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Having previously kept and bred Corys with much bolder markings, I decided to have a change and was drawn to the subtle attractiveness of Corydoras similis (often referred to as the "Smudge Spot" Cory). I was also drawn to this particular one as, having now only five aquariums and space at a premium, I needed a Cory which I knew I could breed. I managed to build up a group of 5 fish at two auctions held within four weeks of each other. After growing them on, I noticed that I had at least one healthy looking female who was plumping up nicely! I never saw any activity but when I gave them their morning feed, I saw a few eggs on the glass. What was surprising was that the eggs were within 1 cm of the surface of the water! Assuming that she was almost vertical when laying, this would mean that the female almost had her head out of the water to deposit the eggs!? I collected 6 eggs from that type of location. All the other eggs (14 of them) were laid in clusters of 2's and 3's on the plant leaves, giving me a total of 20 eggs. As this was my first spawning of C. similis, I collected all the eggs I could find and put them in a toffee jar with some Meth Blue and an airstone, just enough to circulate the water. At around 1 week old, I had a total of 15 fry, each around 5 - 6 mms and growing on very nicely.  By the time the fry have reached 1 month old, the markings are bolder particularly around the head, but without any real body pattern and certainly no sign of the body spot pattern of the adults. At this stage the fry are a little over 1 cm long and feeding on Microworm and fine powdered flake.  A few weeks later and they had spawned again with the same choice of egg laying sites, but found only 10 eggs. I later had the pleasant surprise of seeing two recently hatched fry in the tank from eggs I had missed. The fry grew steadily and I found them to be a "sturdy" reliable fish, meaning that I didn't lose any fry. By the time they were 7 weeks old, a pattern of smaller body spots was just starting, also the head was losing the darker markings and the faintest beginnings of the "smudge spot" can just be seen.  By the time the fry were just over 2 months old, they were beginning to look like smaller versions of the adults;- they had developed the smaller spots on head and body pattern, as well as the caudal peduncle "smudge". At this stage they were around 1.5 cms. However, even at this age the fry were marked quite differently;- some still had haphazard blotches with a dark head while a few were a much darker fish overall.  Update At the age of 4 months they were exactly like the adult fish. By now they were sexable and I had a good ratio for selling and for further breeding. At 8 months old they spawned and I collected 22 eggs, which I again had no problems with. Although the egg numbers are quite low, the reliable nature of the spawnings and the egg hatching rate being high, meant that I could maintain good numbers in my stock. Summary C. similis may not have the immediate impact of some of the more boldly marked Corys, but it still has it's own appeal and pleasingly, is a straightforward species to breed. It isn't an expensive Cory, so it's easy to move on to friends or sell at an auction. Copyright Text and photos; Ivor Hilton. |
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