morocha” (unknown catching place) have distinct spots in the dorsal fin, often on the fin rays, but also on the fin membranes, some animals have spots in the caudal fin and all have clearly dotted muzzles. In “Morocha” the spots on the body are also particularly numerous and contrasting.
For our customers: Corydoras cf. atropersonatus “Morocha” have code 222513 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
This Corydoras belongs with 9-10 cm of total-length to the biggest and most splendid species of the genus at all. Both sexes develop, when they are sexually active, long dorsal fins. The males can be recognized by the additional long ventral fins. At the moment we have wonderful, fully grown, well settled animals in stock. More photos of sexually active animals can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras_robustus_en/.
For our customers: the fish have code 244106 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
The high number of varierties of Corydoras in the upper Rio Negro is very confusing and even Corydoras experts in some cases have great difficulty in addressing the very similar species. A controversial species from the beginning is Corydoras crypticus, which was described together with C. amandajanea in 1995. The main difference between C. crypticus and this species is the shorter body and the lack of spots.
Recently we have received one of the very rare consignments of C. crypticus. On closer inspection, two types of different appearance can be distinguished, namely saddle-nosed, slightly slimmer fish and long-snouted, slightly higher-backed animals. The research revealed that the latter were recently assigned the CW number 157. However, the differentiation between CW 157 and C. crypticus is tricky and rather a matter of feeling, as we had to find out during sorting.
For our customers: Corydoras crypticus has code 226604, CW 157 code 226634 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
One of the most coveted Corydoras is the saddle-nosed Corydoras serratus from the upper Rio Negro area in Brazil. Because the saddle-nosed Corydoras are rather loners in contrast to the long- and round-nosed Corydoras, they cannot be collected in larger numbers. This and the fact that these fish were sometimes paid incredible prices in Japan made them top rarities in the ornamental fish market for a long time.
There are some breeders of these beautiful fish. It is interesting to note that the offspring are quite different in colour. Although the breeder breeds exclusively with animals that visually correspond to the ideal of C. serratus (with a broad dorsal bandage from the base of the dorsal fin to the tail), there are also specimens among their offspring that have a vertical strip under the dorsal fin instead of a continuous dorsal bandage.
Such a variance has also been observed in wild catches, but the uncertainty remained as to whether these were not other, closely related species. This question could be clarified clearly by the offspring.
We have now once again received fully grown wild catches of this beautiful catfish. They show the already mentioned variance in colouring, but most of them have the wide and long back strip.
For our customers: the animals have code 245614 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
There are several species of Corydoras, which even pronounced specialists are not able to distinguish. In such cases it might be useful to speak of species groups instead of species. One such example is the species group around Corydoras elegans in the narrower sense, which includes C. elegans, C. napoensis, C. nanus and several C- and CW-numbers. What they all have in common is that the males and females are completely different in colour during the breeding season. In addition, these species swim more frequently in open water than other Corydoras.
In wild catches, a distinction is usually made between Corydoras elegans (widespread in Amazonia), in which the sexually active males have bands in the dorsal fin, and C. napoensis (Peru, Rio Napo), in which the sexually active males have a black dot in the dorsal fin; there are usually no imports from the distribution area of C. nanus (Suriname) and the various C- and CW-numbers. Based on the characteristic of the dorsal fin coloration, the beautiful Corydoras we have currently in our stock from Peru are C. elegans.
For our customers: the animals have code 229054 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
We currently have two rarely available species of Corydoras in stock, which look very similar to each other: Corydoras polystictus and C. albolineatus. The former has a wide distribution in southern South America, while the latter was discovered comparatively late and described from the Rio Itanez in Bolivia. However, our specimens come from the Brazilian side of the same river called Rio Guaporé in Brazil. The only well recognizable difference between C. polystictus and C. albolineatus lies in the whitish, vertical line below the dorsal fin in C. albolineatus, to which the name also refers (albus: white, lineatus: striped).
Coryd
Both types reach approximately 4,5 cm of length, are very pretty and peaceful fish, that one should not care too warmly (22-24°C, occasionally calmly also somewhat cooler).
