Cory ID - like melini but with a spotty tail

[Mol_PMB]

I went to Pier Aquatics today and was looking round the shop when some Corydoras caught my eye. In a large group of Corydoras melini, newly arrived from Colombia, there were four different fish.

Not very different at first glance, but they had spotty tails and a more pointy snout.

I bought them, and they've settled into the QT very quickly. I've attached some photos (ignore the curious L397 juvenile out to meet the new additions). They're about 3cm SL.

Neil thought they might be C.simulatus or a CW number, but having been through the corydoras listed on here I haven't yet found a good match. Their middle 90% looks just like C.melini (of which I already have a good herd) - it's just the nose and tail that are different.

Any suggestions welcome!

Many thanks,
Paul

[Mol_PMB]

I've had another trawl through the list. Possibly C016? Information on the species is pretty sparse.
Any Cory experts care to confirm or suggest a better alternative?

Thanks,
Paul

[Karsten S.]

Hi Paul,

nice ones !
I think you are absolutely right about the ID. This number has always been a bit difficult for me.
According to Alexandrou & Taylor they belong to the acutus group but I thinks it's a lineage 8 species. Most probably it's even a mimikry trio... (at least I have already seen corys from lineage 1 being named C 16).

I have compared with the original pic (which is not really good) in the DATZ and I'm convinced that you have same ones. Main difference to C. melini mentioned there is beside the snout shape the striped caudal fin. Body porportions are identical to yours.

So don't be surprised to find pictures of C 16 that look different...

Cheers,

[Mol_PMB]

Hi Karsten,

That's great - many thanks for your thoughts. I only found a few photos online (the same photos seem to be re-used on mamy websites) and none are very clear, maybe not all the same species. My fish do seem to match Ian Fuller's description of C 16 too.

I will take some better photos of mine over the next few days, when I get the chance.

Kind Regards,
Paul

[Mol_PMB]

Well getting some more photos of my

Corydoras sp(c016)

has been harder than I expected. Two of them have mostly been shy and hidden in the back corner, while the other two (I think the largest and smallest fish) have been hyperactive and when they're visible they hardly stop dancing. I've got a variety of pics eventually though I hope to get better ones in due course.
These pics are of the dancers resting:

[Mol_PMB]

And here are some of them in open water.

I'm thinking that after Christmas I might move this group into a small tank of their own and see if I can encourage them to breed. I'm not very good with Corydoras though; I have more success with Loricariidae and cichlids.

Cheers,
Paul