Corydoras pygmaeus • Callichthyidae • Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Corydoras pygmaeus** Knaack, 1966
Common Name(s)	Pygmy Cory, Pygmy Corydoras
Type Locality	Near Calama, 8°05'S, 62°52'W, along Rio Madeira near mouth of Rio Jipiraná (= River Machado), Rondônia State, Brazil.
Pronunciation	Kory DOOR ass - pig MAY uss
Etymology	Cory = helmet, doras = skin. In this case it was incorrectly used to mean armour (cuirasse) instead of skin in allusion to the dual rows of plates that run along the flanks of this genus. This specific epithet literally means dwarf (pygmaeus=dwarf).
Species Information
Size	32mm (1.3") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Corydoras are identified by their twin rows of armour plates along the flanks and by having fewer than 10 dorsal fin rays. They are most commonly confused with the other genera in the sub-family, namely Brochis, Scleromystax and Aspidoras. Dark band runs from tip of snout onto the caudal fin of this small species.
Sexing	Females fuller, when viewed from above and larger.
General Remarks	Hardy if diminutive. Acclimatization in soft water helps but generally this is an easy species to keep.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Brazil: Rio Madeira Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes), Madeira (click on these areas to find other species found there) (Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)
pH	6.4 - 7.4
Temperature	22.0-26.0°C or 71.6-78.8°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	Prefers slightly soft water.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Sinking wafers, flakes, brine shrimp and live black worms if available.
Furniture	Substrate of fine sand or gravel. Open areas of substrate surrounded by plants, rocks and/or bogwood.
Compatibility	A peaceful fish exhibiting typical Corydoras behavior. A mid-water swimming Cory.
Suggested Tankmates	Non-aggressive fish such as small South American Characins.
Breeding	Spawns in pairs or groups, having more than one trio (2 females and one male) increases chances of spawning. Eggs deposited around the tank, on glass and plants. Perhaps prefers plants. Eggs are 1mm in size, female carries only one egg at a time in ventral pouch. One female can lay up to 100 eggs per spawning cycle. C. pygmaeus rarely eat their eggs. Fry will feed on micro organisms in the tank and on an open sponge filter if present. If hatched out of spawning tank microworms, vinegar eels, rotifers and small daphnia such as Cerio daphnia will be accepted.
Further Information
References	Aquarien und Terrarien-Zeitschrift v. 19 (no. 6) - pp168 - 2 figs.
Registered Keepers	(1) mummymonkey (k: 112), (2) Keithj, (3) ivokilli, (4) call_apple (k: 3), (5) Coryologist (p: 3), (6) CatBrat, (7) Coryman, (8) GreenSynoMan, (9) philtre, (10) chris 1 (k: 10), (11) FuglyDragon (k: 16), who also notes: "cute as.", (12) loafingloach, (13) cwm, (14) AmLi (k: 10), (15) Kjlossman, (16) Shralp, (17) fulvioander (k: 35), (18) Bigpig (k: 16), (19) Lydia, (20) T4FR (k: 5), who also notes: "I started out with 6 of those little guys, but one sadly died. Sadly they are very shy, perhaps they can beter be kept in a bigger aquarium with 20 or more. 23-12-2008: I haven't seen any of them for months, so I presume they are all dead.", (21) Barracuda518 (k: 15), (22) Carp37 (k: 12), who also notes: "Started with 12 but two sadly failed to acclimate. Remainder lived between 1 and 3 years- not a great success...", (23) Walter, (24) thelivelylady, (25) smithrc, (26) tomh, (27) iramjohn (k: 10), (28) glenny, (29) lizimal (k: 2), who also notes: "$4 each, very adorable little guys! Currently living in a 5gal on my desk, with a male Betta. They're getting along fine. Dec 2008 Lost one fish, not sure how.", (30) Lightbringer (k: 3), (31) spot86t, (32) bevans (k: 9), (33) Scubaguy (k: 3), (34) Bill Tuttle, (35) Fishaliciousfish (k: 12), (36) alexmuchtar (k: 2), (37) jar (k: 7), (38) norfolkgarden, who also notes: "Had 5, now down to 1. Need to get him some company. Excellent personality, awesome fish. Likes a