For our customers: C. polystictus has code 241002, C. albolineatus code 221533 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
Such a pretty little fish and such an ugly confusion about the name! Corys, which look like the bronze cory, Corydoras aeneus, appear in whole South America. However, these are certainly different species, there is general agreement. Only – how to name them correctly? Whether the cory, which is currently called Corydoras venezuelanus “Orange” in hobby and trade, really represents this species is more than questionable. Because C. venezuelanus was scientifically described in 1911 from the Río Cabriales, which originates in the very north of Venezuela and flows into Lake Valencia. From there no living corys have become known so far. The cory, known as Corydoras venezuelanus “Orange”, however, can be traced back to animals that Hans-Georg Evers and Ingo Seidel collected in 1992 in the Llanos of the Orinoco in Venezuela and brought to Germany. This does not necessarily mean that this is not the species C. venezuelanus, but the experience with the geographical distribution patterns of other bronze corys makes this rather unlikely. In Venezuela/Colombia there are several species of bronze corys. This makes it necessary to distinguish species with a certain commercial relevance.
Unfortunately, an armored catfish, which does not exist in the wild, has been called C. sp. “Venezuela Black”. In reality, the animal has nothing to do with Venezuela, but originated as a breeding form at the beginning of the 1990s in Germany. Because this breeding form also has orange fins and the very beautiful Corydoras, which Evers and Seidel brought with them from the Llanos of Venezuela, also has orange fins, there was confusion – and great trouble if the “wrong” species was delivered after an order. At some point someone came across the species name C. venezuelanus, which was synonymous with C. aeneus for a long time, and used it for the fish from the Llanos. Since the fish from the Llanos is certainly something else than the “ordinary” bronze cory, the proposal met with great approval in the hobby, even if from a scientific point of view it is very questionable and with high probability wrong.
But, one must also say this quite clearly, the ornamental fish trade is not a natural history museum and sometimes names develop their own dynamics. More important than a scientifically correct name – especially if one is not available – is that the customer knows what he is ordering.
We have both very beautiful Corydoras venezuelanus “Orange” (code 248492) and C. sp. “Venezuela Black” (code 221212) as offspring in the stock. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
We get the rare long nosed Corydoras sp. C124 occasionally under the names C. cortesi (that is another species from Colombia) or Corydoras “Huangana” (so one calls the wild pigs of the species white-lipped peccary) from Peru. C124 has a very variably pattern, each individual can be recognized by his special pattern. But this time the shipment contained something very special: an almost completely white specimen! It is not an albino; in the close-up you can see that black pigment cells (melanophores) are present, furthermore the pupil is black. It is simply a whim of nature. The whiting recognizes normally colored C124 as conspecifics and seeks their company, especially if he is worried.
For our customers: the animals have code 225215 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
The magnificent Corydoras robustus belongs to the biggest species of its genus. Up to 95 mm standard length (i.e. without caudal fin) have already been measured in females of this species. Females become somewhat bigger than the males. Both sexes develop long dorsal fin rays, what looks very nice. For more pictures of adult animals see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/corydoras_robustus_en/
This catfish comes from Brazil, where it is found in the drainage of the Rio Purus. As far as we know, there have been no reports on a successful breeding in aquaria so far. Therefore, we are especially pleased to be able to offer bred specimens of the wonderful catfish now. In comparison to the adult animals the body spots of the young are still clearly larger. They are very lively, social animals.
For our customers: the fish have code 244093 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
Corydoras knaacki originates from the Madre de Dios region in Peru and belongs to a group of “classical” Corydoras, which is very close to the type species of the currently not as valid recognized genus Hoplisoma Swainson, 1838 – Corydoras punctatus (Bloch, 1794). In the hobby, the two species C. julii and C. trilineatus are best known from this group, which are offered very frequently and in different colour variants (or are these also species?) in the ornamental fish trade.i C. knaacki can easily be distinguished from all described species of the Hoplisoma group by the massive longitudinal line in the middle of the body, which begins approximately at the rear 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 are dark pigmented to the spine and the remaining fin rays are spotted, as well as the significantly black-and-white banded caudal fin.
