# Scleromystax barbatus, Corydoras paleatus & Black C. Schultzei breeding tank ///



## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

So this is what happens when you browse planet catfish in the evenings and people post up about the cool catfish they just got. After I saw their pics of this unique fish I set out on getting them in one of my tank. Through the help of a member here I was put in contact with a breeder and within a few weeks had them at my home. 

This is nothing special. Actually it was a tank that was setup to grow out my L183 fry but after watching them flourish in the tank they were born in I saw no need to transfer then anywhere else. This left that tank un used and in the Barbatus went. Here is the PC species profile on Scleromystax barbatus for some back ground info.

As of right now there are 8 in the tank ranging from about .5" to 1.5" and unless all of the larger ones I got are all females, aren't showing the sexual dimorphism that shows the males as a stunningly marked specimen and the females as a peppered beauty that looks like the pics that will follow.


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## mscichlid (Jul 14, 2008)

Nice fish. I have a wild pair that I'm working with. I bred them back in 2000. Once they got going they wouldn't stop.

Hopefully you'll get them going. Other aquarist would certainly appreciate it for sure.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

a;sldkgoblidigook.


See, I can make up words too! I kid, I kid. Those are great looking fish!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have kept all kinds of cats but never knew about these guys till I came across that post on PC. It seems though the tolerate and actually prefer cooler temps which is different for me since my 183's are kept at 82. From what I have found there really is no trick to these guys spawning just patience Abd a good feeding routine. 

Do you have any idea at about what size/age the males start to show their coloration and what the max size is? I have read up to two years and from 3"-4".


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

OverStocked said:


> a;sldkgoblidigook.
> 
> 
> See, I can make up words too! I kid, I kid. Those are great looking fish!


You aren't kidding. I thought ancistrus dolichopterous was a mouthful!


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## mscichlid (Jul 14, 2008)

They should start around 3". At first glance the sex of the fish doesn't seem to easy, but the males patterns are more pronounced.

Yes, these fish breed and should be kept around 70-72. Feed a variety of foods and constant, good water changes.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

mscichlid said:


> They should start around 3". At first glance the sex of the fish doesn't seem to easy, but the males patterns are more pronounced.
> 
> Yes, these fish breed and should be kept around 70-72. Feed a variety of foods and constant, good water changes.


Looks like I have a while. Thanks.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Very cool! (My LFS owner is Barbie...a mod on PlanetCatfish, so I am lucky  )

Good luck!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

That's a great LFS owner to have access to. She helped answer some questions I had when I was starting my L183 breeding.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

How big is your tank? Looks like a 20L but its hard to say from a pic. Did your water clear? Everyone settle in OK? It going to be a long wait but all of those long waits are worth it


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice! Just last week I was over at a friend's fishroom and he had some _Scleromystax_ of some kind. They are pretty cool fish.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

chad320 said:


> How big is your tank? Looks like a 20L but its hard to say from a pic. Did your water clear? Everyone settle in OK? It going to be a long wait but all of those long waits are worth it


I believe it's a 20L or a 30L. It was given to me so I'm not really sure. Everyone is settled in great. They are really active just like most cories but are maybe even a bit more so. They also shoal like crazy deffinantly mores than any Cory I have kept. I think the cloudy water is related to the fact that I have never cleaned the 2217 that's on this tank (the one I have that says it's from west Germany) and it's been a year or more. This 2217 doesn't have the disconnects so that's the deterrent that's been causing me to not clean it. 



hydrophyte said:


> Nice! Just last week I was over at a friend's fishroom and he had some _Scleromystax_ of some kind. They are pretty cool fish.



They are, I would recommend then to anyone with a fairly large tank so you could get 6 or more and because I have read that they can get up to 4".


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

They would be awesome in a riparium setup in a big tank with some _Gymnogeophagus_.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Yep, they would a quite a bit of activity to the tank. The one thing I noticed is that they don't run up to the surface to gulp air like cories do.


