# Peru Gold Stripe Cory



## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

I bought a Peru Gold Stripe Cory a couple of weeks back. I love him. He's my tank favourite. :-D He wasn't even for sale, but hidden away in a back, bottom tank at my local Big Al's. They know me pretty well now, and offered me one for $6. :-D

I've done google searches and cannot find any information on them. About the only thing I can confirm is that the Peru Gold Stripe and the "Orange Laser" are not the same Cory and not to be confused as such. I'd like to find 2 more so they can school.

Anyone have any info on these cuties? Lifespan, adult size, etc.?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

This is, at present, considered a variant of Corydoras aeneus. If you have a read of our profile (click the shaded name) it mentions the various "stripe" species and there is a link in the References to some photos.

Further scientific examination may result in various new species, but for the moment, as far as I am aware, these laser strip corys are _Corydoras sp. aff. aeneus _and some have a "C" number to distinguish them apart.

Our profile gives water param and other info. Bear in mind that these will be wild caught fish and thus the water parameters are important.

Byron.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

Thank you, Byron! 

I assumed he was wild-caught, judging from his rarity. He seems to be doing extremely well in my 20 G tank. Active, gregarious, excellent appetite, beautiful colours. He seems to enjoy frozen thawed bloodworms the best. Sucks them up like a little Hoover. :lol:

My only concern is that the tank has small gravel substrate, not sand. His barbels seem fine, but this doesn't allow him to dig.

I asked when I bought him if he'd be ok alone, and was assured he would be. I will, however, find him some mates to hang out with.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Stormfish said:


> Thank you, Byron!
> 
> I assumed he was wild-caught, judging from his rarity. He seems to be doing extremely well in my 20 G tank. Active, gregarious, excellent appetite, beautiful colours. He seems to enjoy frozen thawed bloodworms the best. Sucks them up like a little Hoover. :lol:
> 
> ...


He absolutely needs other corys. All corydoras are social fish, living in groups of hundreds. In the aquarium, different species is fine, they all get along. I have about 30 corys representing a dozen species in my 115g and even when there are 4 of a species, individuals will often chum around with a cory of another species, tickling each other with their barbels (a sign of affection one write put it) etc. Any species that you like, but another 4-5. If you want several species, minimum of 3 of each is best when possible.

Sand is best, but if the gravel is not rough it will be OK.

What species was he mixed in with, out of curiosity? I might be able to discern the locale.

Byron.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

He was alone in his own tank with his own species. IIRC, there were only 3 of them in the tank altogether.

I'm on the waiting list for 2 more of them. No idea when they'll be in.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Stormfish said:


> He was alone in his own tank with his own species. IIRC, there were only 3 of them in the tank altogether.
> 
> I'm on the waiting list for 2 more of them. No idea when they'll be in.


As the "common" name implies, they come from Peru, and fish exports from Peru are quite good these days. But this season has been nasty, and imports sporadic. One of the local exporters mentioned that he has never seen such rain in 23 years of collecting fish. Thousands of indiginous people are without homes because the flood took them. The collector said he was unable to collect in one region earlier because of drought this spring, and now he is unable to collect in another because of flooding.:-(


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

Interesting. Any ideas on how they catch them? I know with Otos there is discussion about collectors adding a small amount of cyanide to the water to slow them down. It made me feel guilty about buying them and supporting such a thing. I'm just curious since you know the details about how the Corys are caught.

When I got this Gold Stripe, I actually listed a pair of another kind of Cory I wanted to purchase. But the guy showed me the Gold Stripe and told me they weren't listed for sale, but he'd let one go to me. I should have asked for all three of them.

With Peru in such environmental turmoil, it may be a while before this little fella gets some friends. In the meantime, he has 7 bottom-dwelling friends — 4 ADFs and 3 Otos — to keep him company. He hangs out with one of the female ADFs quite a bit, actually. And she doesn't seem to mind him at all.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Stormfish said:


> Interesting. Any ideas on how they catch them? I know with Otos there is discussion about collectors adding a small amount of cyanide to the water to slow them down. It made me feel guilty about buying them and supporting such a thing. I'm just curious since you know the details about how the Corys are caught.
> 
> When I got this Gold Stripe, I actually listed a pair of another kind of Cory I wanted to purchase. But the guy showed me the Gold Stripe and told me they weren't listed for sale, but he'd let one go to me. I should have asked for all three of them.
> 
> With Peru in such environmental turmoil, it may be a while before this little fella gets some friends. In the meantime, he has 7 bottom-dwelling friends — 4 ADFs and 3 Otos — to keep him company. He hangs out with one of the female ADFs quite a bit, actually. And she doesn't seem to mind him at all.


