AqualogNEWS100
4
C133,maleabove, femalebelow.
two groups of mailed catfishes have
evolved an additional defensive weapon:
poison. Some species, externally readily
recognizableby thepossessionof orange
pectoral-fin spines, can cause a severe
burning pain if you “spike” yourself on
them. They include
Corydoras sterbai
, for
example.This readilyexplainswhy this fish
is significantly more popular with
aquarists thanwith the staff in aquarium
trade...
The other group of poison-producers are
the
Corydoras pulcher
-like species. If they
are in transit for a long time then the
water begins to foam and develops a
strange smell. This can even result in the
mailed catfishes dying! So if thesemailed
catfishes aregoing tobe in transit for any
length of time, the transportation water
Corydoras
sp.CW28
needs to be changed several times prior
to dispatch and then some activated
carbonadded inorder toavoidpoisoning.
But again these
Corydoras
do not pose
any threat toother fishes in theaquarium.
High fins
The
Corydoras pulcher
-like species have
another characteristic in common in
addition to their attractive color pattern.
At breeding time the first soft dorsal-fin
ray in males develops a threadlike
extension. However, the scientifically
undescribed C 133 exhibits this
phenomenon toonlya limiteddegree.
Maintenance in theaquarium
Themaintenanceof all
Corydoraspulcher
-
like species is easy and accords with
“standard” mailed catfish procedure. In
other words, at least part of the substrate
should consist of fine sand and these
sociable little fishesshouldalwaysbekept
in a troop of five individuals ormore.The
water shouldbe soft and slightly acid, the
temperature in the 24-28 °C range. They
will eat all theusual fish foods,and should
be fed generously. They are particularly
fondof
Tubifex
.Breeding these forms isn’t
