SURPRISE Spawn

[jordonsmum]

A lady came over today to buy some fish from me. While she was checking out the drop tank, she noticed some eggs on the glass. MY CORY'S SPAWNED!!!! How cool is that!!! It took me totally by surprise since I didn't think they were old enough yet. So far they're just clear. One has a white spot in it but the others appear to be clear. Even if they're not fertile.. at least I know they're ready. Time to start a spawning tank... COOL!!!!!!

[CACAdmin]

Cool! Congrats!

[Melody]

:pompom:

[madattiver]

congrats!!!

the white spot ones are infertile... usually clear or tan color mean fertile

[jordonsmum]

Cool, so far I've only seen the one white spot. They're pretty much clear. How long until i'd be able to see somethinging them?? How long until hatching?? THanks:yes:

[madattiver]

usually 3-5 days until hatching.. you should be able to see some sort of embryo inside the egg develop.. and by day three they can actually do somersaults in the eggs which is kind of neat to see

[Melody]

and by day three they can actually do somersaults in the eggs which is kind of neat to see

LOL I had never thought of that, but it makes sense. Very cool. Kids would love it too. Get a big dollar store magnifying glass & let them watch.:smile:

Nothing beats an observant fish-keeper, I have learned much from them over the years and I daresay the gurus have too. Thanks for mentioning it!

[jordonsmum]

Today is day 2 (I think) and they're just starting to turn brown. Is that a good or a bad sign?? Thanks for all of the help. Approx 60 eggs were laid in two different locations on the glass. Wish I knew who the pair was , if they were fert. I'd take them out and give them a little more privacy.

[Melody]

Sounds like they're doing just fine as exhibitionists...lol...chances are its more than one pair, but not necessarily. I think I've read somewhere that one spawn can inspire others in the colony, but I'll leave you to our resident expert.

[madattiver]

yes, they do kind of go crazy when spawning and other males and females will get involved.. brown eggs are a good sign that they are developing.

I went downstairs last night to see my corydoras weitzmani trying to spawn.. 2 and sometimes 3 males chasing a female around the tank.. and when passing another female.. they would then split off start chasing her which confirms the group spawning of corydoras.. too bad the weitzmani females didn't give in to the males this time.

[Melody]

The females must be close to 'ripe' if they're chasing them, yes? Seems the females initiate in Cory's. Or maybe they're egg-eaters? Some Cory's do, some Cory's don't, and they vary even within the species. I'm thinkin' it will be soon. :smile:

Odd that it was at night though - Cory's usually spawn in the early morning.

[jordonsmum]

Odd that it was at night though - Cory's usually spawn in the early morning.[/quote]

They may very well have done it in the morning. I missed them all together and the lady that came pointed them out to me. That was in the late morning.. I think. They were still clear at that point. So not sure when it all took place...

[Melody]

I meant Mr. Mad's....lol....sorry, I have to quote more often.

[hp10BII]

Congratulations - I hope you get some cute 'lil critters from them!

[jordonsmum]

I meant Mr. Mad's....lol....sorry, I have to quote more often.


LOL oh, sorry...LOL

[jordonsmum]

Congratulations - I hope you get some cute 'lil critters from them!

Thanks!! I'm not counting on much since it's their first. But i'm excited because I know it's about that time. I've been wondering how big they have to be before they can spawn. That answers that question and saves me from having to post it..lol I'm even more excited because my fav cory's in other tanks are reaching around the same size. I hope that means they're coming close too. Then you'll REALLY see me excited. I'm waiting for my long finned cory's from pat (they're still pretty small though) and my high fin pepper's (they're around the same size as the ones that just spawned). It'd be cool if my Albino's jumped on the band wagon too.

[madattiver]

The females must be close to 'ripe' if they're chasing them, yes? Seems the females initiate in Cory's. Or maybe they're egg-eaters? Some Cory's do, some Cory's don't, and they vary even within the species. I'm thinkin' it will be soon. :smile:

Odd that it was at night though - Cory's usually spawn in the early morning.

yes.. they are very.. very close to spawning, and actually may have already.. I have heard this species is an avid egg eater, so I may never know if they had done the deed yet. I added more moss to the tank to give more spawning spots..

and as for morning spawning.. the timed lights were off and I turned them back on.. about an hour after they were back on was when I saw them chasing the females.. so maybe they thought it was the morning.

