Corydoras spawn

[sass]

Well never fails when winter is on it's way our old farm house cools down considerably and our corys start playing around:Blush: . I'm going to try my hand at raising some fry this time around.
Actually before I start I'd like to say how much I have been enjoying this site. Seems like a nice friendly, informative spot to stay.
Anyway here's my question, I'm having trouble with my local club getting a startup culture of microworms, since we live so far out, so has anyone had luck feeding "Frozen Baby Brine Shrimp" to Cory fry? I have used "First Bites" for our Angel fry and African fry then "Frozen Brine Shrimp and then changed to crushed NLS growth, but I'm thinking these will be too large?
Look forward to any advise:Smile: . Hopefully I'm not jinxing this spawning by getting ready. Thanks

[CACAdmin]

Ahh yes, your corys are in the mood are they?:laugh: Never having bred corys I'll have to leave your questions as to what your feeding options are for the fry to the experts.

As for finding a starter culture of microworms, CanadianAquatics (http://www.canadianaquatics.com/) sells microworm cultures for $5. You can also put a http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/images/icons/WTBIcon.gif in the LF / WTB / Spotted (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=68) section. Possibly someone in Ontario might have some available. Also keep an eye out for some on the auction (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/ClassAuction/).

Don't forget to let us know when your corys spawn.

[_Aaron_]

With my sterbai fry I have the best luck hatching my own BBS for the first 2 weeks then gradually switching to frozen & ground up flake.

[sass]

Thanks Aaron, for the hint , I'll get started hatching some out.

Thank you also CACAdmin, for the links. I do have someone I can order microworms from up here, just not sure they would be here in time?

"Don't forget to let us know when your corys spawn"

Actually I spent all of yesterday scraping eggs off of various spots in the tank:rolleyes: . The silly fish even layed eggs on top off the snails shells.
What a way to spend an absolutely miserably cold and wet day. Gotta love this obsession.

[Pamelajo]

Good luck!

[CACAdmin]

The silly fish even layed eggs on top off the snails shells.


I guess they were looking for a 'mobile home' for the eggs. :laugh:

[Gobies et al]

Good Luck!:pompom:

[sass]

I'm so excited, I think I have fry!
My eyes are a tad blurry this morning but I'm sure I can see something moving among the eggs? Our magnifying glass has gone walkabout just like many things in this house when you've got teenagers:rolleyes: . I'll have to go borrow one.
I wasn't ready for this at all and the eggs have been sitting in a net in the main tank.
I just hope I can do right by these little guys.

As far as I can tell it was four days from the time of spawn to the hatching?

[CACAdmin]

I hope you're correct about the fry. Copngrats! ::D:

[Pamelajo]

Congrats!!

[Melody]

Well that was easy! lol You can also get the bottled BBS these days. Frozen is fortified and the same size as the ones you hatch yourself so I like it best. I know many people who feed a lot of shrimp pellets to their Cory fry - they turn to mush when they sink. Don't panic though, any flake will sink and they'll do just fine if it's good quality. Both my pellets and flakes are Omega One and I highly recommend that. I raised my Panda Cory's on frozen BBS, crushed freeze dried foods with crushed flake mixed in to ensure they were getting their vitamins. They were especially tiny when they hatched and could only eat the crushed food. Especially watch the NLS & leftovers for pollution - nothing kills fry faster. A nice applesnail in there will help clean up, but I wouldn't trust them with eggs.

Congrat's! What species are they? I look forward to hearing about them as they grow!

[sass]

Okay, I've finally stopped beating myself up and can now talk about it.

Checked my little makeshift fry net this morning and yikes the net had gotten squished to one side. All I could see were two fry darting around.:cry:
I was so upset, I was sure the holes in the netting were small enough. Obviously not.

Well off to do groceries and hit the lfs. Thank goodness they had one fish net breeder left. phew
When I moved the fry and eggs I used a plastic pippette, with about half an inch cut off the end since it was easier to control the amount of suction. Didn't want the little guys to think there was a tsunami coming:wideeyed: .
As of now there are three tiny fry and three unhatched eggs safely set aside.

