his
months factsheet takes me back to my favourite family,
the Callichthyidae, namely the Corydoras genus
and a firm favourite for many years in the hobby,
the three-lined Corydoras, Corydoras trilineatus.
Corydoras
trilineatus
- male
Now these monthly
factsheets would not be the same if there wasn't a
mystery or two! this month there is no exception.
If you visit your local aquarist establishment and
you are greeted with a tank labelled, Corydoras
julii, you can
bet that in 95% of the cases that you will be looking
at Corydoras trilineatus, unless the shop owner
is very much "into" cats and so that will
take care of the other 5%!. Why the confusion, well
apart from the reason that C. julli hails from
Brazil and is rarer and trilineatus is found
in Peru & Ecuador there is a marked difference
in the markings on the area of the snout/head.
Below you can
see the comparisons as the C. julii on the
top image has a fine spotted head and C.trilineatus
below has what you would term, reticulations in that
area.
Corydoras
julii
Corydoras
trilineatus
Apart
from these obvious differences, julii is a
finer spotted species and not as robust as C.trilineatus.
Keeping the "three-lined corydoras" is not
that difficult and with most Corydoras species
will do best kept in a group of six or more as above
all they are social animals.
Another Cory that is similar is Corydoras
leopardus
but in this species the longer head is a give-away
and is in Lineage 8 sub clade 4.
Update:
Corydoras trilineatus is placed in Lineage
9, the "short-snouted" species with the
designated type species: C. punctatus. A
revision in the future would constitute the resurrection
of the genus name Hoplosopma (Agassiz, 1846).
Common
Name:
Three-lined
Corydoras
Synonyms:
Corydoras
episcopi, Corydoras dubius
Family:
Callichthyidae
Subfamily:
Corydoradinae
Distribution:
South America:
Peru, in the tributaries of the Rio Ambyiacu. Ecuador,
tributaries of the Rio Napo and the Rio Pastaza.
Size:
Male: 5.0cm (2ins) Female:
5.5cm (2¼ins)
Temp:
24-27°C (75-81°F)
p.H.
6.0-7.2.
Characteristics
Original description type,
locality Peru ( Lectotype designed by Nijssen &
Isbrücker 1980 ). Holotype size: 40.2mm SL. Dorsal1/7;Anal1/7;
23-24 bony scutes in the upper lateral series, 20-22
in the lower.
Colouration
Underside pale grey to white.
Gill-cover with a greenish lustre. Markings are
variable with three longitudinal patterned stripes
running along the lateral line, reticulated head
pattern, caudal fin with five vertical bands, anal
fin spotted, dorsal fin with dark blotch but specimens
have been collected with clear dorsal fin.
Aquarium
Care & Compatibility
This is akin to most of this
genus, very peaceful, and would be best housed with
small to medium tankmates such as Tetras, Rasboras
and Danios or in a species
tank for breeding purposes.
Reproduction
As per standard
Corydoras breeding structures.
Set them up with
preferably more males than females ( a ratio of 2:1
is good ) in a 18" x 12" x 12" tank
with either fine gravel or sand with either sponge
filter or a corner filter box with a good current.
Install some java moss or wool mops, this gives the
females a choice of where to place their eggs but
you will probably find that they will mostly lay them
on the glass anyway. A temperature in the mid-seventies
is good with a p.H around about the neutral (7) mark.
Feed a diet of frozen or live food such as bloodworm,
whiteworm (sparingly because of the fat content) grindleworm,
daphnia and a good quality flake or tablet food. Make
a 50% water change, when you notice the female(s)
have fattened up, with water that is cooler so as
to bring the temperature down. A good idea is to also
add a small internal filter to push the water around
the aquarium which will also oxygenate it. If successful
you can either take the adults out and leave the eggs
in the main tank or reverse it and take the eggs out
by rolling them of the tank sides with your fingers
into a small hatching tank, you can then decide to
add a anti-fungus remedy or to leave alone. If you
make the wrong choice and the eggs fungus you will
get another chance as once Corydoras start to breed
the first time they will carry on using the afore-mentioned
process. There are no hard and fast rules to breeding
Cory's but the above method works for me and countless
other breeders, you may find another method that suits
you, as long as you are successful that's what matters.
Diet
A good quality flake food and
tablet food for adults with sparodic feedings of frozen
or live food will keep your Corydoras in good health.
Feeding the fry after they use up their yolk-sac with
brine shrimp naupli, microworm and fry flake food.
Alexandrou,
Markos & Taylor, Martin. (2011). Evolution,
ecology and taxonomy of the Corydoradinae revisited.
Fuller, I.A.M. & Evers, H-G: 2005 Identifying
Corydoradinae Catfish 384 p Ian A. M. Fuller & Hans-Georg Evers
(2011). Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish Supplement
1. Ian Fuller Enterprises. Morris
J.T. Catfish Association
of Great Britain 1986. Sterba, Günther.
Sterba's Freshwater fishes of the World 1.
Photo Credits
Ian
Fuller @
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