Dwarf Cory confusion: Habrosus or Hastatus?

[fishious]

We picked up these dwarf Corys, sold as C Hastatus

Getting them home and spending some time on the internets, they really look to me like C Habrosus, with the black splotches on the flanks. We figured the store had them mislabeled, but I recently saw the exact same cory at a different shop, and they're also labelled as hastatus. So, either my ID is incorrect, or multiple stores are calling habrosus hastatus. Anyone with more experience care to chime in? We're going to be buying more of these, and don't really need to know their true ID, but I am curious.

[Silurus]

You are right. These are

Corydoras habrosus

.

[jp11biod]

I am in Indiana by Chicago and I have seen the same thing. The wholesalers usually just calls them whatever their supplier calls them.

[fishious]

Thanks for the info. It didn't really matter what they are, as they're hilarious and we like them a lot.

Glad I'm not the only one that saw this, your idea seems sound that a wholesaler sell sheet is the likely origin of the name discrepancy. the stores with Habrosus ID'd as Hastatus are New Fish in Chicago and Aquarium Adventure (Schaumburg?) Hilariously, I think that Old Town Aquarium has Hastatus tagged as Habrosus.

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I think that Old Town Aquarium has hastatus tagged as habrosus.

If they are

Corydoras hastatus

, rather than

Corydoras habrosus

they are a good find, because C. hastatus is difficult to find. We tend to have the other problem in the UK, the label says "hastatus", but the fish is always

Corydoras pygmaeus

.

cheers Darrel

[syno321]

The misidentification problem of habrosus and pygmaeus being called hastatus seems so universal that I think it must be originating with the exporters in South America.

[CoryfanAad]

The misidentification problem of habrosus and pygmaeus being called hastatus seems so universal that I think it must be originating with the exporters in South America.

don't think so. They are hardly mixed up overhere (Holland : Europe). Hastatus is quite rare overhere BTW.

[syno321]

[quote="CoryfanAad"][quote="syno321"]The misidentification problem of habrosus and pygmaeus being called hastatus seems so universal that I think it must be originating with the exporters in South America.[/quote] don't think so. They are hardly mixed up overhere (Holland : Europe). Hastatus is quite rare overhere BTW.[/quote]

I've seem many SA exporter's lists over the years and invariably when you order hastatus you get pygmaeus. I guess it just happens in Britain and North America.

[Coryman]

They are not accidentally mixed, exporters deliberately call all three species C. hastatus, because they command a better price and sell better. The trouble then occurs with some store keepers continuing with the error, and will often say "that's what they came as so they must be that fish".

Ian