Possible Reticulatus Cory?

[Whit186]

Got this little guy in amongst my Panda Corys school. First thought he was a Reticulatus, but the body shape seems wrong for that. Maybe a Julii but no distinctive lateral line. Only one in the tank right now. I'm looking for pals for him but don't want to invest in the wrong species. Any ideas out there?

[bekateen]

Hi Whit186,

Welcome to PlanetCatfish.

Except for the dark spot on the dorsal fin, the face (alternating white spots surrounded by dark borders) and the body pattern suggests this is a juvenile

Corydoras sterbai

.

I'm pretty sure this fish is hybrid between

Corydoras sterbai

and

Corydoras panda

. Steer clear of it.

Sorry, Eric

[bekateen]

On second thought, I may be wrong. I've looked around the web for more photos of reticulatus, and they do resemble this. So perhaps yes. Where are you seeing these? In a local fish store? Do you know if the pandas are captive bred or wild caught? I expect in the USA that a lot of the pandas are captive bred.

Cheers, Eric

[Whit186]

I initially had four pandas from my local store. Now up to 20. They won't stop breeding. The Cory in question is unrelated to the Pandas. It was a single purchase by my son several years ago before he realized they're better kept in groups. I moved him to a 30 gallon recently and want to find a few more.

[bekateen]

The Cory in question is unrelated to the Pandas. It was a single purchase by my son several years ago before he realized they're better kept in groups. I moved him to a 30 gallon recently and want to find a few more.

That fish is several years old? It looks like it's a few months old if it is reticulatus or even sterbai. The fish's body shape, relative body proportions and relative size (compared to the pandas) are inconsistent with a 3 year old reticulatus, or even a sterbai for that matter.

If it's a wild caught fish, I have no clue what it is; maybe a review of the lineage 9 corys is in order for an ID. Given its age and size, it may be a "runt of the litter" type individual. If it's captive bred, especially if it's a hybrid, maybe that explains its size.

I'm flummoxed. Maybe someone else here will have better answers.

Cheers, Eric

[Narwhal72]

Based on it's size and the fact that it was purchased in a US store, this is probably a Corydoras trilineatus with an aberrant pattern. Not all that unusual.

Andy

[bekateen]

Based on it's size and the fact that it was purchased in a US store, this is probably a Corydoras trilineatus with an aberrant pattern. Not all that unusual.

As I stated above for sterbai, I would expect a 3 year old trilineatus to be much different in size and mass, again, unless it's a runt.

But this comment makes me consider a trilineatus-sterbai hybrid. That seems more reasonable.

Cheers,
Eric

[Whit186]

Just curious, what is it about this one that leads you away from it being a Reticulatus?

[Narwhal72]

I am thinking it's because of the yellow spine on the pectoral fins. A trait of sterbai and it's relatives (gossei, haraldschultzi,etc..) but not reticulatus or trilineatus.

[bekateen]

Just curious, what is it about this one that leads you away from it being a Reticulatus?

A few reasons.

• Body shape: Your fish has a perfect lineage 9 body and snout shape. Reticulatus has a higher-profiled, stout body.
• Body size: As I mentioned above, a 3-year-old reticulatus would be much bigger than this fish. This fish has the size and proportions of a juvenile a few months old.
• Reticulatus is also a metallic fish. I see no metallic coloration on your fish.

And I hadn't previously given attention to the pectoral spine. @Narwhal72 is on the money with this point. Yellow-orange pectoral spines are unique to only a few cory species, but reticulatus is not one of them. Sterbai is. By contrast, reticulatus should have a grey, lightly melanized pectoral spine.

Is it possible that your son bought a sterbai and when you added it to your tank, it spawned with your pandas in the tank, so this is not actually your son's fish? Rather, this is a new fish? If your tank is well-fed, a fry could grow to this size in a few weeks.

Cheers, Eric