A novice question!

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 15 May 2006, 16:12

I'm a novice and i went to the local lfs and asked for a male and female albino cory.

They caught a big one and a little one.Now the little one that they told me is a male has black mass inside him and is bulging underneath.

I'm confused could we have 2 female?

Thanks

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 May 2006, 17:07

Generally, cory's from the same brood (i.e. same age siblings) are bigger when they are female than male, so size is ONE indication of sex. It's not entirely reliable (just use the same key for humans, and you'll see that there are some females that are near 2 meter tall and built like wrestlers, and some males are 1.5 meter and very slender).

However, as albino cory's are usually , they can also be sexed by the shape of the ventral fins, so you should be able to tell from that. I beleive the males are "square", whilst the females ones are more rounded - but check the link above and you'll get the right keys.

This makes it sound trivial, but I'll be honest and say that these fish aren't that easy to tell which is which unless you're very experienced.

For breeding purposes, you'll ideally want to have two males and one female or multiples thereof...

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Mats

Post by **Coryman** » 15 May 2006, 18:06

Kathryn,

There is a sticky at the top of this forum which explains how to sex Corys and also there is an article Here

The description of the underside of the one specimen sounds like it may be a problem rather than a sexual characteristic, can you post a picture? this would give us a better idea of the situation.

Ian

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 17 May 2006, 06:25

I am very sorry I dont have a digital camera-does anyone know of an easy one to use?

Sad new my "female " died overnight - she was still and breathing yesterday evening - while the other one was racing around.

Is this a bad sign - racing around?

Are Aeneus cory delicate - in the future would habrosus cory be more hardy ?

Thank you

I have 27.5 gal tank with platys and endlers.ph 7.5 nitrates 10.

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 17 May 2006, 08:37

He is racing around so much I'm feeling giddy - not feeding on the bottom.

Please help.

Thanks

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 17 May 2006, 14:42

is probably one of the easiest cory's to keep, and they are fairly hardy.

Racing around is sometimes just a sign of loneliness - it's trying to get to it's friend on the other side of the glass (it's reflection). Cory's are shoaling fish, and they like to be in a group of 3 at the least, ideally more than 5.

Aside from pH and Nitrate, it would be useful to know the values of Nitrite and Ammonia in the water. Fish produce ammonia as part of the waste, and this is converted by bacteria in the filter to nitrite and eventually nitrate. If your filter isn't populated by the good bacteria for some reason, that would explain the fish not feeling to good.

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Mats

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 17 May 2006, 15:26

Thank you very much for your reply - would another cordy be good company ie habrosus ?

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 17 May 2006, 15:29

thank you very much for your reply- would another cory be good company ie habrosus ?

Thanks

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 17 May 2006, 15:41

Yes, I think so. Most corys don't seem to mind who their "friends" are, as long as they have the same interests [i.e. digging around in the substrate looking for food].

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Mats

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 18 May 2006, 18:45

Hi Thanks for your reply I've studied the pinned article about sexing and all the corydoras in lfs and i'm wondering if all the cory in my two local fish shops are female.

Would anyone have a photo of male and female to compare.

Thanks

Kathryn · Post by **Kathryn** » 18 May 2006, 18:51

I'm very sorry to be dim but the underside of the catfish which fin is different - the first one under the head or the second under the stomach?

Thanks

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 18 May 2006, 19:36

Kathryn,
Please check <a href='http://www.planetcatfish.com/core/anato ... k'>here</a> for a map of basic catfish anatomy(it's not a Corydora, but it will show you basic fin placement). Just hover over the word and the anatomy will turn red. You may also find this in the "Help!" pull-down above under "Catfish Anatomy." I hope this helps.

Amanda