Corydoras Zygatus?

[trickyspark]

I don't know if this is the corydora know as Corydoras zygatus, a.k.a "Banded Black Catfish" or not.

The fish store I bought it from has a good reputation, and has always sold me healthy fish before.

These things are huge though, about twice the size of a full grown green-gold corydora. They look like panda cory's, but they're twice the size of them too.

The normal cory's I have are about 3 inches long. I have no idea on diameter.

These are about 4-5 inches long and about twice the diameter. I wish I could get them in a side by side pic to show it better. They act like cory's, my cory's hang around them all the time, they seem to ignore the cory's though.

I did have one panda female that tried to breed with them, or I guess that was what she was doing, getting them into the T position.

I apologize for picture clarity, I have the worst time getting a clear pic.

It seems to match Corydoras ambiacus except for the size, could it possibly be a hybrid somethin or nother?

 

[Coryologist]

Corydoras agassizii. C. zygatus is not a spotted Cory. Four to 5 inches? Come on, now. - Frank

 

[trickyspark]

Corydoras agassizii. C. zygatus is not a spotted Cory. Four to 5 inches? Come on, now. - Frank

Guess I should have gotten one to pose on an actual ruler before I said anything.

I was trying to measure by luring one into a corner and placing my finger on the back glass til I saw it on the inside, then using a tape measure to measure from the edge of the tank to my finger to judge it. I guess I didn't figure in that it was distorting things that bad. I tried again, and watching inside for my finger to appear behind the fish and then looking on the back, it was way past it's tail.

They are a lot bigger than the cory's I've had for a while. I mean A LOT. I make sure they all get plenty of food as to make sure the size isn't just a "well he got more food than me" type thing. I don't just mean longer, they are wider and taller as well.

I know it wasn't a Corydoras Zygatus, I was saying that was what the fish store had the tank labeled as and sold it to me as "Banded Black Catfish" which when I googled kept showing Corydoras Zygatus.

The image for Corydoras ambiacus was a good match IMO. I wanted to find out exactly what cory it was so that I could get them a few more buddies for another tank and leave the smaller cory's to do their own thing.

Corydoras agassizii. C. zygatus is not a spotted Cory. Four to 5 inches? Come on, now. - Frank

Guess I should have gotten one to pose on an actual ruler before I said anything.

I was trying to measure by luring one into a corner and placing my finger on the back glass til I saw it on the inside, then using a tape measure to measure from the edge of the tank to my finger to judge it. I guess I didn't figure in that it was distorting things that bad. I tried again, and watching inside for my finger to appear behind the fish and then looking on the back, it was way past it's tail.



I know it wasn't a Corydoras Zygatus, I meant to say that was what the fish store had the tank labeled as and sold it to me as "Banded Black Catfish" which when I googled kept showing Corydoras Zygatus.

I took another pic, managed to use the net to get 2 to lay together, one was partially obscured by the plant. Hope that kind of helps show the size difference a bit. Thanks for the ID.
.

 

[Coryologist]

Hi. This is the best way to show size. CW036 is among the largest of Corys. Commonly referred to as "Super Arcuatus." - Frank

 

[Cory_Dad]

Corydoras agassizii. C. zygatus is not a spotted Cory. Four to 5 inches? Come on, now. - Frank

Hi Frank.

Hm, you may or may not be right. From my searches on the web for C. agassizii I can see a fair variaty in the the profile. I've got 2 that look very similar to trickyspark's.

and

My guess was C74.

But what the heck do I know about Cories...

 

[Coryologist]

Hi Frank. Hm, you may or may not be right.

Yep. I got a 50-50 chance.

From my searches on the web for C. agassizii I can see a fair variaty in the the profile. I've got 2 that look very similar to trickyspark's. My guess was C74.

Two things. 1. How long has the fish been acclimated and given a chance to color-up fully? 2. Where was the fish collected? Without knowing #2, all you can do is make a reasonable guess at ID'ing most spotted Corys.

C74 has a much more pronounced dorsal blotch, reaching to the top of the first few dorsal rays. Additionally, it has a a very dark mask, extending from the top of the head to well below the eye. That's where #1 could be the problem. When all is said and done, the fish could very well be C74. Your guess is as good as mine.

But what the heck do I know about Cories...

That one I cannot answer for you. lol. - Frank

 

[Cory_Dad]

Hi Frank. Hm, you may or may not be right.

Yep. I got a 50-50 chance.

From my searches on the web for C. agassizii I can see a fair variaty in the the profile. I've got 2 that look very similar to trickyspark's. My guess was C74.

Two things. 1. How long has the fish been acclimated and given a chance to color-up fully? 2. Where was the fish collected? Without knowing #2, all you can do is make a reasonable guess at ID'ing most spotted Corys.

C74 has a much more pronounced dorsal blotch, reaching to the top of the first few dorsal rays. Additionally, it has a a very dark mask, extending from the top of the head to well below the eye. That's where #1 could be the problem. When all is said and done, the fish could very well be C74. Your guess is as good as mine.

But what the heck do I know about Cories...

That one I cannot answer for you. lol. - Frank

Frank

1. I've had them now for close to 1.5 months; no change in colouration.

2. No idea (and THAT is the crux of the matter).

I'm beginning to realize why my requests for ID on other forums are fruitless. I'm also beginning to think that getting an exact ID is nothing more that getting 'bragging rights'.

Thanks Frank.

 

[Coryologist]

Frank

1. I've had them now for close to 1.5 months; no change in colouration.

2. No idea (and THAT is the crux of the matter).

I'm beginning to realize why my requests for ID on other forums are fruitless. I'm also beginning to think that getting an exact ID is nothing more that getting 'bragging rights'.

Thanks Frank.

Hi. I make an honest effort to help. I am by no means an expert. There is no perfection in life. I am wrong as often as I am correct. - Frank