''Corydoras paleatus'' is a species of

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

( order Siluriformes) of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Callichthyidae Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes), called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates (or scutes) along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many ...

. Its common names include blue leopard corydoras, mottled corydoras, and peppered catfish. It originates from the lower Paraná River basin and coastal rivers in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

This fish species reach about 5.9 centimeters (2.3 in) SL. The male is smaller than the female, and in proportion to body length, the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

and

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s are longer on the male than the female.

Ecology

Corydoras paleatus is found in the Amazon basin, and feeds on worms,

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, and plant matter. ''C. paleatus'' has been known to produce sound; it does this by the abduction of its pectoral fins. This is used by males during

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

and

intrapersonal communication Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech. Intr ...

, and by both sexes and juveniles when distressed. In reproduction, males do not behave aggressively toward each other, nor do they monopolize mating areas or females. The T-position is involved in courtship, as with many other ''Corydoras'' species.

In the aquarium

It is a very good choice for the community aquarium, as it is a hardy, good-looking, and peaceful fish. They can be successfully kept with other small, peaceful aquarium fish like

livebearers Livebearers are aquarium fish that retain the eggs inside the body and give birth to live, free-swimming young. Among aquarium fish, livebearers are nearly all members of the family Poeciliidae and include guppies, mollies, platies and swordta ...

danio ''Danio'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae found in South and Southeast Asia, commonly kept in aquaria. They are generally characterised by a pattern of horizontal stripes, rows of spots or vertical bars. Some species ...

s, and

tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by ...

s. It is sometimes seen in the shops as an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

form, although this is similar to other albino corys (see the '' C. aeneus'' albino form). It grows to around 7.5 cm and is easily bred at home. These fish prefer a planted tank with temperatures around 16 to 24 ° C (61 – 75 ° F), although they can take lower temperatures than this. Their high temperature tolerance seems poor, and 30 °C (86 °F) is the highest safe temperature. They like to nibble on the algae that grow on floating plants but are not specialized algae-eating catfish. The lighting must not be too bright, and hiding places, such as bogwood, are needed as they like to hide from the light during certain parts of the day. Heavily planted areas should also be provided, where the light is minimized, as they like darker areas due to their bottom-feeding nature. Diet should be sinking pellets, algae wafers, frozen and live food, such as bloodworm or

daphnia ''Daphnia'' is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans, in length. ''Daphnia'' are members of the order Anomopoda, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because their saltatory swimming style resembl ...

. They may also occasionally enjoy blanched spinach, which can be attached to plants with a peg or the side of the glass with magnetic clips. They can be seen to dart to the top of the tank: this is because they can use atmospheric oxygen to supplement what their gills extract from the water. They will do this more frequently when water quality is starting to deteriorate, and so should be watched for this indication.

Breeding

Peppered corydoras reach their

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

and start to show reproductive behaviors once the females reach an average (minimum) size of 5.625 cm (2.214 inches) and once the males reach about 4.875 cm (1.919 inches). The males initiate the

courtship ritual A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), ...

, which entails chasing the females around the tank. The female darts away, and the males search for her and find her a few moments later. The males shiver all over the female and may lie down on top of her. When she is ready to spawn, she turns to the male next to her and pounds below his ventral fin. The pair go into the "T-position" with the male releasing the sperm into the female's mouth before the sperm fertilizes the eggs. The female cups her ventral fins and lays a few eggs (usually between 4 and 12 eggs) in her fins. The eggs are about 1.8 mm in diameter. The female now starts cleaning a spot on the glass to put her eggs on. Corydoras are egg depositors and lay their eggs all over the aquarium. Favorite spots include the heater, filters, and the glass, although, occasionally eggs are also laid on plants and driftwood. After depositing a group of eggs closely together, the female rests for a few moments. The males regroup and start chasing each other and then resume chasing the female. The males are so relentless in this pursuit that they try to mate with the female even while she is busy laying her eggs. The spawning lasts more than an hour, and many eggs are laid in different places. On average, about 50 to 150 eggs are laid during a single spawning.

Raising the fry

The

incubation period Incubation period (also known as the latent period or latency period) is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical, or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent. In a typical infectious disease, the in ...

for the eggs for peppered corydoras was found to be between 96 hours and 113 hours at 24±2°C, with the average incubation period being about 102 hours (or 4.25 days). In one study, the average hatching ratio of the eggs was found to be approximately 87%, with the overall egg-laying period lasting between 20 and 35 days. Peppered cories can eat their eggs, but will not eat the living fry. At first, the fry is small (with a mean length of 7.5246 mm) and is unable to eat, sustaining themselves on the last of their yolk sacs. The fry will begin to eat 1-3 days after hatching, and will eat the protozoan organisms in the tank and can be fed powdered food at this stage. By about one month, the fry will start to become rounder and will begin developing adult coloration, eventually becoming miniature versions of the adults. The juveniles will reach adult size at around 1 year of age, although this varies between individuals and how well they are kept. The age of sexual maturity also varies between individuals, but juveniles will typically begin breeding at around 8-12 months of age. However, they can begin as early as 6 months and as late as 18 months of age. From the onset of sexual maturity, it can take the fish up to another year to successfully produce fertile eggs; at first, entire clutches of eggs may be infertile. Albino strains may develop slower and be less fertile due to inbreeding.

References