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Today Heidi and I went to a LFS and one of the managers told us that they were getting in some diphyes. Does anyone have any first hand experience with them? Want to know if I should raid the savings to acquire some.

I've never kept them, and I'm fairly certain that these guys have been discovered only recently. As such, they aren't widespread in the hobby, and are pretty tough fish to locate. These little guys look a lot like C. paleatus (as seen [link=here]http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/callicht/corydora/815_1.php" style="COLOR: #808080[/link]), but are much smaller, topping out at two inches in length. They are probably about as hardy as most other two-inch cories, and of course prefer to be kept in shoals.

I don't know if they are worth it to you, but these fish are pretty dang uncommon. Do you know what they will be priced at, or can you find out? That way, we can see if they are severely overpriced, or a bargain, or in between. Whether you should "raid the savings" depends on how much you think they are worth.

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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."

IMO, basically all corys are the same. Over hte many years and many species i've kept, all corys are basicaly the same, except some have elongated snouts, and just a different colour scheme. However, their behaviour (ie: gregarious, active, and downright playful) are not uncommon among any species of corydoras.

Thus, if its an uncommon species like c. diphyes, i would recommend you get it if you're a real cory fan, and expand ur collection of various species. but since it does look like c. paleatus (peppered cory), and ur not willing to splurge more for sumffin that looks similar to a rather more common fish, then dun get it...its basically upto ya

IMO, basically all corys are the same

Aha. Time to step in here!

The long snouted Corydoras species, while exhibiting much of the social behaviour for which the Genus is renowned, differ substantively in maintenance requirements because they are usually hillstream natives that require cooler water. A characteristic that they share with Pandas. For these species, maintenance temperatures should be at the lower end of the tropical temperature scale, usually 22°C or 23°C. My Pandas have been known to go as low as 16°C for short periods without ill effects, and can be maintained at temperatures as low as 18°C. The long-snouted hillstream species fare MUCH better at lower temperatures, and may even suffer heat shock if attempts are made to keep them above 26°C.

Panda adults will stand up to 28°C, but are not happy at such elevated temperatures for prolonged periods. Anything over 26°C wipes out Panda fry like a plague attack. Consequently, hillstream Corys with long snouts should NOT be kept at elevated temperatures, as they are likely to be even more sensitive to heat shock than Pandas. Another characteristic that the long-snouted species share with Pandas is a need for scrupulous cleanliness in the aquarium. Just as Pandas will expire pretty quickly if placed atop a gunk-laden gravel bed, or water that is seething with nitrates, the long-snouted hillstream species will similarly expire in such circumstances. While aquarium bred specimens (if you can obtain them for some species) are likely to be slightly more tolerant than wild caught ones, the difference is likely to be marginal until the species in question have been domesticated for a good number of generations.

Furthermore, the pH and hardness ranges for the long-snounted hillstream species will be smaller than those for domesticated paleatus or aeneus. I would not put Pandas in water below pH 6.0 because I know it would kill them. The same is likely to be true of the long-snouted Corys, which will, like Pandas, almost certainly prefer water nearer to pH 7.0 (neutral).

As for social behaviour, then the long-snouted ones are likely to be every bit as gregarious as more mainstream Corys. However, as I've observed before, the dwarf species (including Pandas) tend to be, in my oft-repeated words, 'more avowedly social' than the larger ones. These smaller species seem to need the psychological security of good sized groups of their own species for long-term well-being. Hence the experience of several keepers that have lost Pandas, and seen the survivors become very desultory because they're pining for their deceased companions. With the smaller species, it's definitely a case of 'the more, the merrier'. In my own main aquarium, 4 Pandas were fun, 8 are absolute comedy mayhem!

If I ever bring the 4ft upgrade of the Panda Fun Palace™ to fruition, that is going to have 16 Pandas as a minimum. 16 Pandas in one aquarium is likely to be total and utter madness


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002