Corys Are Lybrith Fish?

[IdahoAquariumKid]

I was reading something and it said that cories, like bettas, breath from the air.... Is that true?

I have 3 cory cats that I bought the other day and I haven't seen them go to the surface once.

 

[Noahs ark6]

After digging around there is differing opinions, some say yes, some say no.But the majoritory say yes

 

[Biulu]

I have never heard of that before, and I doubt it since it requires a special organ in the fish.

 

[Noahs ark6]

First sentence of the 3rd paragraph

here

 

[Cazgar]

Bettas are true labyrinth breathers, corys have gills too, but do need to come up for air evey now & then

 

[IdahoAquariumKid]

Ok. I just wasn't sure. My cory cats have never gone up to the surface to breath and I got kinda concerned.

 

[Cazgar]

They may have been doing it while you weren't watching them

 

[TwoTankAmin]

No, Corys are not labyrinth fish, but yes they can take air from the surface. This ability was developed to assist in breathing when the DO of the water is low due to seasonal factors. They do not have lungs nor a labyrinth organ. Here is how PlanetCatfish puts it.

Can catfishes (especially corys) breathe atmospheric air? If they leave the water in search for other waters, how do they breathe? Do catfish have lungs?
Yes, some catfish, particularly Corydoras and most Loricariidae (plecos) are able to "gulp" air and use the oxygen in the air to help survive under low-oxygen periods. They will do this from time to time under normal conditions, only if more regular, a few times an hour, should you check filter outlet / current, oxygen levels and temperature.

Catfishes do not have lungs. Lungs are actually modified swim bladders, and while catfishes do have swim bladders, but they do not use their swim bladders for gaseous exchange the way we use our lungs.

from http/www.planetcat...cle_id=441#a373

 

[lloyd]

i thought they did but who knows then/

 

[CezzaXV]

My cories often shoot up to the surface then back down again. It's so quick though that I don't know whether they're really taking any air in at that time.

 

[Inchworm]

Corydoras are able to gulp air, swallow it, and absorb oxygen from it as it passes through their intestines. And yes, they do fart when it exits. Even if you don't see them gulping at the surface, you might see an occasional bubble rise to the top.

Here's a video of some corys in the Amazon. Notice the river bottom and think about how it will become churned up and muddy during the rainy season when the water rises and the flow increases. This is when they depend on their special ability to enable them to survive.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIVCdLOImw

 

[TwoTankAmin]

During the rainy season oxygen levels are high. The DO levels are lower during the dry season. The dirt or debris strirred up is not usually an issue for the fish, Lack of oxygen is. That video was shot in mid Octopber 2007 near Manaus, Brazil. The rainy season there typically starts in December and last until about May.

The other thing to understand about the rainy season is what happens during it. Its more than just more water. The river overflows it banks and suddenly there is an immense increase in the amount of land now underwater where the fish do go. Most of the fish from the amazon basin in out tanks are not found in deep rivers, rather they are found in all the myriad tributaries. And these fish are all over the place where the flood plains are under water.

As the waters recede, fish often become trapped in pools no longer connected to the river. Many of them are caught in such times and places. Here is how hard they have to work to catch Otocinclus affinis-

 

[thereverendturtle]

There lots of different fish that breathe air that aren't labyrinth fish. Several species of catfish, lung fish, arapima, bichirs and others breathe air and utilize it in various ways.

 

[IdahoAquariumKid]

I see...
Thanks for the info guys!

 

[snazy]

This article here explains all type of air breathing fish and info on the different organs:

http/www.fbas.co.uk/ABOS.html