Corydoras adolfoi
Burgess, 1982 |
ur first foray into the year 2003 brings me back to the
Callichthyidae family again and a factsheet request for a relatively
new Cory, in scientific terms anyway, of Adolfo's Cory, Corydoras
adolfoi which was named after the Brazilian exporter Adolfo
Schwartz.
This Corydoras was one of the first of the fleshy coloured,
black banded/striped species with the gold markings to be collected
in the tributaries of the upper Rio Negro in Brazil, alongside
such species as Corydoras burgessi, C. davidsandsi and
Corydoras imitator which was collected at the same time and
is basically the long nosed variety of our factsheet of the month
subject and also the very similar C. duplicareus which
has a broader black band on the body. There has also been collections
made over the border in Venezuela.
It was first discovered by Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod in the first
tributary north of the village of São
Gabriel da Cachoeira known locally as the 'Miua' and is the type
locality in the original account of the collecting of Corydoras
adolfoi. It was first imported into the United States in
the same year of its discovery in 1982 and then into Europe the
following year
Above pictures showing Corydoras adofoi on
left and Corydoras duplicareus on the right.
|
This Cory along with the vast majority of the Genus do better
in a shoal of at least 6 as they are quite a timid species and
will feel more secure in numbers. You will also have a better
chance of also spawning this species They are not one of the easiest
Corydoras to breed and a lot of work and patience is called
for. (see below in the breeding section).
Left picture showing a pair of the very similar
Corydoras imitator (longer snout) and Corydoras
burgessi
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Shape of head; short and compact with the
body a typical Corydoras shape.
Light silver-grey with a black band running
over the top half of body and slightly into the base of the dorsal
fin. Black band running over the eyes. An orange/yellow marking
over the supraocipical. All fins are clear.
A tank setup would entail a soft substrate
such as sand or a small gravel and a nice plant covering around
the back and sides of the aquarium. If housed in a community tank
a mixture of small South American characins or the smaller varieties
of Asian Rasboras would suffice, as larger fishes would intimidate
these shy Cory's, and would stop them eating and would be therefore
detrimental to their overall health.
As per standard Corydoras breeding
structures. Set them up with preferably more males than females
( a ratio of 2:1 is good ) in a 18" x 12" x 12" tank
with either fine gravel or sand with either sponge filter or a corner
filter box with a good current. Install some java moss or wool mops,
this gives the females a choice of where to place their eggs but
you will probably find that they will mostly lay them on the glass
anyway.
A temperature in the mid-seventies is good with a p.H around about
the neutral (7) mark. Feed a diet of frozen or live food such as
bloodworm, whiteworm (sparingly because of the fat content) grindleworm,
daphnia and a good quality flake or tablet food.
Make a 50% water change, when you notice the female(s) have fattened
up, with water that is cooler so as to bring the temperature down.
A good idea is to also add a small internal filter to push the water
around the aquarium which will also oxygenate it.
If successful you can either take the adults out and leave the eggs
in the main tank or reverse it and take the eggs out by rolling
them of the tank sides with your fingers into a small hatching tank,
you can then decide to add a anti-fungus remedy or to leave alone.
If you make the wrong choice and the eggs fungus you will get another
chance as once Corydoras start to breed the first time they
will carry on using the afore-mentioned process.
It has been stated that the fry of Corydoras adolfoi are
a bit harder to raise than the norm as they are difficult to start
feeding and a trick used by some breeders is to mix them with fry
from other Corydoras species so they can follow the other
fry when they are feeding and so get a start to show how to start
eating.
A good quality flake food and tablet food
for adults with sparodic feedings of frozen or live food will keep
your Corydoras in good health.
Feeding the fry after they use up their yolk-sac with brine shrimp
naupli, microworm and fry flake food.
| Etymology |
Corydoras:
Cory = helmeted; doras
= leathery skin,(helmeted Doras) cuirass.
adolfoi: Named in honour of Adolfo
Schwartz.
|
| References |
Fuller, Ian A.M., Breeding
Corydoradine Catfishes
1. Sandy Milne 2. Sandy
Milne
3. Adrian Payne 4. 
5. Dennis Barrett |
Brazil
: small tributary
of the upper Rio Negro near the village of São Gabriel
da Cachoeira.(