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## AndiH (Apr 4, 2010)

So you know, S barbatus run contrary to most Cory species. The males are bigger than the females. You should start to see some odontodes on the males at around 3 inches or so I think and the markings seem to get sharper as well.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

AndiH said:


> So you know, S barbatus run contrary to most Cory species. The males are bigger than the females. You should start to see some odontodes on the males at around 3 inches or so I think and the markings seem to get sharper as well.


Thats one of the many reasons I really wanted to get these. The sexual dimorphism that allows the males to develop their distinct almost gold flake markings on the head. I cant wait to see it!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I really gotta work on that _Gymnogephagus_ riparium setup idea. I should get some gymnos and some _Scleromystax_ so I can grow 'em up big in the meantime.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

So here is a teaser pic for you until I finish setting up the awesome reef keeper light on the "Appalachian allure" tank in my sig. Im quite stoked!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)




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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

looking good!


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

Nice looking fish!! Some really good shots also. Thanks for sharing.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

msjinkzd said:


> looking good!


Thank you. I cant wait for the males to start showing their.....maleness! :bounce:



tuffgong said:


> Nice looking fish!! Some really good shots also. Thanks for sharing.


Thank you, here are some more from tonight. Nit good but better then nothing.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Time to update a bit. I added about 6 peppered cories just for the heck of it in hopes that they might breed as well. Similar looking to the juvie Barbatus but still very different. 

Can anyone else see the dimorphism of the males starting to show?










Some crypts I added.


































Now the fish!

Good shot of the Barbatus next to a peppered cory. The Barbatus is on the right.


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## limeslide (Jan 27, 2010)

Very nice!  Hey, those C. paleatus do look like your Scleromystax! I can seewhy you asked me in my WTB thread... xD


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Very cool fish.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Can still barely differentiate the males from the females but I thought it had been long enough to warrant an update. Plus there are some pretty crypt photos to show off!

The fish

























Don't think these are the Barbatus looking different and showing sexual dimorphism, these are the peppered cories I have in there. They deserve a shot every now and again. 









































The crypt


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I want to get some of these things.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I think i still have another year perhaps before they are mature. Shoot Rachel (mzjinkzd) a PM. She pm'd me not long ago about these fish and said that she may be getting some to sell in the near future.


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## plecostomouse (Jun 9, 2011)

very cool fish!
good luck in breeding them.


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Very nice pics! Glad to see they're all quite happy over there


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

HolyAngel said:


> Very nice pics! Glad to see they're all quite happy over there


A least they seem to be. It just amazes me how long it takes for them to mature/how slowly they grow. The parameters are exactly where they like from what I have found and they get fed on a regular bases. I just have to keep my patience. It took about one and a half years from getting my L183 til they bred for me because they were juveniles and also needed to mature, so im used to this kind of thing. :biggrin:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

------UPDATE-----

I finally scored some Black c. schultzei!!!!!

I have been enamored with these guys since the first time that I saw a pic of them online. Since there are no stores in my area that would stock them I have only had the chance to think about getting them online. Not only do some retailers charge an arm and a leg but also I have found that a lot of the places that I found selluing them either had wrong info or pics of the fish and then trying to get info from them about the fish was next to impossible. 

Being the salesman that I am I often times end up seeing something that I like and then contact the sellers seeing if I can either get a better deal or if they would want to do a trade. Well in this case I put together a trade for 10 of these little beauties for 6 of my L183 Starlight Plecos. 

They arrived today in wonderful shape, packed fantastically. Here is a link to the seller I purchased them from so if you are contemplating getting some I highly endorse Redkahuna!!!

Now pics of the little guys/gals!


































































































Also, I know that the title says peppered cory breeding tank but the main focus is Barbatus and black Schultzei. If the peppereds breed great but ill probably end up putting them in my 37g (Appalachian allure) to give the other two more space.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Nice black schultzei cories! I have 12 of them myself. They don't seem to get as large as other corydoras species.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

amazing corydoras.


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

Those are gorgeous cories.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice work! 

I wnat to do a setup with a big school of cories.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

AzFishKid said:


> Nice black schultzei cories! I have 12 of them myself. They don't seem to get as large as other corydoras species.


That will be a nice contrast compared to the barbatus. They can get 3"-4" when adults!



Chrisinator said:


> amazing corydoras.


