Cory Body Language Differences

[Deleted member 149562]

Many of us have Cories in our aquariums and they can be complete clowns with their often crazy antics.

But have you noticed their body language when a female has eggs to splatter?

I have two variants of Cory...Pepper and Bronze....and they are very different when it comes to egg splattering

Pepper males are scatty, over excitable and race about with the female, dorsals bolt upright, fins flapping...like a two year old toddler having the zoomies....

"oh..oh..eggs..she has eggs...oh...oh...must get eggs sorted...hurry up...hurry up....eggs..eggs...EGGS....YAY!!!!!!!!!!"

Bronze males, on the other hand, are quite laid back in that they don't chase a female quite so much but will corner her and headbutt her.....once eggs are splatted, they often take their time before going to where they are to fertilise them...like a bloke down the pub on a Sunday afternoon knowing he has the garden to weed when he gets home...

"hmmm...she has eggs....MORE eggs...c'mon woman...MORE eggs....no you're not swimming away...MORE eggs......hmmmm....decent amount there...I spose we should go sort them now then"

So those of us with Cories.....how do yours behave when "getting jiggy with it"?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Thought i might share this again from when my cories (peppered) were at it



Peppered seem to lay less eggs more frequently than bronze, so might be why the males behave more erratic. As with a bronze there's plenty for everyone haha

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Cories are enchanting to watch...I can watch them for hours with their various antics. They are so expressive compared to other fish too

 

[GaryE]

Sorry to be an old retired schoolteacher - they aren't Cory variants but are distinct species. Pet peeve about my pets.

I have a fish here that used to be considered Corydoras barbatus, and is now Scleromystax barbatus. They get into the wildest dance before spawning, with lots of chasing and intricate swimming moves - I think of them as extroverted hippies at a festival. I've wondered if they get so fancy because I know they live in fast moving water in nature - unlike easy going bronzes from slower conditions. Interestingly, peppered (C. paleatus) need more oxygen and are a coolwater Cory, and that probably means they evolved in moving water too, with a higher oxygen content. I know they come from higher elevations.
So I go 'fullnerd' and not only get a lot of enjoyment from fish watching, but also try to figure out what it might tell us. As I am building my new fish space, I'm thinking more and more about going back into Corys. I just like them a lot.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Sorry to be an old retired schoolteacher - they aren't Cory variants but are distinct species. Pet peeve about my pets.

I have a fish here that used to be considered Corydoras barbatus, and is now Scleromystax barbatus. They get into the wildest dance before spawning, with lots of chasing and intricate swimming moves - I think of them as extroverted hippies at a festival. I've wondered if they get so fancy because I know they live in fast moving water in nature - unlike easy going bronzes from slower conditions. Interestingly, peppered (C. paleatus) need more oxygen and are a coolwater Cory, and that probably means they evolved in moving water too, with a higher oxygen content. I know they come from higher elevations.
So I go 'fullnerd' and not only get a lot of enjoyment from fish watching, but also try to figure out what it might tell us. As I am building my new fish space, I'm thinking more and more about going back into Corys. I just like them a lot.

What exact do you mean Gary?
Peppered needing more oxygen ?

 

[mbsqw1d]

What exact do you mean Gary?
Peppered needing more oxygen ?

They're found in cooler waters in the wild, around 18°c and above. Cooler water holds more dissolved oxygen. So if they were kept in warmer water then they'd probably feel a bit oxygen deprived

 

[DoubleDutch]

They're found in cooler waters in the wild, around 18°c and above. Cooler water holds more dissolved oxygen. So if they were kept in warmer water then they'd probably feel a bit oxygen deprived

Okay I didn't get the assumption that they need more oxygen. But they need the same amount probably but the water they live in contains more oxygen cause the water is cooler. Got it and agree.

 

[DoubleDutch]

BTW my C.aeneus also went nuts when spawning. Fertilisation isn't done afterwards.

 

[Byron]

Many of us tend to think of all Corydoras species as non-aggressive playful fish, but the reality is that there are some striking differences. The species now in the genus Scleromystax display aggression between males that can inflict serious injury and even death of the weaker fish. This genus is lineage 3 in the family Corydoradinae. Ian Fuller mentioned recently that the males of the species in lineage 1 are actually territorial when spawning. This is not the same in the other lineage species so far as I understand things.

 

[GaryE]

It's a bit of a tangent, but I've been doing my usual anecdote based 'research' with killies I breed. I'm finding hobbyists breeding species caught in 18-21 degree water in warmer water if they really increase the water flow. I'm thinking that I am going to work with keeping some cooler water species in much more 'active', oxygenated water, by modifying air driven filters I make. I want to see if maybe we keep them in waters that are too calm. They'll still be in 20 degree water though.
Increasing flow does a lot to reduce aggression in some of the Cichlids I've kept - it has a huge effect. I suspect there's a lot of interesting behaviour suppressed by our tendency to have small, barely moving tanks.
In the early days of the hobby we kept mainly slow water and swamp fish, but now, we have so many more species to choose from. We don't always adapt in this hobby, and sometimes the old techniques become rules without reasons. In 2 weeks I'll have a waterline in to my new fishroom, and I'm going to be trying to keep my fish a bit differently. We'll see how they respond. I plan to add several species of Corydoras to the mix.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I am sat here, pleading with my Bronze Cories....

"PLEASE stop laying eggs all over everywhere....I have no room for more babies....PLEASE STOP DOING THAT!!!"

I am being completely ignored as usual.... the other residents are having a field day trying to eat as many eggs as they can but no sooner are a batch eaten, new ones are getting splatted

 

[DoubleDutch]

T

I am sat here, pleading with my Bronze Cories....

"PLEASE stop laying eggs all over everywhere....I have no room for more babies....PLEASE STOP DOING THAT!!!"

I am being completely ignored as usual.... the other residents are having a field day trying to eat as many eggs as they can but no sooner are a batch eaten, new ones are getting splatted

Typical "talk to the fin" behaviour of Corys

 

[GaryE]

I am sat here, pleading with my Bronze Cories....

"PLEASE stop laying eggs all over everywhere....I have no room for more babies....PLEASE STOP DOING THAT!!!"

I am being completely ignored as usual.... the other residents are having a field day trying to eat as many eggs as they can but no sooner are a batch eaten, new ones are getting splatted

Watch closely and they'll wink at you after you lecture them. Then they'll do what they want. Behaviour-wise, bronzes are gold.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Watch closely and they'll wink at you after you lecture them. Then they'll do what they want. Behaviour-wise, bronzes are gold.

Yep...I have seen them winking (and the nose twitching)....Bronze have a character all their own, 100% mischievious comedians

They behave and breed like bunnies

 

[GaryE]

Don't minimize your contribution. They breed like bunnies for you, but not everyone has the same luck (or skill). A lot of people would love to breed their Corys, and get nowhere with that.