Unknown 'RED' Cory!

[strawbx]

At last got a photo of one off my unknown Corys. I've never seen anything similar. Normally the rear half is more of a pale reddish colour.
Opinions please.
Alan.

[hellocatfish]

The location of the red is consistent with what I've seen of dyed albino aeneus. I've never seen photos of a dyed non-albino bronze cory before, which is what yours appears to be.

Another reason I would suspect dye is because so far of the bright dye-like coloration that we have seen on cories that have been proven to be natural despite being practically day-glo in intensity, the location of the color was the same as where you can see a bit more color intensity on many cories. Even on my albino cories, there's a bit more of an irridescence where you would see the stripe on one of the lazer cories.

Here's a link to info about dyed fish that has an albino aeneus photo: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... icle_id=72

[strawbx]

First let me say the photo is not the best but let me assure you that in no way is this fish dyed!
As I said 'normally' the rear half is paler, a 'pastel' red. I have a trio, two males & a female.
Theres an obvious colour difference between them.
They came from the wholesalers via my mate who saw them in the 'odds & sods' tank. I think they came in with some C.elegans from S.America.
I reiterate these are not dyed! I would not under any circumstances have any which were.
Alan.

[Jools]

I've never seen photos of a dyed non-albino bronze cory before, which is what yours appears to be.

There has been a picture in the catelog for several years now:



Other than that, I don't think we're going to be able progress this post without some better pics?

Jools

[hellocatfish]

Oh gosh I hope my post didn't offend you! Not my intention at all! Most people would not KNOWINGLY buy a dyed fish. But I assure you, I would have when I re-entered the hobby of fishkeeping after over 25 years out of it, because when I last knew anything about fish, there was no such thing as dyed fish. Oh, I'd seen the "painted glass cats" but back then it was my understanding that was just some odd temporary paint job and a brief fad. I had no idea how things would progress in the matter of artificially coloring fish to the point of intentionally deceiving shoppers! It's something I never could have dreamed of...ever.

When I started shopping around again, half the time I didn't know what I was looking at, and if not for the internet, I would never have suspected some of the fish I was admiring in the LFS were dyed. I mean, it just never even occured to me such a thing was possible! Fish are either naturally colorful enough, or selectively bred to be very colorful...I was naive enough to be shocked that people could resort to something painful and inhumane just for cosmetic purposes? Weird.

Now I do have a few genetically altered day-glo Danios. I looked into how those were created and I didn't find anything about their creation that was against my own sense of ethics, though after talking more with other hobbyists, I do have a better sense of why a lot of people feel even this type of artificial manipulation is a bad thing.

Anyway, I just wanted to say my post was by no means accusatory. Even for the sake of argument say this was a dyed fish and you bought it just because you liked the appearance, trust me, I would be the LAST person who would condemn or even look down on you for it. My Clementine is an adored member of the family and we've had her barely over a week, yet can't imagine life without her. But I won't even post what she is because I know there are people who would ream me up one side and down the other or think a helluva a lot less of me for having her, without understanding or giving me a chance to explain why she came into my family. And since I don't feel obligated to explain myself to anybody I haven't got a face-to-face relationship with...just never mind what Clementine is!

Now back to your pretty but mysterious cory...you asked for opinions and based on the photo provided, it APPEARED like it could be a dyed cory. I don't dare put forth any OPINION expecting anyone here to take it as expert analysis because I'm far from expert. I have tried to educate myself a bit on the subject of dyed fish because it was such a shock to me to see dyed fish that I felt I should understand the practice and learn to recognize these fish to the best of my ability so I could avoid purchasing any. The article in the link that I provided indicated that the dyes used on cories are not unduly intense and in other photos I've seen the colors could possibly pass for natural, as there's a wide variation in how dyes look on individual fish.

Now as far as I know it's just the asian fish farms doing color alterations. If yours came in from SA, then it's possible it's a new unknown cory. But consider the odds of there being such a cory naturally colored like that in the wild, and compare the coloration against all photos of dyed cories you can find and let us know what you think.

It's my understanding that dyed fish can exhibit variations in the intensity of their coloring in reaction to stress or other situations. That may be what you're witnessing. I don't really know.