Before the scientific description of the species in honour of Joachim Knaack, this cory was called Corydoras sp. “Morse” or Corydoras sp. CW 32.
From the Madre de Dios come at least two further nearly identical looking, scientifically still undescribed species. Corydoras sp. C120 (see Datz 12/2003), CW 62 and CW 109 are described by Peruvian exporters as Corydoras sp. “Manu4” and differ from C. knaacki approximately in the way in which different populations currently assigned to C. trilineatus differ from each other. Another, practically identically colored species is Corydras sp. “Manu2 Semi Longnose”, which to our knowledge does not yet have a C or CW number and has a longer muzzle (a longer mesethmoid).
For our customers: the species has code 232853 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
The panda cory from the Rio Ucayali in Peru belongs to the most popular species of the genus. This applies both to the aquarists, who have a community aquarium, and to the breeding aquarists, because Corydoras panda is quite easy to breed and productive – if you know how to do it, of course. We have currently a good number of German offspring of the panda cory in the stock. It is really worth it to keep these half grown animals in a larger group, because then they show a very nice swarm behavior.
For our customers: the animals have code 240002 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
The habitats of Corydoras gracilis in the entry of the Rio Madeira are clearly off the beaten track of ornamental fish collectors; furthermore, the nimble little animals, which know how to hide themselves perfectly in the maze of branches that have fallen into the water, are difficult to catch one by one. That is why Corydoras gracilis is one of the rarest species of Corydoras in the trade and when it appears, it is correspondingly expensive. We are therefore very pleased to be able to offer a good quantity of this rarity as a wild catch at the moment.
The 3-4 cm long Corydoras gracilis is one of the species that is much more in the open water than on the ground. If the very lively little animals rest on the ground, they stretch their bodies, put on their fins and are perfectly camouflaged as sticks.
For our customers: the animals have code 230274 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
From Colombia comes the pretty long-snouted Corydoras simulatus. There it lives in the same rivers – the Rio Meta and its tributaries – as the round-snouted Corydoras metae. Because the latter have been known for a long time already, the scientific describers of C. simulatus chose the species name “simulatus”, in the sense of “only apparently a metae”. Apart from the different head form, C. simulatus have other barbel structures than C. metae and a pattern in the tail fin, which C. metae always lacks.
In fact, many C. simulatus are colored like C. metae, but there is also a color variant with a dark wedge on the flank as C. metae never shows, and there are forms of C. simulatus that stand between these two extremes. From aquarium experience we know that all these colour variants of C. simulatus mate with each other and cross fertilely; they are therefore really only colour variants and not different species.
For our customers: C. simulatus has code 246504 on our stocklist, C. metae 236505. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
Shipments declared as “Corydoras bondi” from Colombia are always subject of surprise. The distribution of the real C. bondi is restricted to the Guyana countries. So sometimes Corydoras axelrodi, sometimes C. loxozonus, and sometimes the scientifically undescribed C. sp. C3 are shipped under that flag.
This time we received the pretty C3. However, all three species mentioned express a great number of varieties. It seems thus quite likely that the three do not represent different species, but rather a species flock that merely hybridize with each other and cannot be classified in the theoretical concept that we call “species”.
C3 has basically the same pattern as C. loxozonus, but the broad horizontal band is located in the middle of the body, as it is in C. axelrodi; in C. loxozonus this band runs along the back.
But there do exist specimens of C3 that look totally different. One would not hesitate to declare them as different species, were there not all thinkable intergrades. We could spot only one real bycatch in our shipment, a species with a sharp snout (blunt in C3), many horizontal stripes and a striped caudal fin. This fish has been given the code number CW113 recently by Ian Fuller.
For our customers: the fish have code 223603 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The skunk cory is one of the most famous Corydoras species – you might think! In reality it is most probably a scientifically undescribed species, while Corydoras arcuatus – this scientific name is used for the skunk cory – is hardly ever on the market. But regardless of that: the regularly in large numbers available skunk corys come from Peru and become about 5 cm long.
