Spotted Corydoras.... but which one?

bettanbetta · Post by **bettanbetta** » 11 Apr 2007, 19:13

Hi, Bought this guy from LFS as a single one. They said he had come in a shipment of C. robineae which he clearly isn't, but they couldn't be sure what he was so they let me have him for £3. Can anyone help?

mikelouth · Post by **mikelouth** » 11 Apr 2007, 21:54

Hi
Looks to me like a C009 cory lamberti.
Lovely little fish.

kim m · Post by **kim m** » 12 Apr 2007, 07:17

I'm not shure about C-009. I've kept them myself and this is different. No yellow fleck between the top of the gillcover and the front of the dorsal. Also the lack of dark colour in the head region points in another direction I think.

I have no idea what this fish is, although I was leaning towards C-018. But I must admit this fish is something unusual.

bettanbetta · Post by **bettanbetta** » 12 Apr 2007, 09:53

I've managed to get a couple more photos to see if that helps...

Not great pics I'm afraid - this is a very active little guy. I'd expected it to be like most of the cories I've added to my tank and hide away for the first day or so, but even now as I look at the tank and all my bettas and cories are hidden away in the plants this guy is scooting up and down the glass! Hasn't been way from the front of the tank yet lol!
The pics are a bit fuzzy but show his face and body shape better.

The lack of dark colouration on his head has foxed me too... I do notice that C-018 has a plain face whereas this guy has fine spots all the way to the tip of his "nose", and C-009 has a more random distribution of spots... less lineated - but these observations are only from a few photos sourced online.

I hate not knowing what a fish is

Could he be C. copei?

kim m · Post by **kim m** » 12 Apr 2007, 11:23

I think the snout shape is wrong for C. copei.

I'm more into C. gomezi, a species with pointy nose.

bettanbetta · Post by **bettanbetta** » 12 Apr 2007, 12:19

All the pics I've seen of C. gomezi show it has a quite distinct lateral stripe... and some reticulation of its markings, particularly around its head/shoulders. Does this vary a lot?

I've managed to measure him too... he's just over 2" from tip to tip.

kim m · Post by **kim m** » 12 Apr 2007, 12:52

I have no idea how variable C. gomezi is...

Guess we'll have to wait for Ian to pop by

Coryologist · Post by **Coryologist** » 12 Apr 2007, 20:01

kim m wrote:I have no idea how variable C. gomezi is...

Guess we'll have to wait for Ian to pop by

Here is a pic of my C. gomezi. Hopefully, it will assist you. - Frank

Post by **Coryman** » 13 Apr 2007, 12:50

It's a difficult one, could be a juvenile C. leopardus, the spotting tends to become smaller as they grow towards their full potential of 75 mm SL.

On the other hand C. gomezi is a close call as well. Personally I tend to favour C. leopardus, but at 50 mm (2") total length, I think it has a fair bit of growing to do, whatever species it's cracking looking fish.

Ian

bettanbetta · Post by **bettanbetta** » 13 Apr 2007, 14:37

Thanks for all your opinions guys. I guess its best to wait and see how he grows for a definite ID. Either way he's a fantastic tankmate and is definitely a lovely fish.

Jorge · Post by **Jorge** » 14 Apr 2007, 01:05

I would say C. leopardus too.