Lambert's cory

About

A little-understood armored catfish from South America, Corydoras lamberti hails from the Pastaza River basin and remains genuinely scarce in the hobby. Identification is tricky without solid collection data, and it may have circulated under other names or been lumped with similar-looking fish collected near Iquitos. Like all members of the family Callichthyidae, its body is covered in rows of bony plates rather than true scales, giving it that characteristic armored look shared by its many cousins. One thing worth knowing before you handle any Corydoras: the stiffened pectoral-fin spines can pierce skin and deliver a surprisingly painful experience, and the axillary glands at their base are thought to produce mildly venomous secretions. You'll also notice these fish occasionally dart to the surface for a gulp of air. They possess a modified, vascularized section of intestine that allows them to extract oxygen directly from the atmosphere, a useful adaptation in low-oxygen environments. In the aquarium they are peaceful and social, and a group of at least four to six individuals is really the minimum to see natural behavior. They're approachable for newer keepers, tolerating a reasonable range of water conditions, and breeding is possible using the water-change-and-temperature-drop technique common to the genus, though raising the fry takes patience and good water discipline.