Thank you Melody for the info on feeding. Hopefully I'll be able to get these ones to survive and I'll be more than ready the next time!

Oh yes just about forgot they are Corydoras aeneus, just the regular bronze cory.

[Melody]

Bronze Cory's are such pretty colours - a person could almost take them and decorate a den in the green and antique brass or something. Certainly a fine choice for breeding :yes: .The good news is they are great little spawners so they'll bless you on a regular basis.

Don't be too hard on yourself, I'm sure we'd all do the same thing - the nets look very fine. Any chance that you could pick up a 5G that you could just throw the eggs in and let them hatch? Or a container will do the trick for that matter. If you were closer I'd give you one of the tanks that I am supposed to be getting rid of but always seem to set up again if I keep them :Embarassing: .

Anyways, you're doing a great job and I'm glad to hear that all was not lost. Very lucky fishies to have you doting on them :Smile: .

[CACAdmin]

Don't beat yourself up about it. I would have figured the makeshift fry net would have worked too. Look at it this way, you do have 3 fry and still have another 3 eggs and you'll be well prepared for the next spawn. That was cool that you thought of cutting the end off the pipette. I would never have thought of that but I'm sure your fry would prefer that as opposed to a tsunami. How big a pipette did you use?

[sass]

Well as of this morning I have zero fry:cry: .

I'm wondering though if it was a blessing that they didn't survive, since I did notice that one fry had a bent spine?

The corys that spawned were a rescue fish. That old story of arriving at someones house to buy a specified fish and leaving with extras because the tanks were in terrible shape and literally having fish thrown at you.
Hubby says I have "sucker" written across my forehead :rolleyes:
These fish also have very short to almost no barbels, but still manage to do very well.
I question whether it's genetics or poor water quality that caused this?

How big a pipette did you use?

The pipette that I used was one of those light plastic ones that come with the water testing kits. I believe it came with the Nutrifin Master Test Kit. I widened the tip to 5 mm.

Anyway I'll definitely be ready the next time.

[Pamelajo]

Sorry to hear that!

[CACAdmin]

Sorry to hear you have no surviving fry. As for the short barbels on the corys, what kind of substrate was in the tank they were kept in? If it was course, maybe the barbels are worn down. I gather a soft substrate is more to their liking and easier on them as they are always rooting around.

[Gobies et al]

In my early days of keeping fish I had Corys. I found water quality to be very important. Mine were on sand at the time. They would get Flexibacter infections and loose their barbels. With proper care and good water their barbels would regrow. :yes:

[sass]

Thanks for the info on barbels.
They were on coarse gravel before I got them and I'm sure the water was not pristine:rolleyes: .
They're on a sandier substate now.
I didn't know that they could regrow the whiskers, so there is hope for these little guys. Good news.

[Melody]

I have found that good, strong barbels can plow through any aquarium substrate as long as it's not sharp. If they were weakened by poor conditions (especially nitrates and dirty gravel), you should see an improvement with a clean environment and better care. Proper nutrition for development, strength and resistance to bacteria are factors not often discussed, but crucial for healthy barbels. A diet lacking in Ascorbic Acid and/or Pantothenic acid can cause barbel issues, for example.

The barbels are used in breeding and to find/taste food in the substrate so they're important, but the fish can survive without them if they have to. They may be prone to infection until they regrow, so extra attention to a clean environment will go a long way towards complete recovery.

[sass]

Thought I'd update this thread.
Yesterday sitting staring at the cory tank I noticed this little fry, couldn't believe my eyes.
After all the worrying, fussing and being a doting ma, looks like I have at least one surviving fry.
I'm doing my best to be an optimist and thinking that where there is one there are many.
I guess for once I've been rewarded for having a tank that is a tangle of weeds. Thank goodness I don't have many fellow aquarists that visit, the rest of the family thinks the tanks look ok?:rolleyes:

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you have at least one fry. And yes, that 'tangle of weeds' or 'jungle-look' definitely is a plus when it comes to fry surviving. I discover 'surprise' fry all the time. Fellow aquarists (especially any who breed fish) would totally approve.