[hellocatfish]

Oh I almost forgot to add...I have learned recently that not only are fish now being dyed, but now some unscrupulous people are actually cutting out portions of the body to make "new" species. Tails are cut off, parts of the dorsal structure are cut out to give fish a "unicorn horn". That's bad enough, but these fish are being sold to retailers as being bred that way...not as surgically altered (mutilated).

With such intentional deception going on, you must forgive anyone for broaching the possibility that some of us have bought fish that were misrepresented to us.

[Bas Pels]

As Hellocatfish explained, it can someytimes be hard to distinghuish mutilated (dyed and otherway mistraeted) fish from the right ones. Especially if one is not really familiar with the species itself.

If a new, very colorfull fish would be discovered, chances are very slim it would be offered in a LFS (local fish store) but most likely it would be offered in a specialized store. Thus, anything offered in a not specialised store, which looks new, would be suspected to me.

I think the victim of these practises (the fish, but also the unknowingly buying hobbyist) can not be held responsible. However, in some circumstances I think people can be held responsible for remaining ignorent - and I don't think strawbx will remain unknowing.

Personally, I do not see much dyed fishes, here in Europe. As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to dye them, and thus many shopkeepers are relucant to offer dyed fishes (for fear of being accused of dying them themselves) Genetically altered fishes are illegal, with heavy fines for the owner - regardless his ignorance.

[strawbx]

Hello everybody,
Do I feel like an idiot!
Went in the fishhouse this morning to discover the cause of the redness in the Cory is due to some kind of hemorrhagic infection, I presume. I've had this fish for several months and have no idea what's caused it. Started a course of Myxazin but think it's chances are poor.
Despite everything still think it's an un-named species which has a pale pastel red rear. When I can get some decent photos of the other pair I'll post them. It'll not be for some time as I'm waiting for a photo tank being made. In the meantime I've included this image of the female



Sorry if I came over a bit stroppy re dyed fish. I agree with everything thats been said.
Alan.

[hellocatfish]

As far as I can tell, Europe is leading the way to better animal husbandry, banning practices like cropping and docking. The US has a bit of catching up to do in that regard. Meanwhile, it's a real task for a novice to make the distinction between natural fish and manipulated fish. I wish there were some truth in advertising type laws for fish!

Just coming back into the hobby, after the shock about injection dyed fish wore off, in comparison I felt a lot of things like genetic manipulation and hybridization of fishes "not a big deal" since they involved no painful or dangerous procedures to the fish that I am aware of. Especially when considering how dogs, cats and other pet animals have long been bred into really outrageous body types simply for aesthetic reasons. It's only after hanging out on forums such as this one and coming to a better understanding of how fragile the natural ecosystems are and how hard it is to maintain fish close to their wild forms that I'm better understanding the objection to the more humane but ethically questionable practices like genetic recoloring and hybridization. It's an evolution in thinking I think a lot of us go through as we pass from novice status to more experienced. And I'm far from leaving the novice status behind...much to my chagrin.

I'm sorry your cory is sick. There is an ailment called hemmorhagic septicemia, here's a link to more information: http://www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish ... icemia.htm

Maracyn 2 is described as a treatment for it.

I only know about this disease because it's briefly described on the packaging of my Jungle Buddies medicine tablets.

If your fish was in fact injection-dyed, it's possible that the process made it more vulnerable to disease.

As for pastel red rear ended cories, I guess we will have to wait and see if any more such specimens turn up and if so, can they be authenticated as wild and naturally occuring. At least the subject has now been opened and maybe other owners can come forth.

[hellocatfish]

Hmm...I can't tell from your photo, but I wonder if you have one of these:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pCatId=944

That is a Brochis. If you don't have a Brochis, still...look at the pink coloration with the green sheen...maybe a naturally pink-butted cory isn't so farfetched after all.

[medaka]

another possible candidate

Corydoras cf_undulatus

The red area well may be an infection.

However as Jools says: -

I don't think we're going to be able progress this post without some better
pics?

[strawbx]

As I expected the infected fish died.
Fortunately still have a pair. Whenever I get a decent photo I'll get it on line.

[hellocatfish]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. Good luck trying to get a photo. I just tried to photograph my cories and the attempt nearly gave me motion sickness!

The little dudes can MOVE!

[cliner]

Is the other cory in your first pic a C. Kanei. I have three C. Kanei and there some of my favorites.