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n reaching our 200th factsheet on ScotCat we are returning to arguably the most popular of the catfish families, namely the sub-family Corydoradinae and the growth, which seems weekly, of the unidentifiable new catches which are culminating in the CW numbers which have basically taken over the mantle left by the C-numbers of the German Magazine, Datz. These CW numbers have of course started online and originate from the Corydorasworld web site of Ian Fuller.

Osteogaster sp. (CW010)

The tenth unidentified Corydoras (now Osteogaster) species is of course the beautiful CW010 from Peru commonly known as the "Gold Laser" (sometimes referred to as the Orange laser) which can be seen in the above picture showing the gold shoulder stripe starting from the nape of the head and ending at the caudal peduncle. Similar to CW009 (Green laser) but this species has a yellow shoulder stripe and a light greener body.

Osteogaster sp. (CW010) - head view

May yet prove to be a variant of Osteogaster aenea but these aenea/us variants need to be worked on by the scientists to determine one way or another. Imported as Corydoras (Osteogaster) aeneus (aenea) "Gold laser" there are a few aquarists who think that this species is nearer Osteogaster melanataenia than O. aenea but as stated earlier work needs to be done on these "Laser" Cory's.

Can be a secretive species and will do better if given plants or other shelter to hide away in.

Remarks: Corydoras sp. (CW010) is placed in Lineage 7 alongside other members of the so called "aeneus group" with the designated type species: C. eques. A revision and description of CW010 in the future would constitute the resurrection of the genus name Osteogaster (Cope, 1871).

Update: As of the latest update (Dias et al. 2024) Corydoras sp. (CW010) has now been placed in Lineage 7 and has the new genus name of Osteogaster.

CW010, Gold Laser Cory

None

Corydoradinae

South America: Peru, Pucallpa.

Male: 5.5cm (2½ins) Female: 6.0cm (2¾ins)

22-26°C (71-79°F)

Dorsal 1/7; Anal 1/6-7. Stocky built Corydoras.

Ground colour yellow with yellow fins. Gold shoulder stripe starting from the nape of the head and ending at the caudal peduncle, sometimes this stripe is all gold and in other specimens there can be yellow further along on this stripe. Dark green mid body band running along the full length of the body. Gold patch on the operculum.

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. 

Lays eggs in batches on the glass and plants in the aquarium. The best for breeding ratio would be one male to two females if given the choice.The first sign of intending spawning activity is when you see the female with a heavier girth. If kept in a community tank it would be better to house the specimens in a species tank set up with the same water parameters as the main tank. You can carry out 50% water changes in this tank once or twice a week to encourage spawning. For more information on Corydoras/Osteogaster breeding head to the Breeding articles page.

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

Osteogaster: ostéon, bone; gast, belly, referring to coracoid bones of Osteogaster eques, which, unlike those of Gastrodermus elegans, enclose the ventral region.

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 Ian Fuller Enterprises. 384 p.
Ian A. M. Fuller & Hans-Georg Evers (2011). Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish Supplement 1. Ian Fuller Enterprises.

Photo Credits

© Johnny Jensen @