ID my green, orange Corydora sold as red sailfin Corydora???

[AgSerpent]

I know this might be a stupid question but I need help identifying this Corydora I got from a pet shop. They were selling it as red sailfin Corydora. Since I know common names just make things confusing I asked the guy from the shop what the scientific name was and he said that it was Corydora Venezuelanus. I’m trying to see if that is correct or if it is supposed to have a different scientific name. So that I know if I’m giving them the proper care and looking at the correct information. Thanks in advance

[bekateen]

Hi @AgSerpent.

Welcome to PlanetCatfish!

Looking at your photos, the orange spot behind the eyes does indicate that the fish is

Osteogaster venezuelanus

(they are no longer within the genus

Corydoras

). The fish' colors are rather washed out, so hopefully it colors up more over time.

You're right about common names meaning nothing, as there is only basically only one kind of O. venezuelanus for sale in pet stores, so referring to them as high fin or as red (or more often I see "orange") implies that there are other fin sizes and color options for this species, when in fact there aren't.

Cheers,
Eric

[Shane]

Agree with Eric on the identification. This is a "wild type" meaning it looks just like specimens collected from the wild. There is also a man made strain in the hobby with a lot of orange on the body.

These fish come from cooler, clear streams in the Rio Tuy system. Temperature should be in the high 60s to mid 70sF with a gentle current. If you are after a nice biotope set up they live alongside Diamond Tetras in the wild.

-Shane

[AgSerpent]

Thank you both for the information and help!