My very first cory sting!

[tolstoy21]

Man, one of my sterbia jabbed me with his spine when I netted him (or her) out of a tank. Never got pricked by one before. Kinda hurt. Kinda hurt much more than I expected (it wasn't really that bad, but had more punch than I would have imagined).  What shocked me the most, however, was how long the venom stayed with me. Kind of reminded me of getting bitten by a fire ant.

[Guppysnail]

That’s rough. I’m glad to know just how much punch a sting has. Sorry it’s at your expense.  

[tolstoy21]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:04 PM, Guppysnail said:

That’s rough. I’m glad to know just how much punch a sting has. Sorry it’s at your expense.  

Just taking one for the team. Next time maybe I should investigate how hard pike cichlids or peacock bass bite!

Edited May 11 by tolstoy21

[lefty o]

On 5/11/2024 at 5:02 PM, tolstoy21 said:

Man, one of my sterbia jabbed me with his spine when I netted him (or her) out of a tank. Never got pricked by one before. Kinda hurt. Kinda hurt much more than I expected (it wasn't really that bad, but had more punch than I would have imagined).  What shocked me the most, however, was how long the venom stayed with me. Kind of reminded me of getting bitten by a fire ant.

ive never been hit by a cory, but id imagine its like getting nailed by a bullhead, and those are not pleasant in the least.

[tolstoy21]

@lefty o

I'd say it's about equivalent to being stung by a green head fly-- if you've ever had that pleasure -- but the sting lasts a bit.

[T. Payne]

I've been stung by several species of corydoras over the years unfortunately. So far, sterbai was the worse. However, the worse sting I have ever experienced came from a lionfish. The lionfish sting was horrible.

[Tony s]

Thank goodness I haven’t been stung yet. But my first batch of skunks traveled home with me for a couple of hours. Got them settled in the tank and before leaving them alone for the night, I thought I’d do a small amount of maintenance. Every part of my arm that went into the tank broke out in severe hives. Very first time I learned about Cory venom.🤣

[flossy]

never knew cories could sting

[Tony s]

On 5/12/2024 at 12:10 AM, flossy said:

never knew cories could sting

Each of their 3main fins has a rather large spike in it. I’m not sure if you’ve felt those before. It’s what makes it a bit hazardous on them to be netted. They can stick in the net. The main purpose of them is defense. Sometimes keepers get unlucky and get stabbed by them and get a dose of the Cory venom. Which most people don’t realize corys make either. Sometimes if mishandled in shipping they will also release the venom and it can actually kill the corys in the bag. Which is what happened with my skunks. As far as I can tell.