From Brazil, more precisely from the basin of the Rio Purus (the Rio Purus is a more than 3,200 km long right tributary of the Amazon, which originates in the Peruvian Andes and flows into the Amazon about 150 km west of Manaus) come skunk corys, which become much bigger (6-7 cm). Mostly, these fish have a dark-gray back-fin spine (very much more brightly with “ordinary” skunk corys), is to be distinguished otherwise however from the smaller remaining skunk corys not colorwise.
Now we received, together with our imports of the Corydoras cf. urucu (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras-cf-urucu-2/), young of the skunk cory from the Rio Purus. They are clearly slimmer than about the same size Peru skunk corys, often have a fine drawing in the tail fin (the tail fin is transparent with Peru skunk corys) and above all a strong black tip of the dorsal fin. Such a thing never occurs with Peruvian skunk corys.
For our customers: the skunk corys from Purus in Brazil have code 222022 (3-4 cm), 222024 (6-7 cm), those from Peru 222004 (4-5 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
We received beautiful Corydoras sp. C91 from Peru (Rio Huallaga). The splendid species belongs to the closer relationship of Corydoras julii, C. punctatus, and C. trilineatus. The species was called Corydoras sp. “Heiko” or C. sp. “Peru-Bondi” in the trade before it was given a C-number.
The peaceful schooling species gets the most brillant colours when kept in soft and slightly acidic water, but is completely undemanding and can be also kept under other water conditions. Temperature should be between 22°C and 26°C.
For our customers: The species has code 229593 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
From the Rio Vaupes in Colombia we have received a few specimens of two Corydoras species. These are real rarities.
Corydoras sp. CW 107 reminds of Corydoras davidsandsi and we think it is the same species as Corydoras sp. CW 91.
The long snouted counterpart of Corydoras sp. CW 107 is Corydoras sp. CW 106, which in turn should be of the same species as Corydoras sp. CW 89.
In both species the dorsal band running into the lower caudal lobes is very typical.
Unfortunately, these armored catfish are very expensive and will therefore probably not appear in larger numbers in the foreseeable future. But it is also very nice to know that they exist.
For our customers: CW 89/106 has code 236104, CW91/107 code 236114 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade. Only a few specimens available!
Recently we received a shipment of highly interesting fish from the entry of Madre de Dios in the border area between Peru and Bolivia. Among them were beautiful corydoras catfish from the closer relationship of Corydoras melanotaenia. However, it is certainly a scientifically undescribed species, which was documented by Ian Fuller with the code number CW 16 (CW stands for Corydoras World). The fish were sent as Corydoras “teniente”.
For our customers: the animals have code 247804 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade. Only very few animals are available!
Once again we were able to import a new catfish, whose identity raises many questions. The fish were offered to us as Corydoras evelynae, a species that was described by only one specimen with a very inaccurate location (“upper Solimoes”, which includes an area larger than Germany). Our new imports were collected in the surroundings of Labrina in the Rio Mucuin in the central entry of the Rio Purus. According to our exporters there are very similar fish also in Rio Urucu and Rio Jutai, both tributaries of the Solimoes, but very far away from Rio Mucuim.
If one disregards the place of discovery, our new imports are very similar to Corydoras urucu, which was described in 2009 from the river of the same name. However, C. urucu is said to be a dwarf species that should not grow larger than 2-3 cm, while our largest animals are well twice as big. Obviously, this is a species complex that needs to be explored in more detail.
Our fish are very variable in terms of pattern. In fact, some animals are coloured similar to C. evelynae and have a back bandage dissolved to dots, while the majority of animals remind of Corydoras arcuatus in colour. However, the body shape is quite different from that of C. arcuatus and is more reminiscent of the relatives of C. loretoensis.
For our customers: the animals have code 248105 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
This beautiful Corydoras belongs to a scientifically undescribed species. It originates from the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. Because of the bright orange neck spot it is usually misidentified as Corydoras burgessi, which also comes from this region, especially as C. burgessi has a very variable pattern and there are also spotted colour variants of this species. Overall, CW 98 reminds us more of C. brevirostris from the Orinoco drainage.
