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his pretty little Cory was first collected by Harald Schultz in the Rondõnia area of Brazil in the main streams of the upper Rio Guapore and was thus named after this river by Jocham Knaack in 1961.

Gastrodermus guapore

It is as with many Corydoras/Gastrodermus, inoffensive in the aquarium and will tend to shoal in the middle layers of the tank much like Gastrodermus pygmaes and G. hastatus so it would be better with its own kind in a group to make it feel more secure in its surroundings.

There are three species that are similar to G. guapore, being Hoplisoma caudimaculatum, Corydoras ourastigma and Hoplisoma simile. H. caudimaculatum from lineage 9 is a more stockier looking fish with many spots on the body, Corydoras ourastigma from lineage 1 has an elongated snout and a larger blotch on the caudal peduncle and H. similis from lineage 9 has a metalic blue/green body colouration and has a fainter blotch to its caudal peduncle. As you can see in the top picture that G. guapore has also a distinct body shape and large eye. Also similar in colour patterns to Hoplisoma cruziense and Gastrodermus mamore.

Hoplisoma caudimaculatum- lineage 9

Hoplisoma simile- lineage 9

Corydoras ourastigma - lineage 1

Will do best in a group of about 6 in a planted tank with hiding places and a soft substrate such as sand or a smooth gravel base. Filtration is a personal choice with either internal or external power filters with a good water flow.

It is not the easiest Gastrodermus to find in the aquatic shops and not the cheapest either, but if you can afford it and have the tank space, it is one of the nicest looking cory's around, and you could maybe be one of the few to spawn this species.

Guapore Cory

Corydoras guapore

Corydoradinae

South America: Brazil, Guaporé River basin. Type locality: Brasilien, im Hauptstrom des oberen Rio Guaporé.

5.0cm (2ins)

23-27°C (73-81°F)

Head short and compact. Large eyes. Shaped more in common with the dwarf Cory's such as G. pygmaes and G. hastatus.

This is akin to most of this genus, very peaceful, and would be best housed with small to medium tankmates such as Tetras Rasboras and Danios.

Not been bred as often as some other Corydoras/Gastrodermus but keeping up the water changes regularly will hopefully entice them to show an interest in breeding. There is an article where there has been success with this species on ScotCat.

Can be fed most aquarium fare such as good quality flake, grindel and white worm, tablet foods and frozen foods such as bloodworm. Also keen on Brine Shrimp Naupli.

Gastrodermus: The lining membrane of the alimentary tract of an invertebrate, used especially when the germ-layer origin is obscure.
guapore: Named after Rio Guapore, where this Corydoras was collected.

Alexandrou, Markos & Taylor, Martin (2011). Evolution, ecology and taxonomy of the Corydoradinae revisited.
Angelica C Dias, Luiz F C Tencatt, Fabio F Roxo, Gabriel de Souza da Costa Silva, Sérgio A Santos, Marcelo R Britto, Martin I Taylor, Claudio Oliveira, Phylogenomic analyses in the complex Neotropical subfamily Corydoradinae (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) with a new classification based on morphological and molecular data, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2024;, zlae053.
Fuller, I.A.M. & Evers, H-G: 2005 Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish 384 p.
Seus, Werner; Corydoras The most popular armoured catfishes of South America. Dähne Verlag. 218p.

Photo Credits

© Allan James @
© Adrian Payne (2)
© Julian Dignall @