Adolfoi Corys...

[Eines]

I went to several pet stores the other day and noticed that they have stocked up on some new types of corys, including a bunch of really cute adolfoi corys! They really look adorable, I especially love the redish orange color on their backs. The more I read up on corys, the more I like them. Anyone here ever owned any adolfoi corys?

 

[jollysue]

Polardbear had some.

They are a very desirsable species. I have duplicarus which are very similar.

Congratualations. Or did you get some?

 

[Eines]

no, sadly I didn't get any I'm currently setting up a new 30g aquarium, so I'm vaguely considering maybe getting some; however, I really wanted to make this aquarium brackish, so I probably won't get any corys. even if I did make this aquarium freshwater, my water is slightly alkaline, so it wouldn't be ideal for corys anyway.

Still, it's so much fun to stare at the fish in the pet store and wish I could have some (although I'm starting to wonder if the people that work there might think I'm a little strange)

 

[jollysue]

Ah yes! Strange fish people. But the lps should understand.

I would contact your local folk and see which Corys do well in your area. There are some fine fish keepers in Germany. And locally bred fish may be already acclimated to your water.

 

[Eines]

that's a good point, I should ask. Especially since the store is only just around the corner, they probably have similar water parameters...hmm...

 

[Bozza]

I have some about 3-5 I think. I cant really remeber, there are so many fish and so much plants I dont know what I have anymore

 

[Eines]

that's awesome! How active are they? The ones I saw at the pet store were a little less active than some of the other corys. It's not like they just sat there, like some of the other species, but they didn't move around as much as others...

 

[drewry]

i have 6 Eines
there not as active as some ov the othere speices i have there a bit shy but really nices cats

 

[Eines]

yeah, that's what I thought. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Coryologist]

that's awesome! How active are they? The ones I saw at the pet store were a little less active than some of the other corys. It's not like they just sat there, like some of the other species, but they didn't move around as much as others...

Hi. Trying to determine anything about a group of Corys, by using the way they act in a tank at your lfs, is not a very good indicator of anything. The same group of Corys, even in your perfectly set-up aquarium at home, will display certain behaviors at different times. A group can hide under cover for days on end and all of a sudden they are out in the open for days at a time. They may shoal as a group and then one day, one or two decide to cruise the tank on their own. Oftentimes a fish from one group will join another group for a short period or days. Oftentimes a fish, in perfect health, may rest or cruise on its own, regardless of the actions of the rest of the group. Additionally, trying to ascribe any type of significance to these behaviors is a futile exercise, and to my way of thinking, a perfect example of anthropomorphism.

Fish are not happy or sad, friendly or nasty. They are either well maintained in which they will display optimum health - or - they are poorly maintained and exhibit behaviors that we might interpret as "sad." They don't "long" for companionship and a lone Cory in a tank can survive for years in perfect health and "happiness." lol. Does that mean to say that fish do not display certain behaviors that we can interpret as the aforementioned "feelings?" Of course not, but putting our feelings onto our fish, or trying to place our interpretation of what those behaviors represent at certain times is well, you know - - - - - - - - more of those mental gymnastics, to use a politically correct term.

Additionally, you can't even judge what a group of fish will do in your tank, as opposed to another person's tank. There are so many variables that are involved in maintaining fish, that it is almost impossible to predict how a certain group of fish will acclimate and "enjoy" their new home. Trying to gain information from fellow hobbyist can certainly be very helpful in making purchasing decisions, but I think, in the end, if you want a group of fish you should get them, provide the best you can for them and then see if the fish exhibit the type of behavior that you deem necessary f you to want to continue to keep that fish.

I feel it is best to just let the fish live their lives without excessive demands from their keepers that they should shoal more or spend more time in the open. They are not circus animals that can be trained for your amusement. Enjoy fish for what they are, rather than being disappointed in what they are not. If you like fish that shoal as a group in midwater, then there are realistic purchasing opportunities for fish that will precisely meet your requirement. However, if you purchase a specie that tend to be more "shy and reclusive" and keep poking them with a piece of rigid air line tubing to get them moving - well, there's a special place in hell for fish keepers who treat their fish that way. Fish are not pets. Sure, you can get an Oscar to take food from your fingers. Did you train it? I think not. I haven't seen an Oscar, yet, that won't take food from your fingers. As much as we proclaim to love our fish, well, they ain't loving us back. As much as I love my fish, more than anything on the planet (except for my dog), I always have to remind myself that a cockroach is infinitely smarter.

