Corydoras julii

For other fish species called leopard catfish, see Leopard catfish.

Corydoras julii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Callichthyidae
Genus:	Corydoras
Species:	C. julii
Binomial name
Corydoras julii Steindachner, 1906

Corydoras julii (also known as the julii cory or leopard catfish) is a small freshwater catfish native to eastern Brazil. It is often confused with Corydoras trilineatus, also known as the three stripe corydoras.

Physical appearance

Corydoras julii are a relatively small species of fish, growing to be no more than 52 millimeters in length. Its skin is a whitish-gray, almost transparent color with fine black spotting all over and a horizontal stripe that reaches halfway down its mid-body. This pattern helps distinguish it from the more common three stripe corydoras, which tends to have larger reticulations, as opposed to spots, and a longer mid-body stripe. C. julii might be further distinguished from C. trilineatus by the spotted pattern on its head; however, C. trilineatus can also show this pattern on occasion.

Behavior

Feeding

Corydoras julii, like almost all Corydoras species, are bottom-feeding scavengers. Their diet consists primarily of small invertebrates which they sift from the substrate, expelling the particles of sand and sediment through their gill openings. In aquaria, they are fed sinking pellets rich in insect and other invertebrate proteins, as well as live or frozen foods such as bloodworms, tubifex, and California blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus). Although they will often consume sinking algae wafers, these are not considered to be nutritionally appropriate.

Breeding

Females are larger and rounder than males. Usually, cory catfish are bred in groups of two males to one female. They can also be bred in a large school.

After sexual maturity, the fish will spawn during a storm. During this storm, the fish eat increased amounts of insects. The water gradually decreases temperature over the course of a few days.

Corydoras fish spawn in a position resembling a "T formation", as most experts report; the female fish, enticed by the male, swims up to the male's abdomen. She will eat the sperm released by the male fish. The sperm rapidly travels though the female's body and fertilizes the eggs. The female then lays eggs into her pelvic fins. After mating, the female will place the eggs on a surface and repeat this process.

Corys are egg laying fish and will lay small, white, sticky eggs on all surfaces. In an aquarium setting they often lay these eggs on the glass of the tank. Females lay many eggs at a time, which they have also been known to eat.

In Aquaria

Corydoras julii are small, unaggressive fish. They are shoaling fish, and are typically kept in groups when in captivity. They are rarely available commercially. Fish labelled as "julii corys" for sale are often the misidentified C. leopardus or C. trilineatus.

External links

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Corydoras julii". FishBase. December 2011 version.
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