[madattiver]

I'm not counting on much since it's their first.


when my paleatus spawned for the first time 3 weeks or so ago it was a first time spawning for them and out of the 80 or so eggs they laid I got around 40 fry from them.. so don't be surprised if alot of them hatch.

[jordonsmum]

:realmad: @#$%^&*&^%$ :mad: fish ate half of them... :( I've managed to cover the remaining eggs with a breeder net hanging on the side of the tank. If any fry hatch, how can I save them so they don't get eaten?? They're in the birthing tank so I'm afraid to interrupt the moms. They're all ready to drop anytime.

[Melody]

and as for morning spawning.. the timed lights were off and I turned them back on.. about an hour after they were back on was when I saw them chasing the females.. so maybe they thought it was the morning.

Hmmm... that info could be handy with egg-eaters. Flip the light on and watch for it so you can snag the eggs as soon as they appear. Easier said than done I'm sure, but its an edge...lol.

[Melody]

:realmad: @#$%^&*&^%$ :mad: fish ate half of them... :( I've managed to cover the remaining eggs with a breeder net hanging on the side of the tank. If any fry hatch, how can I save them so they don't get eaten?? They're in the birthing tank so I'm afraid to interrupt the moms. They're all ready to drop anytime.

I don't think Cory's are fry eaters, more egg-eaters, or some species are anyway. Get a second opinion on that as I can't swear to it. You'll have plenty - that's a lot of fry to add to your already a lot of fry....lol.

[jordonsmum]

It's not the cory's i'm worried about eating the fry, it's my swords. The eggs are in my birthing tank:wideeyed:

[Melody]

OIC, yes, I can see that happening. A 15-20G-long should allow you to grow them out enough to be safe as long as you didn't get too many in there.

[jordonsmum]

usually 3-5 days until hatching.. you should be able to see some sort of embryo inside the egg develop.. and by day three they can actually do somersaults in the eggs which is kind of neat to see

You are wise in the ways of cory's my friend!!!:notworthy: This is AMAZING!!!:chatterbox: They're turning and spinning and doing the coolest things!!! Ok, so I'm a dork and I bought a magnafying glass. But it really is cool!! Here i've been waiting to see some dark fry inside these eggs and they're clear. I've been thinking all along that they're infertile and then today one spun right in front of my beety little eyes. 3 have hatched and there's NO way I can find them. They're sooo teeny tiny. How will I ever find them to scoop them out????

[traco1]

Wow, you've got all the luck! Spawning, fertilizing and hatching and you haven't done a thing. And these are in a breeder tank, aren't they? That must be so neat to see. Good thing you bought a magnifying glass to see all this. Hope you find the little guys.

[Melody]

Nice job!

[jordonsmum]

:laugh: Thanks... it was hard work.. really... back breaking...:laugh: . Don't tell the parents I'm taking all the credit..LOL they'll stop spawning... LOL

I have however had to chase a koi swordtail, two snails and a pleco off from those eggs. I lost 6 eggs in the battle... @&^%&!!!!!:mad:

[madattiver]

I guess I forgot to mention that maybe you should have removed the eggs from the glass.. this would have solved the problems of them being eaten and getting the fry out.

I usually remove the eggs to a hatching container by just rolling the eggs off the glass to break them free and grabbing them to the container. for a hatching container I use a sour cream container type thing.. and add an air stone. I usually replace 50% of the water daily with water from the parents tank in the hatching container... then when they hatch, they are already seperated and nopbody will eat them.. ;)

btw.. my paleatus spawned again yesterday, but the parents decided to eat the eggs this time.. not that it mattered.. I have around 70+ fry from two spawnings I am raising out at the moment.

[jordonsmum]

How do you get them off without crushing them?? Can I still do that or is it too late?? They're still moving around inside.

[Melody]

I guess I forgot to mention that maybe you should have removed the eggs from the glass.. this would have solved the problems of them being eaten and getting the fry out.