Thanks. I have wanted them for awhile. 



Jeffww said:


> Those are gorgeous cories.


Thanks I like them!



hydrophyte said:


> Nice work!
> 
> I wnat to do a setup with a big school of cories.


Thanks. I really like all cories in general too. They are so active and also very beneficial to any setup aswell. Hopefully I can get them to breed too!

I really cant believe how black they are. It's nuts. The pix I took are straight off the camera, not edited at all!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Some more pics of the fish! I noticed that the Barbatus like to shoal more than the Black Schultzie. Anyone else noticed this before?

Black Schultzie



















































Barbatus


















































Crypt Rosanervig









Schultzie and peppered


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful adds, congrats


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

2in10 said:


> Beautiful adds, congrats


Thank you. I am very happy with them!


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

These cories are awesome. I've only seen them once in my life and wish I had bought them. I was thinking like you in that I wanted to breed these as they are nowhere! Interested to see how it goes for you  Good luck! Very cool cories.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

sampster5000 said:


> These cories are awesome. I've only seen them once in my life and wish I had bought them. I was thinking like you in that I wanted to breed these as they are nowhere! Interested to see how it goes for you  Good luck! Very cool cories.


The "blacks" are very interesting. It's fun watching them in the tank with their more rounded shorter face in comparison to the barbatus' more elongated pointy snouts.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I think that I am actually starting to see some coloration differences in some of the Barbatus. I hope this means that they are getting close to sexual maturity!!!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Well the Barbatus are starting to show their sexual dimorphism. I really dot know what this means like if this is a sign that they could start breeding sometime pretty soon but I certainly am happy that I can tell who's a male and who's a female! 

M on the left F on the right. 

























I think a M n the left and F on the right, no dots in the head area on the right. 









Male

























Male on the left female on the right









Female on left male on right









Paleatus, the black sheep of the tank!









Shchultzie and male barbatus.









Schultzie.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

FREAKIN' AWESOME bunch of Cories!!!!

I LOVE Cories too!!! I have NEVER seen the Barbatus or the Schultzei before, and they are for sure worth the wait if you can get them to breed!!! Even if they don't they are still some of the coolest cories ever!!!

Best of Luck to Ya!
Drew


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It's only been a 5 month wait so not too long and I hope they are getting ready to do there thing, you have done a good job in the past with other fish delivering the fry so I hope it goes well.

It takes a long time for these guys to mature, I met a guy named Kurt from PA. I believe he is the president of "The aquarium club of lancaster county" he is mainly a Cichlid guy but I started talking about your breeding efforts and he knew who you were right away and stated one of the fish you are breeding is danger from a dam project in S.A., the L183 is this correct. Either way it nice that some one takes the time to breed these guys indangered or not, they are slow to mature and it keeps them from getting pulled from their natural habitat.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

150EH said:


> It's only been a 5 month wait so not too long and I hope they are getting ready to do there thing, you have done a good job in the past with other fish delivering the fry so I hope it goes well.
> 
> It takes a long time for these guys to mature, I met a guy named Kurt from PA. I believe he is the president of "The aquarium club of lancaster county" he is mainly a Cichlid guy but I started talking about your breeding efforts and he knew who you were right away and stated one of the fish you are breeding is danger from a dam project in S.A., the L183 is this correct. Either way it nice that some one takes the time to breed these guys indangered or not, they are slow to mature and it keeps them from getting pulled from their natural habitat.


I have plenty of time and I believe that is all I need in this situation as the parameters they like have been met and I feed them with a pretty meticulous feeding regime so I know they are in the proper condition to breed whenever the mood hits. 

That's pretty cool, thanks for making me feel special! I am not 100% sure if the L183's are actually in the danger zone of the Belo Monte Dam but I know that there are tons of indigenous species that only live in those waters and need the specific tidal behavior the Amazon goes through in order to go through their breeding cycles. Its an absolute shame and I really hope that the BMD project gets postponed indefinitely but if you think politics here are jacked up you could only imagine the way they are in SA! 

I know that the L183's are a tough species to breed. I only found that out after I fell in love with them so there was no point in even trying to not try breeding them. Fortunately it worked!

