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To all Corydoras experts at FP, can you please help me identify these Corydoras.

I have a chance to buy some of these little buggers & i want to know if they're all the same species & if not, what are they. It's not common to have these Corydoras in Malta & so i want to know what are they, before i get some.

Thanks alot in advance & best regards from Malta.

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/detail?.dir=/mail&.dnm=9486re2.jpg&.src=ph

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/detail?.dir=/mail&.dnm=2ec2re2.jpg&.src=ph

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/detail?.dir=b5f2&.dnm=21f2.jpg&.src=ph

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/detail?.dir=b5f2&.dnm=4458.jpg&.src=ph


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http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

The fish in the third and fourth pictures are Corydoras trilineatus. The cories in the first two photos could be either C. julii or a C. trilineatus variant like the one [link=here]http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/callicht/corydora/508_9.PHP" style="COLOR: #808080[/link]. C. julii are not imported nearly as often as C. trilineatus and trilineatus cories are bred in some of the fish farms, so the julii cories are much harder to find. Just going by odds, it is more likely that the fish in your photos are Corydoras trilineatus. To me, they do look like they could be the true C. julii... a very uncommon find.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

These fish possess the 'vermiculated' head markings that make Corydoras trilineatus the most likely identification. Basically, what that means is that the markings on the head are joined up and squiggly, and resemble worm casts in shape. True Corydoras julii have head markings that consist of small spots.

By the way, number four in that sequence of pictures (namely this one is a very nice shot ... you should label that one "The Three Amigos" They really do look in that shot as if they're about to set off on an adventure together ... but then that's probably me and my fondness for cute Cory pics coming through


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for both reply's. I have to say that photos 1 & 2 are the Corydoras at the LFS & photos 3 &4 are my Corydoras. Do you think they are the same or they are different?.

I am thinking that the first 2 photos are C. julii & the second 2 photos are C. trilineatus. Whast do you think?.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

I'm pretty sure there are no C. julii among those pictures, with very large likelihood they are all C. trilineatus. On the other hand there are quite a few other lookalikes as well...

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So here I am once more...

Yep, odds are that the store fish are C. trilineatus. The only way to find out for sure would be to find out where the store fish were shipped from. If they're from Brazil, they are C. julii. If not, they are C. trilineatus. It is very uncommon to find true C. julii for sale, in almost all cases they are simply mislabeled trilineatus cories.

You can still add them to your tank if you like. The fish look similar enough so that they should all shoal together, at least some of the time. It is up to you whether you want them or another species, but I think they'd get along well with the ones you already own.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

The Corydoras where shipped from Germany. As i look at them, i see that the spots on their faces are different. Am i the only one that see this?.

The ones i own, have big spots & the LFS ones have small spots.
What do you think?.



http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

The spotting is what can seperate C. julii and C. trilineatus. The julii cories never have reticulations (the lined spots) like the fish in your last two pictures, but trilineatus cories usually do. Sometimes though, C. trilineatus can have all spots, like in the link from my first post. That is one of the things that makes these fish so hard to tell apart.

So the store fish are from Germany? I have read that Germany sometimes gets true julii cories imported in, and it is possible that some were shipped to your store. I have no way of knowing whether this is the case or not here. I maintain that it would be perfectly fine to buy them for your fish tank, though.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I am thinking that mine are C. trilineatus & the LFS (if there are any left) has C. julii.

I will try to see if there are any left & next Tuesday, i'll go & buy some. They are US$6 each.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

I have three juliis myself and I am positive that is what those are. . .not sure about the third picture down though. . .

And here in Minnesota, it's not hard to find juliis at all. . .there are tons at my local Petco and some at the Wet Pet

"I have three juliis myself and I am positive that is what those are"

Unless you've got a capturing locality, I highly doubt you have an anatomically discerning eye or the expertise in corydoradinae identification to be able to positively conclude anything.

Betta_Fantasy, the overwhelming odds are that the "Corydoras julii" being sold near you are actually just Corydoras trilineatus. These fish are mislabeled all the time. In fact, I'd say that C. trilineatus is incorrectly designated more often than correctly.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Oh yes, the fun and games of mislabelling.

I think I've seen true julii once, when my LFS had some mixed in with trilineatus. What made then stand out was that they had spots on the head instead of vermiculated markings, and the head was distinctly rounder in shape, practically like an astronaut helmet, while the 'definite' trilines were somewhat more angular (though still a 'round faced' Cory as opposed to the 'horse faced' ones like pastazensis).

Even so, it would probably require dissection to separate them definitively.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002