Peppered Corys

[Corygal]

Hi all

I recently bought a group of 4 'breeding' Peppered Corys. When I arrived at the seller's home I was shocked to find the corys in the filthiest water I've ever seen, living on very sharp stones and only about 2cm length, maximum. They have very little barbles, some have none at all, I imagine because of the stones. He never treated or tested the water and didn't do water changes, just 'topped up' when the water got low. The seller said they were about a year old and he had been breeding successfully from them for several months.

To be honest I was pretty shocked at the state of their conditions and bought them out of sheer pity. Initially my plan had been to put them back into the tank they had come from once we had got them home but obviously once I saw and smelled the tank I put them in my community aquarium. I took a few hours to introduce them because I was afraid the dramatic change in water parameters would kill them. Two very quickly developed swim bladder problems and I moved them to a new 36l aquarium I had bought for shrimp. After starving and feeding peas they are much better. I plan on returning them to their original tank once I've cleaned the limescale and scum properly. However this is them in their current home...






So my question is... Are these really peppered cory? Whenever I've seen any, pictures or real life, they look more mottled/mouldy looking but these are much more exact in their markings. Also, they are so small but the seller said he had been breeding form them. How old are fully grown corys? Peppered Corys get to over 5cm but these are tiny. My albino corys that I've had for 2 months are still growing and dwarf these little guys. Could in breeding cause them to be stunted or is it reasonable for them to be so small at a year old? I didn't think they would breed until fully grown.

Anyway, any info or advice you can give me about these lovely little fish would be gratefully received.

[MatsP]

Looks like

Corydoras habrosus

to me.

Almost certain they are not

Corydoras paleatus

(peppered cory).

--
Mats

[Corygal]

Thanks Mats. Definitely does, doesn't it?

[mona o]

Why are you feeding Corydoras vegetables like peas?? They're not herbivore. They are more omnivore to carnivore, and prefer a diet of insects like bloodworms and tablets like Tetra TabiMin.
Their small size is because they are one of the dwarf species of Corydoras, like Mats says.

[Corygal]

I fed them peas because of the swim bladder problems - to break up any impaction/constipation. They do not form part of their normal diet.

[ginagv]

Bless you for saving those poor fish.

Gina

[mona o]

I fed them peas because of the swim bladder problems - to break up any impaction/constipation. They do not form part of their normal diet.

Wonder who came up with that idea to begin with...? Do you remember where you read it the first time or...?

[MatsP]

Wonder who came up with that idea to begin with...? Do you remember where you read it the first time or...?

I suspect it's from a goldfish-keeper or something similar. I've seen the suggestion that peas are good for constipation. I'm not entirely sure if it works or not, but I would certainly suspect that corys don't eat much peas anyways, and it's ineffective!

--
Mats

[Corygal]

My local Maidenhead Aquatics plus people on another forum and general web searches all said starve then try a pea as a 1st step before trying Epsom salts for constipation then anti bacterial treatment etc for an infection of the swim bladder. They did eat the pea actually and the swim bladder issue cleared up.

[Corygal]

Now that they are on a better substrate, will their barbles grow back?

[MatsP]

Now that they are on a better substrate, will their barbles grow back?

Maybe, but it's quite possible that they don't.

--
Mats

[Thriftyfisher]

Please in a month or two or three let us know if thier barbles have grown back. It would be nice to document if they will or not.

[Corygal]

Thanks mats. Will they cope without them? I'm hoping that if I keep them on their own they won't have to compete too much for food so won't be at a disadvantage. I'll have to just monitor them to make sure they are all finding food.

I will post an update in a couple of months.

[MatsP]

They should be OK with short/no barbels.

--
Mats

[mona o]

I've had several Corys without barbels, for different reasons.

A Corydoras without it's barbels will survive, but in my opinion they seem to be a bit sad and unhappy. They're not as happy as their mates with barbels. It's totally understandable, since the barbels are their contact with the surrounding world, they taste and smell everything with them.

I've had Corydoras without barbels a few times.
First time was some years ago, when I bought a large Sterbai group in a shop. When I got home I discovered that most of them missed their barbels. I called the shop and asked what to do, and the guy in the aquarium department told me that the exporter had possibly kept them on bare glass bottom, without thoroughly cleaning the bottom for bacteria regularly. The bare glass bottom develops a dangerous bacteria film which erodes the barbels away. He told me to keep them in a clean environment (change water often) and a sand bottom, and that he then expected the barbels to grow back. Keeping them on sand and with a regular water change what was my plan anyway, and the Sterbais settled down in my tank.
Within six months it was no longer possible to distinguish the new group (previously without barbels) from my original group, since the barbels had grown out again

I've experienced loss of barbels a couple of times more. Once it was a sudden raise in nitrates (it was sky high!) and after that some of the Corydoras in that tank lost their barbels. Eventually, when I got the water parameter under control, the barbels started to grow back. I've had that group for years, and never experienced loss of barbels with them before the nitrate level went up. Luckily, the barbels grew back here too.

Another time I was stupid enough to use old, not-rinsed sand that had been used in a previous tank, without washing it. It had just been standing there in a bucket to rot, and unhealthy anaerob bacteria developed without me knowing it. After a long time the sand had dried, but the bacteria was still there. One day I made a mistake and thought it would be ok to use some of it without bothering to rinse it... I just dumped some of it on the bottom of a tank where I could use some more sand, since I thought the layer of sand was too thin. Next day one fish was dead, and among the rest they had suddenly lost their barbels.
I had to move the fish, empty the tank completely and discard the sand, and then put in a layer of NEW sand.
Eventually the fish grew their barbels back in this case too. And I learned another lesson in reasons why Corydoras might loose their precious and charming barbels

[Corygal]

Thanks for that Mona O. It's good to know they did all grow back in the right conditions. It's also good to know what conditions to avoid! I really appreciate you going to the trouble of posting and I know my little guys will too

[Shazray]

Hey there ... I know this is an old post but I stumbled across it and noticed that one of the original questions was never answered, i.e. What cories are these? Answer: Corydoras habrosus, one of my favorites. It is one of the few types of dwarf cories. Love them.

[CoryfanAad]

Hahaha these indeed are C.habrosus and surely not C.Paleatus. They are almost adults and looking perfectly fine. They won't grow much The barbels of this species are very short compared to others. Living in flowing riversystem they need some cooler flowing water that's rich of oxygen. My favo Cory : Habrosus rules !!!!! Nice you took them : you won't be disapponted !!!

[CoryfanAad]

Oops now I see the thread is from 2011 hahahha. Hope you still have them hahahaha.

[Bamboo]

They are beautiful , I'm sure they are greatful of their new homes !