[Laura]

Good to hear you've got a little fella!
Congrats.
(I'm assuming this is Sas/Sue from my local forum - am I wrong?)

[Melody]

I'm telling you Sass, in a couple of months you'll be flogging Cory's on the auction and wondering how 172 of them hid from you in the first place :laugh: . Great news!

[sass]

I'm telling you Sass, in a couple of months you'll be flogging Cory's on the auction and wondering how 172 of them hid from you in the first place :laugh: . Great news!

Really! That would be nice. Although I doubt it since the corys are sharing the tank with a"pack" of female B. rainbows.


"Good to hear you've got a little fella!
Congrats.
(I'm assuming this is Sas/Sue from my local forum - am I wrong?)"

Yes it's me:Smile: . Thanks Laura.

[Pamelajo]

Congrats on the little one.

[Melody]

Really! That would be nice. Although I doubt it since the corys are sharing the tank with a"pack" of female B. rainbows.

They tend to stay in the gravel when they're newly hatched. I once drained a tank in which the cover was designed to protect Livebearers, not bottom dwellers. I didn't have a Python then so I drained into a bucket and let it settle so I could check for stray babies. I was very surprised to find baby Cory's in there - I had no idea that they'd spawned. You can add rock piles or clusters to help provide cover for them too, that's the only protection I had at the bottom level so maybe that did it. Good luck!

[sass]

Thanks Melody, your post gives me some hope.
They certainly are cute little guys, but then what fry aren't.

[OldMan]

A cover technique that I have seen used for cory fry is a simple pile of filter ceramic noodles. The pile itself provides cover between things and of course the hole in the noodles provides added hiding spaces.

[Melody]

Good idea!

[sass]

A cover technique that I have seen used for cory fry is a simple pile of filter ceramic noodles. The pile itself provides cover between things and of course the hole in the noodles provides added hiding spaces.


Thanks for that tip, I'll have to try that. I've got 2 cannisters that are overdue for a refreshment of ceramic material. I usually use the spent noodles in my plant pots or in the garden, but this is a much better use.

[OldMan]

I can't take the credit for that one. I ran into a guy on planet catfish that uses it for all of his pygmy cories. He just lets them breed colony style and gets regular fry additions using the pile of noodles.

[sass]

I'm telling you Sass, in a couple of months you'll be flogging Cory's on the auction and wondering how 172 of them hid from you in the first place :laugh: . Great news!

Well Melody you called it:yes: . The Cory's were busy for 4 days 2 week s ago and I have a bunch of fry.
They're eating frozen BBS and it's so funny to see their full red bellies.
Thanks for all the advice:smile: .

[Katalyst]

:Biggrin: :red_dance: :Celebrate: :waycool: Congrats on the fry! Cory spawnlings are so cute!

[CACAdmin]

Congrats on the spawn. The little ones must be so cute to watch.

[Melody]

That's great! We need some Cory's on the auction. I can never resist the little buggers. They're always the fun ones to watch playing too - they truly look like they're having fun. :smile:

[Pamelajo]

They are something I have a hard time resisting too! I have a bunch of different kinds because they were too cute to pass up.

[CACAdmin]

sass, how many cory fry did you end up with? ...and how are they doing? We'd love to see pics when they get big enough.

[sass]

sass, how many cory fry did you end up with? ...and how are they doing? We'd love to see pics when they get big enough.

Welllllllllllllll...........I'm not sure but I think we're on about the 7th spawn:confused: . I've ended up setting up 2, 10g to raise fry. Only problem is they are on the second floor, so I also get my exercise. At my age ,(don't ask:nah: ) aren't we supposed to slow down?
I've let some eggs hatch in the tank and then scraped a few others. I'm constantly being surprised by fry of various sizes in the main tank and wonder if I'm doing more harm than good by intervening.
So far I guesstimate there are 50 fry?
I lost some fry to poor water quality, eggs went bad and from feeding to early?
Tried taking pics this morning after scrounging batteries from the remote volume for the tv, but newly hatched fry are invisible and the older kiddies are shy.
I'll keep trying:yes: .

