By Kevin Korotev, MAS
kevinkorotev@ameritech.net

You’ve seen this fish. You may already have this fish. You may not recognize the name because YOUR fish may have been mis-named. Corydoras duplicareus is often mis-named. You may think yourself the owner of Corydoras adolphoi. Surprise!

I paraphrase Ian Fuller, who, in his book: "Breeding Coryoradine Catfishes" , writes

"There are two (other) similarly marked species. The first is Corydoras imitator…, which can easily be distinguised by the fact that it is a long snouted species…

The second similar looking species is Corydoras adolphoi…Visually it is far more difficult to separate these two species. The color pattern differs only slightly in that it (duplicareus) has a broader black band and a more iotense orange blotch. The body of Corydoras duplicareus is also a little stockier and the head is a little more rounded. The main differentiating factor is one that is very difficult to see. In Corydoras adolphoi, the pectoral fin spines are smooth and in Corydoras duplicareus the are heavily serrated."

It is my experience that any really attractive adolphoi type is probably duplicareus. I have also heard it said that adolphoi fry are much more difficult to raise/ I have had young adolphoi once…briefly. Even the adults were hard to keep alive.

All of that said, the breeding conditions and spawning routine of this cat is similar to most other members of the group. They need to be over a year old, fed heartily and heavily and kept in cooler, softer water. A high oxygen content and frequent water changes also help as the females mature. My group of 8 adults contained 3 males and 5 females. That is my idea of a perfect ratio. This is an egg scattering Cory, laying eggs on the glass and in the mops.

So which fish do you have? Get out the magnifying glass and check those pectoral fins!