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ur first factsheet of 2015 brings us back to the most popular catfish family of all, the Callichthyidae, and along with the Loricariids they vie for the top spot in our affections and with the relative ease of breeding they are of course one of the first catfish to make it on to our list when we get into this fascinating part of our great hobby. We have decided to go with one of the oldest Corydoras (now Hoplisoma atropersonatum) in the hobby which stretches back many years now, namely the "Fairy Corydoras", Hoplisoma atropersonatum.

Hoplisoma atropersonatum

H. atropersonatumis similar looking to three other species, Brochis sychri, Hoplisoma kanei and Brochis sp. C097. There are also other species that come into the realm of these colour patterns. The differences on the aformentiond four are as follows.

H. atropersonatum: Head shape: short snout. Spots and dashes on body. Light silver grey body colour. All fins hyaline. Size: 4.5cm. (1¾ins) Male: 5.0cm. (2ins) Female (Lineage 9).

Brochis sychri: Head shape: elongated with long snout. Spots on body. Light silver grey body. All fins hyaline. Size: 6.0cm. (2¼ins) Male: 6.5cm. (2½ins) Female (Lineage 8 Sub-clade 4).

Hoplisoma kanei: Head shape: short snout. Many spots on body. Light golden tan body colour. Spots on fins. Size: 5.0cm. (2ins) Male: 5.5cm. (2¼ins) Female (Lineage 9).

Brochis sp. C097: Head shape elongated with long snout. Spots on body. Light silver grey body colour. All fins hyaline. Size: 5.5cm. (2¼ins) Male: 6.0cm. (2½ins) Female (Lineage 9).

Fairy Corydoras

None.

Corydoradinae

South America: Upper Amazon River basin, Ecuador and Peru. Type Locality: Ecuador, Río Conambo at mouth of Río Shione (about 2º00'S, 76º30'W), Río Tigre system, Est. Pastaza.

4.5cm. (1¾ins) Male: 5.0cm. (2ins) Female.

24-27°C (75-81°F)

Head short and compact. Body colour is a light silvery grey. All fins are transparent without any noticeable markings (hyaline).

This is akin to most of this genus, very peaceful, and would be best housed with small to medium sized tankmates such as Tetras, Rasboras and Danios or in a species tank for breeding purposes. Best to purchase 6 individuals or more as they will be happier in a group.

As per the Corydoras/Hoplisoma species. With cool water changes and good feeding. Breeding tank of 18" 12" x 12" for example can be furnished with a sand substrate and plants such as Java Moss. They will lay their eggs on the tank walls and have been said to be avid egg eaters. There are a few articles on breeding Corydoras/Hoplisoma in the Breeding article section here.

Readily accepts a mixed and varied diet which includes granular foods, tablet food, frozen bloodworm and a good quality flake.

Hoplisoma: hóplon, shield or armor; soma, body, referring to bony plates on sides.
atropersonatum: From the Latin atropersonatum = 'with a black mask' alluding to the mask across the eye.

Alexandrou, Markos & Taylor, Martin (2011). Evolution, ecology and taxonomy of the Corydoradinae revisited.
Angelica C Dias, Luiz F C Tencatt, Fabio F Roxo, Gabriel de Souza da Costa Silva, Sérgio A Santos, Marcelo R Britto, Martin I Taylor, Claudio Oliveira, Phylogenomic analyses in the complex Neotropical subfamily Corydoradinae (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) with a new classification based on morphological and molecular data, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2024;, zlae053.
Fuller, I.A.M. & Evers, H-G: 2005 Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish 384 p.
Fuller, I.A.M, Breeding Corydoradine Catfishes. First Edition. 2001. Ian Fuller Enterprises, Kidderminster, England.
Seus, Werner, Corydoras. The most popular catfishes of South America. 1993. Dähne Verlaf, Ettlingen, Germany.

Photo Credits

© Mark Goh