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his member of the Callichthyidae family is a well known favourite amongst Corydoras lovers. The 'Skunk' or 'Arched Cory' is sometimes difficult to pick up in the shops and seems to come and go in periods so you have to snap them up when seen and of course the recently unfolding story of the true B. arcuata (note spelling from arcuatus to arcuata) is told below.

Brochis arcuata

Water conditions are of paramount importance on this species as the barbels are very susceptible and can very quickly wear away if the water changes are not adhered to and the bacteria builds up in the substrate, why this species of Corydoras/Brochis is effected more than any other is a mystery to me.

In the following picture you can see the worn down barbels on this species. Sand would probably be a good bet for the bottom of their tank, just a light scattering should suffice.

 

Brochis arcuata

 

This species is sometimes confused with its longer nosed ‘cousin’ Corydoras narcissus, but the length of the snout is the main difference, and also the stripe in narcissus tends to be longer, running into the lower lobe of the caudal fin.

This species was given the CW-number (Corydoras World) of 36 as it had not previously been given a C-number. It is now thought (Grant, S. 2014) that this species, CW036, is the true Corydoras arcuatus (Brochis arcuata) instead of the shorter nosed C020 (now Hoplisoma granti).

 

 

Above is a young speciman, (C020) and as it grows the black spots will join up to show the adult black line.

UPDATE: It is now been proven (Grant, S. 2014) that CW036 is the true Brochis arcuata instead of C020.

Remarks: Placed in Lineage 8 sub clade 4 which comprises the "intermediate long-snouts" with deeper bodies. It also includes Brochis in sub-clade 1 which was synonymised with Corydoras by Britto in 2003 but in time there will be a revision which will resurrect Brochis (Cope, 1871) to full genera again. As of the latest update Corydoras arcuatus has now been placed in Lineage 8 sub clade 4 and has the new genus and specific name of Brochis arcuata (Dias et al 2024). Still found on some online sources as Corydoras arcuatus.

Still found on some online sources as Corydoras arcuatus.

 

Skunk Cory, Arched Cory.

None

Corydoradinae

South America:  Brazil, Rio Madeira, Humaita-region.

Male: 7.5 cm (3ins) Female: 8.0cm (3¼ins)

22-26°C (71-79°F)

Dorsal 1/7; Anal 1/6; 22-24 bony scutes in the upper lateral series, 20-22 in the lower.

Will do well in a community setup with smaller tankmates such as Rasboras and Tetra's. Do not house with aggressive species or large Cichlids.

Not one of the easiest cory's to breed, but in one reported spawning a cold water change down to 60f (17c) induces spawning, with the eggs being laid in Java Moss. Eggs will hatch in 3 to 4 days. U.K. Corydoras breeder Ian Fuller of the Corydoras World web site has bred this species in 1980 and reported the usual Cory T-mating clinch fashion. 110 eggs were laid with about 65 of them in the Java moss the remainder were stuck on the sides of the tank mainly in the corners. Temperature was 68f (20c) and the eggs hatched in 3 to 4 days. There was a 95% hatch rate. 30 years later in 2010 In Scotland, aquarist Graham Ramsay has also bred this species. See breeding article on breeding the afore mentioned species C020 here

After the fry are 3 days old, feed microworm, fry flake then progress on to brineshrimp, keeping up the water changes. Adults can be fed on the usual good quality aquarium flake with tablet food and frozen bloodworm being a good diet.

Brochis: A sling, (a reference to the structure of the barbels).
arcuata: Arched, like a bow, (referring to the stripe).

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.
Lambourne, Derek, Corydoras Catfish, An Aquarists Handbook  1995.
Sterba, Günther; Freshwater fishes of the World Vol.1 1973
Fuller, A.M. Ian, Breeding Corydoradine Catfishes.
Grant S., 2014, Catfish Study Group Journal V15 - I4.

Photo Credits

© Ian Fuller @