I've heard of cyanide and blasting for reef fish, but not otos. But anything is possible, sad to say. But on a brighter note, there are programs in place in many parts of SA to maintain a sustainable ornamental fish habitat through responsible collection. Project Piaba is one. Several local families are able to maintain a decent economic life just by fish collecting for the hobby, and this preserves the forests which other wise might well be cut down for farming which ironically is not usually as successful.

Here's a video of collecting otos in their habitat:




 
I seriously would get a couple more corys of some species you like, soon. There are more than 100 described species, and many others awaiting classification. Several are in our profiles [second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page]. A trio of a species you like and can find locally would be wise. The fact that your cory is trying to chum around with the ADF is a sign that he is getting lonely and thus stressed, and this weakens the fish quickly. A few weeks ago this cory was swimming in a Peruvian stream with thousands of his own; now he has undergone the rigors of netting, transport, and finds himself alone in a strange environment that nature did not equip him for. I'm not making this into a melodrama, but simply putting things in the proper perspective.;-) The blue paragraph below my signature is apropos.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

Byron said:


> A few weeks ago this cory was swimming in a Peruvian stream with thousands of his own; now he has undergone the rigors of netting, transport, and finds himself alone in a strange environment that nature did not equip him for. I'm not making this into a melodrama, but simply putting things in the proper perspective.;-) The blue paragraph below my signature is apropos.


My Gawd! Now I feel even worse for him. Thanks so much, Byron! LOL!

Tomorrow he'll get some little buddies. I'll go down to the huge Big Al's where they have more Corys to choose from.

P.S. Hearing about responsible collecting makes me happy!


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

All is well that ends well. The last shop I went to today, and the last tank I looked at... had a whack of baby Gold Stripes! So I picked up 3. That's not even the best part of all.

_<drum roll please>_

These 3 were captive bred locally.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Stormfish said:


> All is well that ends well. The last shop I went to today, and the last tank I looked at... had a whack of baby Gold Stripes! So I picked up 3. That's not even the best part of all.
> 
> _<drum roll please>_
> 
> These 3 were captive bred locally.


This is good, on all counts.:-D


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

They're all chumming around. All four got together at one point tonight to feast on a Hikari algae wafer. Happy fish makes me happy.


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## TwinDad (Mar 3, 2011)

That is a great looking Cory. I wouldn't mind finding some of those locally.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

I accidentally sucked one up into the gravel vacuum yesterday. Took me a second or two to realize why the flow had stopped. :-(

S/he seems to be ok though. I'm used to everyone getting out of the way when I vacuum the gravel, but the corys are so easy going and fearless, s/he didn't move. And I didn't see him/her between the rocks and driftwood.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

That points up something I didn't see before, the substrate. I would suggest you change it to a darker but more importantly a finer grain, either fine gravel (1-2 mm grain) or coarse sand (playsand works well). I can assure you the fish will notice it. They are used to digging into the substrate, and that is near impossible with gravel particles almost as large as the fish's head.;-)

It's not the barbel degeneration issue, but the fish's natural tendency to poke and dig and sift sand through their gills, which in itself is important.

But while you're changing, please consider a darker substrate; the corys will be more relaxed. Playsand works so well because it is identical in appearance to the natural substrate sands in much of Amazonia. Some dried leaves and of course lots of sticks and branches would replicate their habitat and give them a very nice feel of being "home."

Byron.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

I'm adverse to changing out the gravel because the tank is so heavily planted. A lot of the plants have really formed good root structures. I'd be afraid of damaging them and losing plants. E.g., the cryptocoryn undulata in particular.

I went with light gravel because it's near impossible to see ADFs on darker gravel. The whole reason I got this tank was for them.

As for leaves and branches, I've done the best I can, I think. All the plants are real and the Corys really seem to enjoy perusing amongst them. All the plants have made the bottom darker for them as well. Lastly, I have 3 good sized pieces of Malaysian driftwood in the tank, which they like to pick at. The tannins also keep the water slightly darker.

So all that said, I don't think I'm ready to start the arduous project of switching substrates just now. Here are some shots, so you can see what I'd be dealing with to even think of beginning that:


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

That is beautiful. So i would set up another tank for the corys. They are so lovely, they deserve the best.


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

Byron said:


> That is beautiful. So i would set up another tank for the corys. They are so lovely, they deserve the best.


They'll get a new tank with a finer substrate when I can afford to do so. They'll also get a shoal of Julii Corys to chum with as well. :-D


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