For our customers: the animals have code 225043 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Corydoras schwartzi is one of the most frequently offered armored catfish from Brazil. It comes from the basin of the Rio Purus. There are other very similar species, such as the magnificent, long-snouted C. pulcher. The short-snouted sister species of C. pulcher is also available from there; we call it Corydoras cf. pulcher; there are animals with rather narrow stripes and those with very massive, wide stripes. Another very similar, again long-nosed form is called CW 65 or Corydoras cf. schwartzi “Labrea”.
And then there is the Super-Schwartzi, also from the basin of the Rio Purus, more precisely from the Rio Mucuim. The wonderful, very large (approx. 5.3 cm standard length and 6.5 cm total length) animals have received the code CW 28. They have very long extended dorsal fins, the dorsal fin-spine is cream-colored. The body colour of the Super-Schwartzi CW 28 is almost identical to the “normal” C. schwartzi. The photos clearly show the differences, we have photographed Corydoras cf. pulcher, which we also have in stock, and the Corydoras sp. schwartzi SUPER CW 28 together to show the differences, also we have taken our big “normal” C. schwartzi together with the new one.
For our customers: Corydoras cf. pulcher has code 241716, CW 28 244565 and C. schwartzi 244504 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
No doubt: this cory from the south of Brazil, where it inhabits cool blackwater brooks near the coast, is among the most beautiful species of cory at all. Sadly it is not exported from Brazil currently. Keeping this fish is usually problem-free, but breeding is due to the high demands (cool, very clean water with a low pH) not that easy. Who is able to supply the fish 16-18°C in living rooms? Even the professional breeders from Southeast Asia cannot supply S. barbatus in a great amount. But of course there do exist breeders who know what to do. So we can offer quite regulary this wonderful fish, but always in limited numbers. Currently we have very nice young adults in stock. They are 5-6 cm long, but for sure they will grow 2-3 cm longer.
For our customers: the fish have code 224014 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Corydoras fowleri is a very rare and very beautiful species of Corydoras. The species originates from Peru. It is well known for its high degree of variability in respect of coloration. Our latest import contained specimens that looked very different from their conspecifics. They have a strong golden-bronze coloration of the neck and an overall metallic shine. We simply don´t know wether these fish represent a new variety or if they only show a phenomenon that can be fund quite often among Corydoras: freshly collected specimens of many species show much stronger colours than fish that live already for some time in the aquarium. The reason for that is most probably the fact that the fish in nature often live in very turbid water. When they are put in the clear aquarium water they change in a kind of camouflage-mode.
We have separated four of the aberrant specimens and will report on what has become of them at a given time.
For our customers: Corydoras fowleri has code 229804 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in small numbers only!
For a very long time this species of Corydoras – the type species of the entire genus! – was a myth. Until now it is a top-rarity among the corys. So we are extremely glad that our proofed breeder for special cases, Kurt Jülich, was successful in breeding with wild collected specimens. We can offer this offspring now. The youngsters are still a bit drab coloured, so we are very grateful to Ernst-Otto von Drachenfels and Jürgen Glaser for supplying some pictures of adult fish.
For our customers: the fish have code 230212 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text: Frank Schäfer, photos: Ernst-Otto von Drachenfels and Jürgen Glaser
From the Rio Nanay in Peru originates a species-flock of very similar looking corys. They are distinguished externally basically by the shape of the head and the snout. All of them are very beautiful and suited very well for the aquarium. All have an impressive dark mask over the eye and clear fins. The body is spotted, the number of spots and the density differs individually a lot.
Two species of the flock are described scientifically already, namely Corydoras atropersonatus, which has a short, round snout and C. sychri with a long, pointed snout. Most probably the fish that has the code C97 is a variety of C. sychri. An additional species is the saddle-nosed C53, which represents obviously a still scientifically undescribed species.
This saddle-nosed fish (C53) is by far the rarest of the flock in the trade. We currently have very nice specimens of this rarity in stock.