[CACAdmin]

Congrats! That's great to hear they're spawning so well for you and that you are managing to raise that many fry. You must be doing something right. :yes: :smile:

As for the tanks being on the 2nd floor, climbing stairs is supposed to be great exercise... keeps us young and fit :wink: ... just think, if you didn't have all these fry to attend to, would you be going up and down as often?

I totally understand about not having charged batteries when you need them. And then when they are you run into other problems. Like last night, when my batteries were charged, I snapped a few pics, only to discover later that they were awful (I had forgotten to clean off the glass after waterchanges yesterday. :spinny: ).

Good luck getting the pics... we'll be patient.. or at least try to be. :laugh:

[Melody]

I'm going to the auction to wait, so hurry up. Shouldn't you be doing a waterchange and feeding them again? :Waiting: Nice work!

[firestorm]

Great to hear about that many fry. Can't wait to see some pics either :spinny:

At least my house is all one floor, so I only have to run from room to room if transferring fish :laugh:

[sass]

Thought I'd update this.
Sorry no pics yet and Melody I can't see myself shipping any of these guys out, I'm not experienced in shipping fish at all. Still need to do some research on that.

Well ended up with about 25 fry and they're about an inch to an inch and a half.
There is also a single black cory in the bunch, I call him my ugly duckling but he really is quite striking.
Now I noticed Killijoe posted in another thread about corydora aennus black. Would this be one or............?

[Killiejoe]

To be honest I am not sure Sass. I just know that they were sold at the auction as black Corydoras aeneus. I am currently uploading a bunch of images onto photobucket so I can catch up with some picture posting I promised. I will include some of the corys. Congratulations on the fry although at that size they are no longer fry lol. Well done.

[Melody]

Don't be afraid of shipping Sass, the logistics are easy enough and sometimes even the best have DOA's - it's amazing what the fish survive enroute so it's always a risk.

You can take the pressure off for your first shipment and do a trade with someone. Alternately, pick an experienced shipper friend that you can trust and make a deal that they'll pay for shipping and then only for whatever fish survive the trip... or a similar arrangement. If you pick a shipping friend, they can provide feedback on the packaging and so on.

It's awesome that they've done so well for you - congrat's! The Black Aeneus is a colour morph that can be black or just very dark, so it's possible that you've had that thrown from your regular Bronze Cory's. It's confused sometimes with C. schultzei, which can also throw blacks but they're more difficult to breed so aren't often seen. They can all throw blacks or albinos for that matter, but Schultzei & Aeneus do it more often than other captive species. The Cory sometimes sold in stores as 'Black Corydoras' is almost always Aeneus - they were bred into a colour strain quite some time ago. I think it's Ian Fuller who has the details on the whole confusing 'Black Cory' story, a Cory guru to the nth degree in the UK. His books are amazing and an absolute must for anyone who wants to breed a lot of Cory species.

[sass]

Thanks Melody for the info and the advice on shipping:Smile: .

I'll more than likely try and sell locally for now, thats if I can even part with these guys:rolleyes: . I have a habit of keeping everything:twitcy: .
The black cory is basically all black except for a small area of grey on it's belly and the dorsal fin looks almost a red, very striking.
I'll definitely be keeping him/her.
Now I'm getting the urge to try breeding these again to see if I get more blacks.
Arg more tanks needed!

[Melody]

I'm exactly the same way - can't resist an oddity.

The fins can be reddish (really pushing the limits of my memory here, but I think there was a strain bred in Germany and it had red fins.... don't quote me on that though) when they're youngsters, so I'm betting you've got a bonified black morph, which is tres cool. I think I read somewhere that the black morph occurs naturally even less than albino morphs. Granted, there could have been strain cross in their heritage somewhere with the black strain, as it's well established in the hobby. I think it's tres cool anyways. :yes: