As it tends to be with human beings, and by extension, fish hobbyists, I, too have particular predilections towards certain things, people, and, in this case, fishes, in a world – mind you – that is filled with other good things. So why this particular fish, the Corydoras? But first, an introduction:
Corydoras (in Greek: kory = helmet; doras = skin) is a genus of freshwater catfish native to South America, with a body filled with bony plates instead of scales (hence the name attributed to it), and like most (if not all) catfish, they posses “whiskers” or “barbels” attached to their mouths. They are primarily bottom dwellers and schooling fishes, whose diet consists of aquatic invertebrates and algae in the wild. As of yet, there are over 160 recognized species with some several hundreds still unspecified. Here is a small sample of different species in the genus:
I cannot remember exactly when my first encounter with the “Corys” (as I like to call them) was but it must have been sometime when I was thirteen/fourteen years old, happily tagging alongside my Father, who was and still is, an active fish hobbyist, to fish shops and eventually having them graced my home aquarium. And so it seems, my love for them has not faded since then…
Corydoras, lovely and small,
Adorned with garbs of, beauty bizarre
– spots, stripes, blotches, and bars –
Who would have thought could come from bone plates?
Whiskers, notwithstanding, are what to expect,
But O so wise they make you look.
And perhaps you are, in your distant stares,
With eyes enlarged and rolling about –
A penny for your thoughts is what I’ll give!
Resting and rummaging, you seem also to do,
But hardly alone you do those things.
Never one for one-upmanship,
Harmony you prize in your social life,
Receiving, accepting, all who are near
– in leisure, in search, and in fe(a)stal joy!
What is more delightful than – a Cory?
– two, three, no, I say more!
Beauty in numbers is found in them,
Akin to a tapestry, vibrant and right,
Is what you will see in Corys-in-schools!
Praise be to Corys, and Nature alike!
For pleasures we know not if not for them.
And may we not ask, “Why it is so?”
Then perhaps the reply:
“Just enjoy and be”.
Or maybe you’ll hear,
With open hearts,
“It is I who create and knows you well.”
Corydoras,
Lovely and small,
Is the pet fish of,
My desiring.
Image Sources: Featured image (Aquatic Arts);Image in Article (Pinterest)
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