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I was so excited going to an LFS today because they told me they have c. Hastatus in stock. Well, when I saw them, they looked like c. Pygmaeus to me (with the distinct middle horizontal line across the entire body's length), but I wasn't 100% sure since I didn't have my cory book with me. Of course when I asked one of the staff, he just said, well, they were labelled as cory hastatus when we got them, so they must be hastatus. Doh! After checking my book and various online pics, I'm pretty sure they were c. pygmaeus, not c. hastatus. Bummer, since the local importer that the LFS got it from clearly states on the web stock list that they have both c. pygmaeus and c. hastatus in stock. If they're as different as I think they should be, then someone should've at least noticed them.

Has anyone seen c. hastatus IRL? The body doesn't have any horizontal line, correct? Just the distinct pattern on the tail? I wonder if this is another common mislabelling (like c. Trilineatus as c. Julii) or whether the two do look similar IRL. Why can't LFS carry at least one corydoras ID book?!? ]:|

-P

Thy are completey different species with distinctly different markings.

i have to agree...habrosus and pygmaeus may be both small that they r of different species. and yes..i ve seen them.

upikabu
sounds similar to my "discussion" with an lfs here, about whether one of their corries wasn't metae...
Some assume that if it is labeled that, then that is what it has to be...don't take someone elses opinion that might know it isn't, even if it would get you more money as the right nameor for the very least get the customer who has correctly identified the fish as something other than what it says
Several of our members here work at lfs or have worked at them, and some have tried to reason with the lfs about it not being labeled correctlyoh well, the best way to go is drag in your Aqualog or whatever book you use to identify with (don't lose it) and double check if you are in doubt, as all corydoras are not the same
oh you could always call the importer or wherever they are shipped from and requests pictures of what they have as the 2 different corries and see if you can find the difference, wouldn't hurt, right
heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Heidi,

Yup, that's what I'm going to do - email the importer asking for pics. Not sure if they'll do it, but worth a try (better than ordering them and finding out they're the wrong fish!). I'm also going to bring my corydoras book to the LFS next time and show that kid that what they have are not hastatus!

Cheers.

-P

Comparison :

Corydoras hastatus

Corydoras pygmaeus

This should help you separate them.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

An update: I went to the same LFS today with my Corydoras book, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the pygmaeus have now been properly labelled as such!
And the other surprise is that they had actual c. Hastatus in stock!! These guys are so tiny (about 1.5cm max) and they had a school of 11. I bought 6 of them, but now wondering if I should have gotten the whole lot. Do you think I could get away with having 11 of them in my 15g tank? I currently have 4 male Endlers (also tiny) and 2 c. Habrosus (rescued today from the same LFS from a batch that mostly perished a few weeks ago as mentioned in my previous post). Hopefully someday soon I can find at least 4 more Habrosus. Would 4 male Endlers, 11 Hastatus & 6 Habrosus be overstocking a 15g planted tank?

-P

I think it might be pushing it a little bit, but if your filtration is efficient, and you attend regularly to water changes and gravel vacs, it's possible. But you'd have to be fairly scrupulous about your maintenance régime.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well, I ended up going back to the LFS the next day and got the other 5 Hastatus (they looked lonely). So now I have 11 Hastatus and so far they're doing fine (although not eating much and not schooling as much as I thought they would). But the bad part is I can't seem to find any more Habrosus anywhere (even at importers). So my 2 Habrosus will be on their own for a while. They don't hang out with each other much, but each has 2-3 Hastatus "groupies" following him/her around.

-P