Corydoras
oiapoquensis Nijssen,
1972 |
his cory is like a Corydoras panda
look-alike, the difference being is that C .oiapoquensis
has the caudal peduncle spot on the base of the caudal fin, plus
the tail has about 3 bands whereas C. panda has a clear
tail. Apart from that they are very much alike, but I have found
C. oiapoquensis to be a very shy fish, hence the quick
and not so great photo here, as the fish appeared instead of waiting
for it to come nearer, you can still see the main characteristics
in the image.
Corydoras
oiapoquensis occurs in the wild
alongside a long-snouted look-a-like Corydoras condiscipulus.
The Latin name of condiscipulus actually means schoolmate
pertaining to the fact that they are together much of the time.
You can see in the pictures below the difference in the length
of the snout.
Above pictures showing Corydoras oiapoquensis on
left and Corydoras
condiscipulus
on the right.
|
They were imported into the U.K., as far as I know, about 1996.
The top picture is the male, I think, as the females don't get very
gravid looking or heavy before the spawning cycle, so sometimes
you can make a mistake identifying them. I was lucky and picked
up 2 males and 1 female from a well known outlet in the north
of England in March 98 and housed them in a 17" x 15"
x 15" tank. Every time that I appeared in the fishhouse they
would scatter about the tank and so I decided to cover the top of
the tank to cut down on the light.
About 1 month later, with the tank being in darkness most of the
time, I did not notice that they had spawned, with about 12 eggs
laid on the Java Moss. I had missed the first spawning as
the parents must have ate the fry, so I took the eggs out to a separate
container. The eggs are a kind of rusty/orange colour and about
2mm in size.
Below is a small photo gallery of the breeding of Corydoras
oiapoquensis, just click on the thumbnail to get a larger image.
There are a few variations of this species
where there is no banding in the tail and some that have no black
blotch in the dorsal.
Dorsal 1/7; Anal 1/5; Head short and compact.
Flesh coloured body. Dorsal fin with black
blotch to base. Caudal fin with black blotch at the base with dark
bands. Black band covering eyes. Adipse fin with a black marking
to leading edge.
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 stated above, the tank size, but a 18"
x 12" x 12" would suffice. When they spawned the tank
parameters were a temp.of 77f and a pH of 6.with a GH of 1. As mentioned
before they are apt to eating very small fry, so it is advised to
take the eggs away and introduce the fry back, if desired, at about
1 month old. They are quite an easy species to spawn and I was surprised
that they did when the pH was on the low side. A very shy species
and likes to hide in the tank, so give pots etc.for their comfort.
The usual fare for adult Corydoras,
a good quality flake food, tablet food, frozen bloodworm and whiteworm
used sparingly.The fry can be fed brine shrimp from a very early
age and grow quick in the first month, then they are apt to slow
down.
| Etymology |
Corydoras:
Cory = helmeted; doras
= leathery skin,(helmeted Doras) cuirass.
oiapoquensis:
Named for the Rio Oiapoque in French Guiana were this Corydoras
gets its name from.
|
| References |
Burgess E.Warren,
Colored Atlas of Miniature Catfish, 1992
Top
& Photo Gallery:
Middle Pictures :
Sandy Milne |
French
Guiana, Cumuri
Creek at left bank of Río Oiapoque upstream of first
rapids of Grande Roche, southwest of village Oiapoque
