Article © Chris Ralph, uploaded February 01, 2007.

English catfish judge Chris Ralph introduces this month's featured catfish, a smaller than average Corydoras.

Corydoras cochui belongs to the family Callichthyidae from South America namely Brazil; Upper Araguaia River basin. This catfish is documented as occurring in the Rio Araguaia, Santa Maria Nova and State of Goyaz (Goiaz).

The body of this species is described as being slender with a rounded snout, although it does still have the typical triangular appearance which makes this family distinct. The base colour of the body and head is described as being light brown. There are four dark coloured blotches along the flanks of this catfish, one below the dorsal fin, one between the dorsal and adipose fin, one below the adipose fin and one on the caudal peduncle. There is a dark streak along the back of the fish which extends backwards from below the dorsal fin spine, ending in a dark spot on the upper edge of the caudal peduncle. The top of the head is described as being dark which continues to below the eye. The upper and anterior portion of the opercle is described as being dark in colour. The caudal fin is described as having five narrow irregular dark coloured cross bands. The base of the anal fin has a dark coloured spot extending into the body. The ventral fin is described as being clear. The pectoral fin rays have a few dark coloured scattered spots, whilst the dorsal fin rays have a scattering of dark coloured spots which form two irregular rows. The dorsal and pectoral fin spines are described as having a narrow dark line along them.

Corydoras cochui is best described as being one of the dwarf or pygmy species of Corydoras catfish. This particular species is not commonly available, but is well worth looking out for and is ideal for smaller aquariums. The catfish depicted in this feature have been incorrectly shown as Corydoras habrosus in the last couple of years.

I would suggest a minimum size of 24" x 15" X 12" for a small shoal of these catfish. As with all other species of fish, water quality and general husbandry is very important, and I would recommend that a minimum of 25% water is changed on a weekly basis.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Hoplisoma cochui  (Myers & Weitzman, 1954)
Common Names	Barredtail Cory Cochu's Catfish, Skakbrætpansermalle (Denmark)
Type Locality	Rio Araguay, Santa Maria Nova, Goyaz, Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Corydoras cochui
Pronunciation	hop lee so mah - COCK oo eye
Etymology	This species is named in honour of Mr Fred Cochu.
Articles
Species Information
Size	25mm or 1" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Sexing	The males tend to be more slender than the females.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Upper Araguaia River basin in Brazil. Amazon, Lower Amazon, Tocantins, Lower Tocantins, Araguaia, Upper Araguaia (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Not Evaluated
pH	6.0 - 7.2
Temperature	23.0-26.0°C or 73.4-78.8°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	2-25°dGH
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Readily accepts a mixed and varied diet which includes granular foods, frozen bloodworm and good quality flake to name but a few. User data.
Furniture	Plenty of hiding places amongst bogwood and rocks. The ideal aquarium substrate to use with these catfish is aquarium sand.
Compatibility	Peaceful.
Suggested Tankmates	Wherever possible I would recommend that the aquarist keep these catfish in a community aquarium in small groups of six or more, but as the absolute minimum I would suggest three specimens assuming that they are available in these numbers. In their natural habitat Corydoras cochui would be found in relatively large shoals.
Breeding	There are documented reports of aquarium spawnings of Corydoras cochui, adopting the typical "T shape" breeding clinch. The spawning activity follows on from a period of conditioning with foods such as Daphnia and bloodworm, and a partial water change using cooler water.
Breeding Reports	There are 2 breeding reports, read them all here.
Further Information
Reference	Aquarium Journal v. 25 (no. 4) (for Apr. 1954), pp 93, Fig.
Registered Keepers	There are 11 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 7 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 6 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode
	Search for H. cochui
	Look up H. cochui on AquaticRepublic.com
	Look up H. cochui on Fishbase
	Look up H. cochui on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up H. cochui on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.1.1580.469
Last Update	2024 Jul 08 10:32 (species record created: 2007 Feb 01 19:57)

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