group.", (39) Lubbe, (40) jollysue (k: 25), (41) nvcichlids (k: 9), (42) NEONCORY (k: 8), who also notes: "Bought 4 on 8/19 and add 4 more on8/28. Found eggs on 9/6.", (43) apisto-nut, (44) andywg (k: 12), (45) OldMan (k: 7), (46) tophat665 (k: 10), (47) smegforbrains, (48) Koen (p: 2, k: 20), (49) AlaskanCorydoras (k: 5), who also notes: "Bought out all the store had of this fish. . . a pair of them disappeared in my tank for over a month, only to reappear when I added in some Otos. Bought more 1/16/08 ", (50) gem400 (k: 9), (51) Kets (k: 13), (52) Blonde1 (k: 8), (53) arzerkle, (54) NorthHawk (k: 8), (55) Dr zoidberg (k: 5), (56) Humunuku, (57) reneb (k: 2), (58) Travis_Conklin (k: 7), (59) h2opleco, (60) tcmfish (k: 7), (61) Chris5787 (k: 7), (62) madattiver, (63) unotim123, (64) Deb (k: 15), who also notes: "Swims midwater with Otocinclus huaorani. They are very tiny; I doubt they're even 8 weeks old. Ultimately, did not do well in the conditions provided.", (65) jeff@zina.com, (66) ayrtoninst (k: 64), (67) Luis.Ventura, (68) SHEAG35 (k: 20), (69) jha61, (70) bamboosticks (k: 10), (71) Richard B (k: 14), who also notes: "Unexpected spawning has produced fry - unheated natural daylight tank (16x8x8) with monosolenium in.", (72) peterl, (73) vanillarum (k: 12), (74) Tserisa, (75) corycrazy (k: 10), (76) drpleco (k: 15), (77) marangmic, (78) matti2uude (k: 6), (79) jbloom81 (p: 2), (80) MichaelC95, (81) xander (k: 4), (82) rhibear (k: 6), (83) coelacanth, (84) redcrane, (85) NC24, (86) Vlacek (k: 3), (87) boyneburn, (88) knockout (k: 28), (89) rayfong, (90) Skwidd, Inc. (k: 12), who also notes: "Darling little fish! Likes being kept in a big group with a decent sized school of small tetras(neons, glowlights). End up all schooling together. They don't call 'em tetra cories for nothing!", (91) corybreed, (92) jp11biod, (93) dave.h, (94) aquaoahu, (95) Mowin (k: 10), (96) Jools (k: 2), (97) chad320 (k: 12), (98) Sam (p: 2, k: 28), (99) SHEAG (k: 12), (100) mmccannon (p: 2, k: 6), (101) Korsaaven (k: 8), who also notes: "Have spawned only twice but they ate their own eggs.", (102) Mark Roesner, (103) arapaimag (k: 3), (104) tomr (k: 3), (105) Black_flys (k: 12), (106) JamesStuddart (p: 2, k: 13), (107) bartian (k: 15), (108) xavierD., (109) rmc, (110) ars (k: 50), who also notes: "Regular spawners", (111) donpetty (k: 5), who also notes: "Kept in a 55 gallon general community tank with other dwarf catfish and smaller tetras.", (112) Joren56 (k: 20), (113) Rita Aspevik (k: 13), (114) Donaldm (k: 10), who also notes: "Wild Caught", (115) Elwood (k: 19), (116) krb (k: 9), (117) Skägget (k: 11), who also notes: "Lovely creatures one of the few Corydoras I like", (118) jeff.l, (119) markmoten (k: 12), (120) mace, (121) Alisana, (122) Lars Jamne (k: 50), (123) buffalo775, (124) dkshadowwolf (p: 3, k: 10), (125) Coriequest (k: 24), (126) Catfish freak (k: 6), (127) madtundra, (128) Dinnie, (129) bluefish1, (130) janne dahle (k: 5), (131) Gsneufeld, (132) jlim (k: 10), (133) Vess, (134) Jeffww, (135) gossei (k: 5), (136) hullensien, (137) estherevans, (138) Cashflo, (139) ChristianS (k: 10), (140) leej24 (k: 10), (141) Shazray, (142) cinnamonsticks (k: 8), (143) darr3ll, (144) Jass, (145) Zzyzx85, (146) murray, (147) ladytara33, (148) Regina (k: 8), (149) msjinkzd (k: 50), (150) captmicha (k: 6), (151) Lusitano972, (152) Thoth, (153) Aquathumb, (154) Catfishfingers, (155) Madtundra01, (156) HobbitCat, (157) Stefanus, (158) Onsaud (k: 6), who also notes: "Adorable and tiny, but a little shy. The only cory cats I've kept (so far!), but I love them. They school loosely but distinctly and it's lots of fun to watch.". Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.
Breeding Reports	(1) Rita Aspevik (b: 47), (2) ars (b: 45), (3) Lars Jamne (b: 39), (4) Coriequest (b: 17), (5) Vess (b: 13), (6) Jeffww (b: 10), (7) Gsneufeld (b: 10).
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Last Update	2013 Feb 03 15:57 (species record created: 2001 Apr 30 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Corydoras pygmaeus Knaack, 1966

