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Books about Corydoras, Brochis and Aspidoras

Here is a list of the books I know of at the moment (Ian Fuller's is missing though). I have most of them in my book shelf. I've found some things I believe are faults in them that I've listed with each book. If you have found other faults please let me know and I'll add them to the lists below.

Aqualog
all Corydoras

soft cover, by A.S.C. Glaser, 1996, Germany, ISBN 3-931702-13-8

A nice "picture" book but with way too many faults (see below). It also covers Aspidoras and Brochis despite the title.

They are trying to group the species by looks, not alphabetically. They are failing though, with small spotted species like atropersonatus, sychri and kanei (called sp. "Rio Negro I" and probably sp. "Rio Branco") spread on pages 22, 27, 34, 41 and 46!

They also give names to all types of small variations. One of the more ridiculous is C. oiapoquensis where variant A through D show just a few of the variations that are normal within that species. Those of us who have bred it knows that almost none of the fry look the same.

It's a very good initiative with the Aqualog books but I guess most of them (at least all Corydoras, L-numbers and Cichlids II) have too many faults to be really useful. Don't trust any of the names or localities under the pictures without confirming them with some of the other books listed below. There is a list I received from Harro Hieronimus in Germany with some corrections.

They are also giving out supplements with stickers of new forms and species (there's space in the back of the book for the stickers). I think they have released 6 of them so far (August 2002).

Faults (I've only listed 3, there are too many to list them all!):
p. 69 Top to bottom: burgessi, adolfoi and nijsseni.
p. 70 The picture is mirrored. The left fish is davidsandsi.
p. 102-103 C. latus is not latus, don't know what it is for sure.

Corydoras
The most popular armoured catfishes of South America

hard cover, by Werner Seuß, 1993, Dähne Verlag, Germany, ISBN 3-921684-18-8

Comes in an English and a German version. The English is newer and have more information on each species, some new and better pictures, and several more C-numbers at the back.

Superb photos and a good section about breeding with specific details for 40 species. Almost every species has it's own page with a large photo and very short descriptive texts. Also a detailed map over each collecting site. The English version has maximum length and recommended temperatures that the German lack. Some of the species are shown with photos of look-alikes on the same page, i.e. haraldschultzi with sterbai and araguaiaensis.

The big problem with this book is that the C-numbers used by Seuß shows different species than the same numbers in H-G Evers book below. I'm not sure which one is right but I think Evers is.
All pictures in colour.
The German book has been replaced? by the folder below.

Faults:
I haven't found any real faults. As mentioned above there is the problem with different species shown for the C-numbers compared to Evers book (see below).

Die faszinierende Welt der Corydoras
Pflege - Erfahrungen - Zucht

loose leaf folder, by Werner Seuß, 1997, Landbuch Verlag, Germany, ISBN 3-7842 0557-7

Folder with loose leaf system. First published in 1997 with an amendment in 1999.

The base comes from the book above but the beginning chapters about anatomy, breeding, etc. have been expanded. Every species has at least one leaf with distribution map (many faults, see below), basic facts like size, temperature, description, etc. is given. Thorough description of the species with black and white drawing of look-alikes on the back side. Spawning data is presented for about 60 species.

The best book so far. A must for those of you who understand German.

Does not use the C-numbers on any species. C05 is called bolivianus for instance.

Faults:
p. 2.1.4.5.18. C. baderi. One of the dots on the map is in French Guyana, should be in Surinam.
p. 2.12.15.3.8.a. C. blochi b. The dot in Brazil should be more to the west (Santarem).
p. 3.1.21.4.9. C. caudimaculatus. Dot completely wrong. Should be more than 1000 km ESE, in rio Guaporé.
p. 3.5.18.22.9. C. cervinus. Dot completely wrong. Should be more than 1000 km ESE, in rio Guaporé.
p. 5.12.5.7.1. One dot missing in Peru at rio Nanay.
p. 10.21.12.9.9. Dot should about 200 km SSE at rio Parnaiba.
p. 11.1.14.5.9. C. kanei. Misspelled as C. kanai on the loose leaf. (Looks very much like sp. "Rio Negro I" and sp. "Rio Branco" which is where kanei comes from.)
p. 12.5.15.16.1 C. leopardus. Dot in Brazil should be further east, north east of Belem.
p. 16.25.7.13.1. C. pygmaeus. The dot in Brazil should be further down stream of rio Madeira.
p. 19.20.5.18.2. C. sterbai. Dot completely wrong. Should be more than 1000 km ESE, in rio Guaporé.

Panzervelse

Aspidoras - Brochis - Corydoras

hard cover, by Hans-Georg Evers, 1994, Ulmer Verlag, Germany, ISBN 3-8001-7286-0

One of the best books (if you understand German!). A great chapter about their natural environment. The best compilation of breeding data with data about which months the species is most likely to spawn. 51 species are listed. It's striking how the maximum number of eggs can differ between Seuß and Evers in some species. As an example C. sterbai: 80 (Evers), 200 (Seuß), 120 (my self).

Thorough discussion of each species. Not all species shown have colour photos.

Faults:
I haven't found any real faults. As mentioned above there is the problem with different species shown for the C-numbers.

Panzer- und Schwielenwelse

soft cover, by E. & K.-H. Matschke, 1991, Urania-Verlag, Germany, ISBN 3-332-00470-0

Does not cover all the species but gives example of a few typical species. The strong part of this book is the descriptions of the natural environment in South America and breeding tips and tricks.

Faults:
p. 20 Dot 2 for C. arcuatus seems to be a little too far east.

Will add the rest of my books later on. Here are pictures of some of them though.

Corydoras Catfish
An Aquarist's Handbook

soft cover, by Derek Lambourne, 1995, Blandford, UK, ISBN 0 7137 2367 X

Colored atlas of miniature catfish

every species of Corydoras, Brochis and Aspidoras

hard cover, by Warren E. Burgess, 1992, T.F.H. Publications, USA, ISBN 0-86622-441-6

South American catfishes

hard cover, by David Sands, 1988, Salamader Books, UK, ISBN 0 86101 348 4

Corydoras catfishes

I don't have this book. Any one willing to write a review?

Links

Cory Corner Book Reviews, by Paul Schuman

Cory Corner Another Book Review and Notes on Aqualog’s all Corydoras, by Paul Schuman


Copyright © 2006, Kristian Adolfsson

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