For our customers: the fish have code 240744 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The beautiful long snouted Corydoras amapaensis is a top rarity in the ornamental fish trade. Only very occisonally, every 5-6 years, some specimens can be imported. So we are very glad that we can offer now for the first time some bred ones. The fish are currently about 4 cm long and have just reached sexual maturity. The males can be recognized by the spiny pectoral fin spines.
For our customers: the fish have code 221762 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in very limited numbers only!
We have the beautiful Corydoras sp. C141 – this species is obviously not described scientifically yet – in stock on a regular basis. The exact place of origin is still unknown, we obtain the fish under the wrong name of „Corydoras ornatus“ from Brazil. However, Corydoras ornatus is a different species.
Currently we have some tanks of C141 in show size (6-7 cm) in stock. In one of them the animals came in breeding condition. Wow! the usually creme-coloured dorsal spine got an orange tinge and the membrane behind the dorsal spine extended to a pennant in both sexes.
The basic pattern is extremely variable in that species. Most specimens have three parallel horizontal stripes on the flanks, but the number of stripes can differ between two and six, quite often the stripes are dissolved in spots. All these varieties occur together.
For our customers: the fish have code 241725 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
We were able to import an interesting Corydoras species from Paraguay, namely Corydoras longipinnis. This species has been scientifically described as recently as 2007 by Joachim Knaack. The new species is a close relative to the well known Corydoras paleatus and reminds one somewhat of the longfinned sport of that species. In Corydoras longipinnis only males develope long extended pectoral fins, whereas in the longfinned sport of C. paleatus also the females show that feature.
Corydoras longipinnis is a subtropical species and should therefore be kept at room temperature. For those who have the opportunity: it can be kept in garden ponds during summertime. Breeding C. longipinnis is easy and is the same as in C. paleatus. That means the fish must be fed heavily until the females show a swollen belly and then you have to change repeatingly a great amount of water and fill up with cool water (3-5°C cooler than the old water). This triggers mating and spawning.
Corydoras longipinnis should be kept in groups of at least 7 specimens. It is completely peaceful against congeneers and all other tankmates. The fish take readily any usual fishfood. Plants become not destroyed. The water parameters are of no great relevance. The pH should not be lower than 6 and not higher than 8.5.
A single bycatch is also very interesting. It is a specimen belonging to the species Corydoras ellisae. But while „regular“ C. ellisae show only two large blotches on a pale ground, this specimen imitates in a certain degree the pattern of C. longipinnis.
For our customers: Corydoras longipinnis has code 233552 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale market.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
Literature: Knaack, J. (2007): Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Callichthyidae (Teleostei: Siluruformes). III. Corydoras longipinnis sp. n. – ein neuer Panzerwels aus dem río Dulce in Argentinien (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Callichthyidae). Vertebrate Zoology 57 (1): 35-55
Currently we can offer one of the most beautiful and most splendid species of Corydoras, namely C. pantanalensis. Before its scientific description it was known as C5. This species attains a body length of about 8 cm and is one of the largest species of Corydoras. Within the genus, C. pantanalensis belongs to a relationship around C. elegans. All species of that group have in common a very obvious sexual dichromatism and the behaviour to swim a lot in the open water column instead near the bottom as most other species of Corydoras do.
Besides the impressive size Corydoras pantanalensis is also very interesting because the males develop during the breeding season a completely different pattern. In this time they have a dark net pattern all over the body. The somewhat larger males in our stock actually get the mating pattern now; we present here photos of them. For comparative reasons we also show you some elder pictures of fully mature animals in mating pattern, too.
For our customers: the fish have code 240623 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
These beautifully marked species appeared only very occasionally in the aquarium hobby. Corydoras orcesi has been described from the Rio Tigre system in Ecuador. Initially it was described as a subspecies of the similar Corydoras pastazensis. However, so far no intergrades have been found and this makes it very likely that both are seperate species.