I usually remove the eggs to a hatching container by just rolling the eggs off the glass to break them free and grabbing them to the container. for a hatching container I use a sour cream container type thing.. and add an air stone. I usually replace 50% of the water daily with water from the parents tank in the hatching container... then when they hatch, they are already seperated and nopbody will eat them.. ;)

btw.. my paleatus spawned again yesterday, but the parents decided to eat the eggs this time.. not that it mattered.. I have around 70+ fry from two spawnings I am raising out at the moment.

Spring has sure hit your fishroom!

Icecream buckets. They are perfect for things like eggs and I use them for a zillion other fishy things. Something to dump plants in for cleaning. Acclimating fish, catching fry... I am forced to eat a lot of Dutch Chocolate Icecream from Safeway just to keep them around. That's how dedicated I am. :Angel:

[jordonsmum]

::D: You can disreguard my last question...:laugh: I moved them off the glass and into a container like you mentioned. As I was walking from the aquarium to the kitchen to get an airstone, I noticed 10 little tadpoles whipping around in the bottom of the container. I guess I woke them up. They hatched as soon as they got into the container. There are still more to hatch. That is just REALLY COOL!!!! Thanks so much for all of your help.

When should I start feeding them baby brine shrimp and microworms?? Right away?? Is there anything else I can feed them?

[traco1]

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_34.gif Must be so neat to see, heh? Better start splitting up your microworms and get some more brewing. You are going to be busy feeding all these fry you have and will be getting!

[madattiver]

you have to wait for the to absorb their yolk sac before u start feeding them.. which noramlly takes around 4 days. aftere that u can feed them microworms or bbs or that bbs in a bottle from J&L. those foods work the best for them and are easy enough.. u can also do crushed flakes, but it has to be very, very tiny for their little mouths

also make sure u put some snails in with the fry so they eat any food the fry don't get to as it will spoil and eventually kill the fry.

[jordonsmum]

Can I wait until tomorrow morning to put snails in?? I'm afraid of them eating the eggs that are still hatching.

[madattiver]

yes.. you can wait until day three for all that matters as you won't have any food in there until day 4 anyways

[hp10BII]

Eggs to fry already? What a neat Mother's Day present.


... I am forced to eat a lot of Dutch Chocolate Icecream from Safeway just to keep them around. That's how dedicated I am. :Angel:

So these are the best ice cream buckets for us fishy people? Glad that we can learn from your indulgence. Time to make an ice cream bucket run...it's just about Mother's Day you know!? :yes:

[jordonsmum]

They all finished hatching by the time I woke up this morning. I can't count them yet. Too small and the darn little things move like the tazmanian devel. Too fast!!! All are well and healthy by appearance unter magnafying glass.

[CACAdmin]

I am forced to eat a lot of Dutch Chocolate Icecream from Safeway just to keep them around. That's how dedicated I am. :Angel:
:offtopic: She's so dedicated she eats enough to keep me supplied with buckets too. :DevilGrin:
All are well and healthy by appearance unter magnafying glass You're getting your money's worth out of that magnifying glass. Actually, when you get old like me, you'll need it much more!:laugh: Glad to hear they all appear healthy!
With all these births around your house, there must be something in the water:laugh: ...& maybe it's a good thing hubby is away.:;):

[jordonsmum]

With all these births around your house, there must be something in the water:laugh: ...& maybe it's a good thing hubby is away.:;):[/quote]

OMG!!!! DON'T GO THERE!!! He's coming hom 6 days and YOU'RE GOING TO JINX ME. If anything is born other than fish in the next 9 months... I'M SHIPPING TO YOUR HOUSE!!!! :laugh:

[Melody]

I don't think he has the space to house a creature that size. They grow huge you know, and are very active. They're also very messy. I'd recommend a minimum of 1 acre to avoid aggression.

[CACAdmin]

OMG!!!! DON'T GO THERE!!! He's coming hom 6 days and YOU'RE GOING TO JINX ME. If anything is born other than fish in the next 9 months... I'M SHIPPING TO YOUR HOUSE!!!! :laugh:
Still :offtopic: Thanks but whatever or whomever is born is all yours :laugh: ... been there, done that... and I had a house at the time... now it's just one room...barely enough room for me & my aquatic inhabitants.

BTW, if you tell hubby I jinxed you, I don't know you, never heard of you... jordonsmum? who?:Dunno: :twitcy:

[jordonsmum]

OMG.. too funny.. :twitcy: Thanks for the laugh... needed that today!!!!