NEWS 115
46
Corydoras
cf.
brevirostris
CW 27 Highfin
The little mailed catfishes of the genus
Corydoras
are
enjoying
increased
popularity among aquarists. A round dozen
species are among the standard range of
the aquarium trade. They are "little
scavengers for everyone", nice little
bottom-dwellers that can be relied on to
make sure no food is left lying uneaten. In
addition they are absolutely peaceful and
can be kept with any other peaceful fishes
without concern.
Many aquarists have fallen in love with
mailed catfishes to such a degree that they
have specialized exclusively in these fishes.
At present 159 species are known to
science.In addition there are another 159 C-
Numbers (C stands for Corydoras) and 107
CW-Numbers (CW stands for Corydoras
World),which haven't yet been scientifically
Corydoras
cf.
brevirostris
CW 27 from Venezuela.
The extremely high dorsal fin can easily be
seen in this photo.
determined but are known to the aquarium
hobby.
The unusually attractive mailed catfish
shown here was imported from Venezuela
by AquariumGlaser.It has been given the C-
Number 154 and the CW-Number 27. The
species belongs to the spotted species
assemblage with a dark dorsal fin, saddle
spot, eye stripe, and striped caudal fin,
whose identification is a major headache
for scientists and aquarists alike. It appears
most similar to
Corydoras brevirostris,
which
was described in 1947 as a subspecies of
C.
melanistius
from Guyana on the basis of a
specimen imported from Venezuela
(Orinoco), which was maintained in the
aquarium prior to its death. Because
unfortunately the precise collecting locality
for the species is unknown, it isn't possible
to go there and catchmoremailed catfishes
from the original site. That is required,
however, in order to be able to study the
sometimes fine differences on the basis of
which the various mailed-catfish species
can be distinguished from one another.The
closest relatives of
C. brevirostris
include
C.
wotroi
from Surinam, a species that is
regarded by many scientists as a synonym
of
C.brevirostris.
When adult, CW 27 / C154 - which grows to
around 5 cm long - develops a very high
dorsal fin. This phenomenon is also known
from other species from the Orinoco, for
example
Corydoras concolor
. It appears that
CW27 /C154 occurs together with
Corydoras
delphax
in the wild, and looks rather similar
to it. However,
Corydoras delphax
is
considerably more elongate and doesn't
have the bright spot on the neck.
CW27/C154 is easy to keep in the aquarium.
Like the majority of species from the
Orinoco, it should be kept somewhat
warmer than normal, i.e. at around 26-28 °C.