We were able to import both species from Peru now. If one has the opportunity to see them side by side they are very easy to distinguish from each other. Both species belong to the tribe of the saddle-nosed Corydoras. Males stay smaller than the females. So far the fish have proofed to be hardy aquarium inhabitants. A tank for Corydoras should in general have at least in part a bottom of fine, smooth sand. Worms (Tubifex) are the preferred food, but they feed readily on anything that is usually fed on ornamental fish, may it be living, frozen or dried. Both species reach about 6-7 cm in length.
For our customers: C. orcesi has code 237903 and C. pastazensis code 240304 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Corydoras: from ancient greek, means „with helmet and spear“. This refers to the strong armor and fin spines. orcesi: dedication name in honour of Gustavo Orcés-Villagomez. pastazensis: after the Rio Pastaza in the Pastaza province, Ecuador, where the species is found.
Now the season for the very beautiful and much beloved orange blotch corys has started. There does exist a good number of different species and varietoies, all have in common a brightly shining spot on the neck. Depending on light this glows from yellow to almost red. This glowing spot helps the fish in the black waters of their homeland to stay together in a school.
In the past years it was often difficult for us to obtain Corydoras burgessi. Most often varieties reached us, for example spotted ones that were not as popular as the plain varieties among many of our customers. But now – finally – the pure stuff is available agian!
For our customers: the fish have code 225104 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
We received a small number of this pretty cory from Peru. It was shipped under the nice name „Corydoras Brilliante“. In fact the dark longitudinal band of the fish shines in a bright emerald green when the reflecting light comes in the correct angle, but all in all the fish is „only“ a local variety of Corydoras elegans as it currently understood; C. elegans has a very wide distribution in the Amazon basin. However, on the other hand, a good number of doubts exist that all the „varieties“ applied to C. elegans really represent only one species.
A close look shows differences in coloration. The Peruvian fish have – in contrast to specimens from Brazil, the type locality of C. elegans is near Tefé – a short dark band in the neck that end below the dorsal fin. This shot band is well separated from the usual longitudinal dark band along the complete body that is so typical for C. elegans. This coloration of the Peuvian fish fits perfectly to the pictures made in the 1940ies from a species named Corydoras pestai. The scientific description of C. pestai bases on a specimen imported by the aquarium trade and exhibited with some conspecifics in the zoological garden of Munich, Hellabrunn. The type locality is unknown, and the type specimen destroyed during a bombing attack in WW2.
Nowadays Corydoras pestai is considered to be a synonym of C. elegans, but due to the lack of a type specimen this synonymization is not very certain. Maybe the „Brilliante“ is a C. pestai? Anyway, we name them Corydoras elegans „Peru“…
For our customers: the fish have code 229053 on our stocklist. Please note thta we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in very small numbers only!
We received beautiful coloured Netted Corys. The species Corydoras sodalis is quite often imported, but mostly under the completely wrong name of Corydoras punctatus. The real C. punctatus originates from Surinam, occurs hardly ever in the trade and looks very similar to the well known species C. julii and C. trilineatus. A cory that can be really easily confused with C. sodalis is C. reticulatus. Both have the same pattern and the same body shape, but in C. reticulatus always a clearly marked, dark spot is present in the dorsal fin, which always lacks in C. sodalis.
The extraordinary nice colours in our recently imported C. sodalis can possibly be due to the breeding season of the species. The closely related C. pantanalensis (formerly known as C5) also shows a very nice pattern during the breeding season. However, C. sodalis reaches onyl a maximum length of about 5-6 cm, while his cousin from the Pantanal becomes much larger. The natural distribution of C. sodalis is a large area in the upper Amazon region of Peru and Brazil. Our current import originates from Brazil.
For our customers: the fish have code 246705 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The very long snouted Corydoras fowleri has been described scientifically in 1950 on the basis of a single specimen. Since that it has not been seen for decades anymore. Only at the end of the 1990ies imports from Peru arrived. The imported fish proofed to be very variable in respect of coloration. It is still a matter of debate wether C. coriatae represents only one of these sports or wether the species is a valid species on its own. But who cares? In any case they are very impressing, beautiful aquarium fish!
For our customers: the fish have code 229814 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
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