# corydora sting?



## cocomania

Well.... while I was reading a freshwater aquarium magazine it said that corydora spp. can actually sting you. Is this true for albino cories and if so would they sting another fish if attacked?


----------



## cocomania

hello.....


----------



## Guest

I've never heard this before. Doesn't mean its not true though.

I don't think you'd have a problem with other fish unless something tried to eat the cories. Cories are very peaceful.


----------



## Corydora_FREAK

I have examined albino Corydoras. They have no barbs or spikes on their body that i can see. As Justonemore20 stated, they are extremely peaceful fish


----------



## Buggy

Their dorsal fin, as with most catfish species, may be stiff enough to poke you and maybe cause a bit of a "sting" but not likely anything to worry about. I have been "finned" by other fish before (my blood parrot cichlid got me once by accident) but I would think a corydoras fins are too soft to penetrate the skin.


----------



## Obsidian

If I had to make a guess about this they are speaking about the make up of the cory's fins (specifically it's dorsal fin). They are very rigid and you can get stuck by them if you do not handle them properly. This is why they can get caught in some nets if you are not careful with them. The result of getting stabbed I am sure would feel like being "stung." If anyone (fish) tried to eat a Cory tail first, it would suck to be them. However as far as this phenomenon goes there are fish with worse! Many plecos have pokey dorsal fins. If you look you can see this. So personally I would really not worry about a cory cats fins other than I would not try to handle it in a way that would promote my getting poked  I solve that problem by simply leaving them in the tank  They are very peaceful with my other fish, and recently have taken to doing tail stands when they sleep, which is a bit trippy! Mine are peppered Cory's. 

I have a feeling that was clear as mud. *shrug*

Buggy won! And said it so much more concisely!


----------



## Guest

I have the magazine with that article in it.....

Yesterday at work, I had to remove a dead swartchez(or however you spell it) cory cat from one of our tanks, it had been dead for a little while, being behind a rock, kinda eaten away, but all of it's fins were gone, except for the rays. Anyway, the fins were stuck out, like I tried to close them, but they wouln't close, and these rays were deffaintly sharp enough to puncture the skin, and stiff enough. I didn't try to do it, but I could tell that if it wanted to, it could prolly sting you.


----------



## Kindredfyre

Haven't heard of the corys "stinging" things, but the stuff about the fins very well might be true. I used to have corys but they died when my cat put his litter ridden paws in the tank and amonia killed them. Anyways, I have a featherfin cat fish (Curious george) and his dorsal fin and tail have rather large tips on them. I was cleaning out his tank and he got excited and accidentally jabbed me with it and it did a good job! Felt like a bee sting really. My rapheal catfish (mickey) does this too, but more agressively. Niether are really agressive since I can hand feed both of them.


----------



## TREASURECHEST

Having a Corydoras "sting" you is a misnomer. It's as already stated, just feels like being stung when either a dorsal fin, or (more commonly) a pectoral fin breaks the skin. Also, I firmly believe that certain species of Corydoras have a mild toxin on these fins as a defense mechanism. I have handled (literally in my hand) thousands of Cory cats and have been poked almost as many times  .
I have noticed that some species severely aggravate like a bee sting, where others just felt like a pin sticking. I have no scientific basis for my hypothesis, just years (and years....) of experience.
Maybe I should actually do a controlled study on this..... 
Can I get any volunteers to let me poke your fingers with different species of Corydoras?


----------



## Obsidian

I thought you were volunteering yourself for the study. It already happens, just start to track your results!!! I can tell by looking at my cory cats that I would not want to be on the wrong end of any of their fins. Sometimes they will let me pet them though, so I am not worried


----------



## Corydora_FREAK

> Can I get any volunteers to let me poke your fingers with different species of Corydoras


I'll DO it!!! Corydora_Freak will know what its like to feel tough love from his corydoras!  
lol wierd!


----------



## Fishnut2

Tony (Treasurechest) is totally right. Not only will certain species of cories sting you...some of the stings hurt like heck! And; they can hurt for several days. It's no worse then a bee sting, but cories DO emit a toxin when they sting you. In fact, some species release a lot of toxins in the bag while being shipped, and can actually poison themselves during the trip. I use a method called "kick the bucket". Before shipping, I'll catch the cories 1st, and kick the bucket every time I pass it. They will release toxins into the water, which you can actually see at the top. It appears as a clear, foamy looking substance at the top. They release most of it into the bucket, so I change the water, and bag them up. They'll still have some left during shipping, but I estimate less then 20%.
From personal experience, the species that have more toxins are Sterbai, Arcuatus, Adolfoi, Haroldschwartzi, Burgessi and possibly Robustus. Coincidentally; these are the same fish that instinctively spread thier fins, as soon as they come out of the water. If you get stung by one of them, I guarantee you'll be more carefull, the next time you go to net them out!


----------

