The last month of 2006 brings another factsheet from our resident "guru" Chris Ralph and a look at a relatively new Cory which has only been in the hobby for the last 10 years, and is coincidental in that ScotCat will be celebrating 10 years next month also, so I will hand you over to Chris to guide you along.

orydoras seussi has been available to the hobbyist for a few years now, and shares a similar colour pattern with Corydoras gossei, which has a rounded snout. Before being described scientifically as Corydoras seussi this magnificent catfish was referred to as C27.

Corydoras seussi belongs to the family Callichthyidae from Brazil; namely the Rio Poranga a tributary of the upper Rio Negro and the Mamore River basin.

Corydoras seussi prefer to be kept in water which has a pH in the range of 6.5-7.2 (although it has been known for this species to tolerate a much wider range of pH 6.0-8.0), and hardness in the range of 2.0-25.0 dGH. This catfish is ideally suited to temperatures in the range of 22-26ºC.

I would suggest a minimum size of 24” x 15” X 12” for a shoal of these fascinating catfish. The preferred substrate for keeping these catfish should be good quality aquarium sand such as BD Aquarium Sand, or very smooth rounded gravel in order to prevent their barbels from being damaged. The aquarium should provide some shelter in the form of rocks, bogwood and aquatic plants. As with all other species of fish, water quality and general husbandry is very important, and I would recommend that the aquarist undertake a minimum of 25% water change on a fortnightly basis.

Typical triangular Corydoras body shape with a pointed snout.

These catfish are very peaceful towards their own kind and indeed other species of Corydoras. These catfish are ideally suited to being kept in a community aquarium environment with other non-aggressive species of fish such as tetras and dwarf cichlids. Whilst Corydoras seussi are not cheap to purchase, wherever possible I would recommend that you purchase a minimum of six specimens, as they are naturally found in the wild in large shoals.

Whilst this is a species of Corydoras that I am fortunate to have kept in recent years I was unable to persuade the fish to breed. Whilst there are documented records for spawning the similar coloured Corydoras gossei, I am not personally aware of any successful accounts for spawning Corydoras seussi to date. I would however, envisage that when breeding these catfish would adopt the typical Corydoras “T” clinch when mating, which involves the female transferring sperm from the male to her eggs held in her ventral fins prior to them being laid carefully on a chosen surface. It is documented and observed that the female takes the sperm from the male into her mouth which is then passed out of her vent and on to the eggs which she holds in small numbers between her ventral fins.

As with all the other Corydoras that I have had the pleasure to keep over the years, Corydoras seussi readily accepts a mixed and varied diet. I personally feed all of my Corydoras on sinking pellets, good quality flake foods, granular foods, cultured whiteworm and frozen foods such as bloodworm to name but a few.