Now - with all of that beings said, here's something to ponder. If you see a group of C. adolfoi at your lfs and you really like the fish, but you ain't crazy that they look kinda lifeless, why not take them home and see if you are able to provide them more of an environment that would be to their liking, which in turn would make you and the fish, "happy, happy, happy?"

I love my C. adolfoi (just pulled 15 eggs, yesterday), but their behavior runs the gamut. I never give it a second thought and I leave them to just go about their daily routine with as little interference from me as possible. This is also why I make absolutely no concerted effort to spawn Corys. They've been spawning for hundreds of millions of years with no help from man (sorry, creationists) and I firmly maintain that they'll be spawning away when humankind has been wiped from the face of the Earth.

Try them. You'll like them - and if not - just move them on to another enthusiast. Yes, perhaps they will be "happier" living at someone else's house. - Frank

 

[corydoras1]

I appreciate what you are saying, but are you really saying there are no typical behaviours. And secondly, nothing can be inferred by non typical behaviour?

This doesn't seem to match my experience, however I know you have had more experience

 

[Coryologist]

I appreciate what you are saying, but are you really saying there are no typical behaviours. And secondly, nothing can be inferred by non typical behaviour?

Hi. No, I'm not saying that, at all. It's just that "typical" behavior is a relative term. I have 2 tanks of CW016's. They are from the same hatch. There are 8 fish in each tank - 5 males and 3 females. Their water parameters are identical, their feedings are identical - everything is identical. You would naturally assume they would behave the same. They don't. One tank of fish never stops moving and the other tank, they bury themselves in the plants and I rarely see them. Am I worried about either group? No. I don't give it a second thought. The fish in both tanks are perfectly healthy. Can anyone tell me why their behavior is so different? Nope. If you did attempt to give a reason, it would be nothing more than a guess. Are the sedentary fish, "unhappy?" I doubt it. Not in my fish room. lol.

This doesn't seem to match my experience, however I know you have had more experience

It has less to do with experience than being blessed with the luxury of having hours to observe my fish each day. Not many people can spend as many hours as they like in their fish room. I make it a point, everyday, to plop myself down in a chair in front of a rack of tanks and sit there for as long as I like, simply observing my groups. It's one of the reasons I can look at a group of fish and know that with a day or two, they are going to spawn. I'm usually correct. Sometimes I get fooled - but was I really? How many groups have laid eggs and eaten everyone while I was sound asleep? Now, what I have just said illustrates your point that there are "typical" behaviors. What I was clumsily trying to say was, just because you deem a behavior as non-typical, does not mean that there is a problem with the fish. My C. multimaculatus have never, I repeat never sat on the bottom of the tank. They are always hovering and fluttering like hummingbirds. If I walked in the room one day and found them all sitting on the bottom of the tank, I would think that was not their typical behavior, but I wouldn't try to get them to start swimming around, either. I would just figure they were taking a break from all that fluttering.

To answer the second part of your question - no, I don't believe you can infer much by what you call non-typical behavior. What are you comparing the fish, to? Fish you saw at a shop, a friends, a Youtube video? Unless the fish are obviously distressed, I'm just more prone to believe that the normal behavior of fish, even when it appears abnormal, is probably still well within the range of "typical/normal Cory behavior."

These are just my personal observations. They are not rooted in any scientific fact. As far as my experience goes, believe me when I tell you that I learn something new, every single day and I do not hold any of my views, theories or steadfast beliefs as sacrosanct. I should know a great deal after 52 years of dedicated keeping fish, but I actually don't know, more than I do know. My areas of interest are narrowly focused and as I stated, for me, long-term observation is the most important way to gain the knowledge of when it's time to start thinking that your fish are maybe acting a little hinky. The simple fact that they are not acting on any given day, as you would expect, or are used to, to my way of thinking, is not, by itself cause for concern. - Frank

 

[corydoras1]

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed reply, very informative and helpful! Its interesting about the two tanks with siblings that act different.

(In my defense, in several of my tanks, the cories swim non stop when the filter is clean and running fast, and a few weeks later "appear" to be really bored. I clean the filter and they are back to swimming non stop again.)

 

[Coryologist]

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed reply, very informative and helpful! Its interesting about the two tanks with siblings that act different.

No problem. I'm not always a miserable yutz! Just most days. lol.

(In my defense, in several of my tanks, the cories swim non stop when the filter is clean and running fast, and a few weeks later "appear" to be really bored. I clean the filter and they are back to swimming non stop again.)

Certain species do love that strong current and it is believed that many require it as a spawning trigger. I have seen anecdotal evidence of this in my fish room, but I'm too lazy to set-up power heads.

Frank