Hopefully the Barbatus and Schultzies follow the Starlights suit and get to it. I have had lots of one on one correspondence with Frank Falcone (coryologist on planet catfish and probably the most renowned and well know catfish breeder in the country) and he was just telling me that since these guys are starting to show the dimorphism that they MAY start trying to breed here in the next 6 months or so. He also told me that the eggs of the Barbatus are very susceptible to getting moldy and he has had to use melafix int he past to try to curb the growth of the mold.

We shall see...


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I wonder if there could be a natural cleaner for the egg, like Amano shrimp or something. Yeah I hope it works out as well.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

150EH said:


> I wonder if there could be a natural cleaner for the egg, like Amano shrimp or something. Yeah I hope it works out as well.


Don't know. Ill see what I can dig up on Barbatus in its natural habitat and see what other fauna it coexists with and if they have symbiotic relationships with any of them. 

Ill kee you posted.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I found a nice group of eggs on the glass this Tuesday the 22nd. I wasn't sure if it was the Schultzei's or the Barbatus so I posted over at Planet Catfish. The consensus was that it was from the Barbatus as the Schultzei's are, like most cories, egg scatterers and Barbatus lay eggs in the manner in which these were. 

Here are some pics. 



Pic of the eggs showing the inside of the tank. 










Pic from the back. 










Last pic showing the eggs placement in the tank. 









Also over at PC it was recommended that I take the adult fish out as they may eat the fry. I didn't have any time at all to do any of that so this time around I believe, if any actually hatched they were fish food. 

Well see what happens in the coming months as my L183's are also starting to display normal breeding activities too. Its amazing how fish can tell what time of the year it is even though they are in a climate controlled environment! If anyone can shed some light on this, im all ears.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Man I did not think that removing ~35 eggs from the glass and putting them in a container would be so hard! It took me almost an hour to do and I still lost a few eggs. 

I am using a 5"x5" Tupperware container to house the eggs. I have it floating in the tank they were laid in and have an air stone bubbling in the middle of the container. I pulled some moss and IAL from the tank and put it in there too. Hopefully they have the micro critters on them the fry like to eat. 

Here are some pics. 

The tank and Tupperware floating in it. 









The container filled with stuff from the tank. 









The eggs.

















Ill post up and progress/setbacks.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

So its day five and from my research that means its time to start feeding. Or is that supposed to be 4-5 days from hatching? Either way one premature feeding is better than a missed feeding I guess. Im just not seeing much of a yolk sac in comparison to my pleco fry, which is very obvious and yellow. These have a more clear/white head area that I suppose could be their yolk sacs. 

I just crumbled into almost a powder, a mix of spirulina/egg/earthworm flakes and put it in the Tupperware after I poured out about 90% of the water, refilled with the water in the spawning tank, poured out 90% of the water and refilled (how I have been changing the water in the Tupperware daily). I'm planning on doing a water swap like I described above after a couple of hours of the food being in there. 

The fry are looking great and I counted about 45 and I have only found one dead since hatching which was tonight and I removed it. 

Pics.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

Another thing you can do to prevent fungus (for future breeding projects) is get some alder cones. Frank just got some from me as well, lol (he and I are old buddies). It is always so funny to see friends' names pop up in threads! I know Kurt (Johnston) as he lives up the road from me and was the pres of ACLC. Small world!

Anywho, you can add 1 alder cone per about 10g and it releases a natural anti-fungal (instead of using something like methylene blue)


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

msjinkzd said:


> Another thing you can do to prevent fungus (for future breeding projects) is get some alder cones. Frank just got some from me as well, lol (he and I are old buddies). It is always so funny to see friends' names pop up in threads! I know Kurt (Johnston) as he lives up the road from me and was the pres of ACLC. Small world!
> 
> Anywho, you can add 1 alder cone per about 10g and it releases a natural anti-fungal (instead of using something like methylene blue)


I had alder cones a while ago and I really didn't like them in comparison to the IAL's. They were absolutely tiny and seemed to produce little tannin and if left in the tanks for too long broke down and left little particles. 

Maybe they were just sub par cones?


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