Article © Amanda Parker, uploaded February 06, 2008.

Amanda Parker has been contributing to this site for quite some time now, a few images here, lots of work on the glossary there. More recently she's been helping update the Cat-eLog with various pieces of information, mostly around etymology. It's a logical step up then to a full-blown catfish of the month article and I am very happy to introduce that here.

Walking through a local fish store with a friend one day, we noticed a tank labeled “Corydoras leucomelas.” Contained within was a shoal of thirty five fish that were small, no more than 30 mm standard length and swimming in midwater at a furious pace. The colouring of these fish was most remarkable: the caudal fin appears striped; a white background with thick, even black spots on the body giving a clown-like appearance; the dorsal fin has a black blotch that is isolated to the middle, surrounded by clear; the snout has the smallest black spots; the pectoral and anal fins are devoid of colour. These fish still carried the yellow tinge of wild-caught fish. We each purchased eight of these fish at a low price.

Once I got home I put my eight fish into a 10 gallon quarantine tank. The furious mid-level swimming resumed as if nothing happened. But, how do I go about identifying this species? It most definitely was not Corydoras leucomelas, as labeled. I posted a photo on Ian Fuller’s site Corydoras World. Ian identified, from a photograph the species as Corydoras lamberti. Identified by Nijssen and Isbrucker in 1986, Corydoras lamberti may be found in the Rio Huytoyacu near Neuvo Progresso in Peru, Loreto Province. Coincidentally, Corydoras leucomelas also comes from the Loreto Province, as do several other common Corydoras species.

The group began feeding in less than 36 hours. The foods of choice for this species seem to be blood worms, freeze-dried tubifex worms and frozen daphnia. For some reason, this Corydoras species does not like brine shrimp. After one month, the wild-caught yellow tinge had completely faded. As with most Corydoras species, plenty of cover is appreciated. Driftwood and plants (floating plants, if there’s no substrate) usually do the trick. A water temperature between 72-74°F appears appropriate. If substrate is provided, please make sure it is barbel-safe. Regular weekly water changes are strongly recommended. I have yet to breed this group of fish but, I believe it will be possible, with time, patience and water changes.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Corydoras (lineage 8 sub-clade 4) lamberti  Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1986
Common Names	C009, Lambert's Cory Lamberts Pansermalle (Denmark)
Type Locality	Downstream of Río Huytoyacu, right tributary of Río Pastaza, about 40 kilometers north of Lago Rimachi, 4°13'S, 76°38'W, Loreto, Peru.
Pronunciation	kor ee doh rass (lineage eight subclade four).
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. Named to honour Mr. Lambertus van Tuijl.
Articles
Species Information
Size	38mm or 1.5" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Pastaza River basin. Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón, Pastaza (click on these areas to find other species found there) Log in to view data on a map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2014.
pH	6.0 - 8.0
Temperature	22.0-26.0°C or 71.6-78.8°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Breeding	Unreported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Revue française d'Aquariologie Herpétologie v. 12 (no. 3) [for 1985], pp 71, Figs. 16, 33D.
Registered Keepers	There are 4 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 4 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 4 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode
	Search for C. lamberti
	Look up C. lamberti on AquaticRepublic.com
	Look up C. lamberti on Fishbase
	Look up C. lamberti on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up C. lamberti on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
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Last Update	2023 Aug 06 06:54 (species record created: 2008 Feb 06 00:34)

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