Common Name(s)

Pygmy Cory, Pygmy Corydoras

Type Locality

Near Calama, 8°05'S, 62°52'W, along Rio Madeira near mouth of Rio Jipiraná (= River Machado), Rondônia State, Brazil.

Pronunciation

Kory DOOR ass - pig MAY uss

Etymology

Cory = helmet, doras = skin. In this case it was incorrectly used to mean armour (cuirasse) instead of skin in allusion to the dual rows of plates that run along the flanks of this genus. This specific epithet literally means dwarf (pygmaeus=dwarf).

Species Information

Size

32mm (1.3") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

Corydoras are identified by their twin rows of armour plates along the flanks and by having fewer than 10 dorsal fin rays. They are most commonly confused with the other genera in the sub-family, namely Brochis, Scleromystax and Aspidoras.

Dark band runs from tip of snout onto the caudal fin of this small species.

Sexing

Females fuller, when viewed from above and larger.

General Remarks

Hardy if diminutive. Acclimatization in soft water helps but generally this is an easy species to keep.

Habitat Information

Distribution

South America: Brazil: Rio Madeira
Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes), Madeira (click on these areas to find other species found there)

(Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)

6.4 - 7.4

Temperature

22.0-26.0°C or 71.6-78.8°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

Prefers slightly soft water.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Sinking wafers, flakes, brine shrimp and live black worms if available.

Furniture

Substrate of fine sand or gravel. Open areas of substrate surrounded by plants, rocks and/or bogwood.

Compatibility

A peaceful fish exhibiting typical Corydoras behavior. A mid-water swimming Cory.

Suggested Tankmates

Non-aggressive fish such as small South American Characins.

Breeding

Spawns in pairs or groups, having more than one trio (2 females and one male) increases chances of spawning. Eggs deposited around the tank, on glass and plants. Perhaps prefers plants. Eggs are 1mm in size, female carries only one egg at a time in ventral pouch. One female can lay up to 100 eggs per spawning cycle. C. pygmaeus rarely eat their eggs.

Fry will feed on micro organisms in the tank and on an open sponge filter if present. If hatched out of spawning tank microworms, vinegar eels, rotifers and small daphnia such as Cerio daphnia will be accepted.

Further Information

References

Aquarien und Terrarien-Zeitschrift v. 19 (no. 6) - pp168 - 2 figs.

Registered Keepers

(1) mummymonkey (k: 112), (2) Keithj, (3) ivokilli, (4) call_apple (k: 3), (5) Coryologist (p: 3), (6) CatBrat, (7) Coryman, (8) GreenSynoMan, (9) philtre, (10) chris 1 (k: 10), (11) FuglyDragon (k: 16), who also notes: "cute as.", (12) loafingloach, (13) cwm, (14) AmLi (k: 10), (15) Kjlossman, (16) Shralp, (17) fulvioander (k: 35), (18) Bigpig (k: 16), (19) Lydia, (20) T4FR (k: 5), who also notes: "I started out with 6 of those little guys, but one sadly died. Sadly they are very shy, perhaps they can beter be kept in a bigger aquarium with 20 or more. 23-12-2008: I haven't seen any of them for months, so I presume they are all dead.", (21) Barracuda518 (k: 15), (22) Carp37 (k: 12), who also notes: "Started with 12 but two sadly failed to acclimate. Remainder lived between 1 and 3 years- not a great success...", (23) Walter, (24) thelivelylady, (25) smithrc, (26) tomh, (27) iramjohn (k: 10), (28) glenny, (29) lizimal (k: 2), who also notes: "$4 each, very adorable little guys! Currently living in a 5gal on my desk, with a male Betta. They're getting along fine. Dec 2008 Lost one fish, not sure how.", (30) Lightbringer (k: 3), (31) spot86t, (32) bevans (k: 9), (33) Scubaguy (k: 3), (34) Bill Tuttle, (35) Fishaliciousfish (k: 12), (36) alexmuchtar (k: 2), (37) jar (k: 7), (38) norfolkgarden, who also notes: "Had 5, now down to 1. Need to get him some company. Excellent personality, awesome fish. Likes a group.", (39) Lubbe, (40) jollysue (k: 25), (41) nvcichlids (k: 9), (42) NEONCORY (k: 8), who also notes: "Bought 4 on 8/19 and add 4 more on8/28. Found eggs on 9/6.", (43) apisto-nut, (44) andywg (k: 12), (45) OldMan (k: 7), (46) tophat665 (k: 10), (47) smegforbrains, (48) Koen (p: 2, k: 20), (49) AlaskanCorydoras (k: 5), who also notes: "Bought out all the store had of this fish. . . a pair of them disappeared in my tank for over a month, only to reappear when I added in some Otos. Bought more 1/16/08 ", (50) gem400 (k: 9), (51) Kets (k: 13), (52) Blonde1 (k: 8), (53) arzerkle, (54) NorthHawk (k: 8), (55) Dr zoidberg (k: 5), (56) Humunuku, (57) reneb (k: 2), (58) Travis_Conklin (k: 7), (59) h2opleco, (60) tcmfish (k: 7), (61) Chris5787 (k: 7), (62) madattiver, (63) unotim123, (64) Deb (k: 15), who also notes: "Swims midwater with Otocinclus huaorani. They are very tiny; I doubt they're even 8 weeks old. Ultimately, did not do well in the conditions provided.", (65) jeff@zina.com, (66) ayrtoninst (k: 64), (67) Luis.Ventura, (68) SHEAG35 (k: 20), (69) jha61, (70) bamboosticks (k: 10), (71) Richard B (k: 14), who also notes: "Unexpected spawning has produced fry - unheated natural daylight tank (16x8x8) with monosolenium in.", (72) peterl, (73) vanillarum (k: 12), (74) Tserisa, (75) corycrazy (k: 10), (76) drpleco (k: 15), (77) marangmic, (78) matti2uude (k: 6), (79) jbloom81 (p: 2), (80) MichaelC95, (81) xander (k: 4), (82) rhibear (k: 6), (83) coelacanth, (84) redcrane, (85) NC24, (86) Vlacek (k: 3), (87) boyneburn, (88) knockout (k: 28), (89) rayfong, (90) Skwidd, Inc. (k: 12), who also notes: "Darling little fish! Likes being kept in a big group with a decent sized school of small tetras(neons, glowlights). End up all schooling together. They don't call 'em tetra cories for nothing!", (91) corybreed, (92) jp11biod, (93) dave.h, (94) aquaoahu, (95) Mowin (k: 10), (96) Jools (k: 2), (97) chad320 (k: 12), (98) Sam (p: 2, k: 28), (99) SHEAG (k: 12), (100) mmccannon (p: 2, k: 6), (101) Korsaaven (k: 8), who also notes: "Have spawned only twice but they ate their own eggs.", (102) Mark Roesner, (103) arapaimag (k: 3), (104) tomr (k: 3), (105) Black_flys (k: 12), (106) JamesStuddart (p: 2, k: 13), (107) bartian (k: 15), (108) xavierD., (109) rmc, (110) ars (k: 50), who also notes: "Regular spawners", (111) donpetty (k: 5), who also notes: "Kept in a 55 gallon general community tank with other dwarf catfish and smaller tetras.", (112) Joren56 (k: 20), (113) Rita Aspevik (k: 13), (114) Donaldm (k: 10), who also notes: "Wild Caught", (115) Elwood (k: 19), (116) krb (k: 9), (117) Skägget (k: 11), who also notes: "Lovely creatures one of the few Corydoras I like", (118) jeff.l, (119) markmoten (k: 12), (120) mace, (121) Alisana, (122) Lars Jamne (k: 50), (123) buffalo775, (124) dkshadowwolf (p: 3, k: 10), (125) Coriequest (k: 24), (126) Catfish freak (k: 6), (127) madtundra, (128) Dinnie, (129) bluefish1, (130) janne dahle (k: 5), (131) Gsneufeld, (132) jlim (k: 10), (133) Vess, (134) Jeffww, (135) gossei (k: 5), (136) hullensien, (137) estherevans, (138) Cashflo, (139) ChristianS (k: 10), (140) leej24 (k: 10), (141) Shazray, (142) cinnamonsticks (k: 8), (143) darr3ll, (144) Jass, (145) Zzyzx85, (146) murray, (147) ladytara33, (148) Regina (k: 8), (149) msjinkzd (k: 50), (150) captmicha (k: 6), (151) Lusitano972, (152) Thoth, (153) Aquathumb, (154) Catfishfingers, (155) Madtundra01, (156) HobbitCat, (157) Stefanus, (158) Onsaud (k: 6), who also notes: "Adorable and tiny, but a little shy. The only cory cats I've kept (so far!), but I love them. They school loosely but distinctly and it's lots of fun to watch.".

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Breeding Reports

(1) Rita Aspevik (b: 47), (2) ars (b: 45), (3) Lars Jamne (b: 39), (4) Coriequest (b: 17), (5) Vess (b: 13), (6) Jeffww (b: 10), (7) Gsneufeld (b: 10).

Articles