BREEDING A CORYDORAS 



FRANK DUNGAN 



Corydc 



aleatus 



Brazilian CatfisK or PanzertCel 



When I first saw a Brazilian catfish, 

 the panzerwel, as onr German friends 

 call it, I was rather fascinated, and this 

 regardless of its somewhat somber color 

 scheme of browns. Interest in a species, 

 especially among aqnarists, usually pro- 

 motes a desire to breed it, more so if its 

 habits be little known, and in this respect 

 I am not an exception. My friends could 

 tell me little of the panzerwel, other than 

 that it was an inoffensive and rather shy 

 little fellow, and that it might be kept 

 with goldfish. I was obliged, therefore, 

 to proceed along lines that in my estima- 

 tion were favorable to the desired end — 

 propagation. 



Specimens gradually were added at in- 

 tervals to my collection, and I now have 

 three males and two females. The spe- 

 cies seems to be corydoras p.aleatus, and 

 agrees with the first illustration, with the 

 addition of several dark blotches on the 

 sides. These markings are shown in the 

 second illustration. My fish combine the 

 markings of the two forms. The color- 

 ation can be briefly described as yellow- 



ish-brown, with dark or blackish mark- 

 ings, the fins speckled or spotted. The 

 sexes may be distinguished by the rela- 

 tive shapes of the fore-dorsal. The first 

 ray of that of the female is noticeably 

 shorter than the next, whereas, in the 

 male the first ray is nearly as long as the 

 next. The males are more slender than 

 the females. 



The panzerwel is a bottom fish, prowl- 

 ing timidly on the sand among the plants, 

 and seldom rising. The tank in which 

 mine find a congenial home contains a 

 considerable accumulation of humus or 

 sediment, the value of which will become 

 evident later, and is sparsely planted with 

 Sagittaria. It is in a rather sunny part 

 of my conservatory, which promotes the 

 development of alga? upon the glass and 

 plants — -to the detriment of the latter. 



Spawning occurred on November 8th, 

 the day following the Presidential elec- 

 tion, at 5 A. M., and continued for about 

 three hours. The pair proceeded like 

 goldfish, but the male "drove" the female 

 much more rapidly, the spawn being 



