Baby Corys

[showjyr]

My peppered corys have laid eggs several times but they never make it. Two nights ago I put about a dozen I scraped off the glass in a specimen container hanging it the tank. There is good flow from an air stone in there and 4 have hatched.

What in the world can I feed them? By the time I get out of work tomorrow the LFS will be closed.

 

[showjyr]

bump

 

[poopsydrew]

Crushed flaked and freshly hatched BBS or microworms as soon as you can.

Drew

 

[drewry]

hi congrats on your wriglers

i dont start to feed mine till 48 hours after they hatch.
as they live on there york sack .
then i feed newly hatched bbs ,liqufry, and first bites and microw worms,
but if you carnt get no food after 48 hours crush some flake up into a fine powder or you could use a bit of egg york from a hard boild egg but not to mutch as it will cloud the water just add a bit of water make it into a sloppy paist

 

[jourdy288]

FD tubifex would probably be good also, just don't overfeed. Keep us posted on how things go.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi showjyr

Congratulations on keeping your peppered corys healthy enough to spawn, saving some eggs, and getting them to hatch. You have a ways to go, but you are off to a good start.

I'm going to move your thread into the Corydoras section, and I hope you will continue to post about your fish. Good luck with the new fry!

 

[CrashingWaves]

I just want to stress the importance of not overfeeding. Fish that size can eat very little, so overfeeding would be incredibly easy to do. As for a quick fix on what to feed them, I'd just suggest crushing regular flake food into a fine powder. After that you can vary the diet with some of the things mentioned above.

God Bless,
Joshua

 

[Inchworm]

Hi showjyr

Cory fry need a good supply of very small food to get them started after the first 24-48 hours. Prepared food is more apt to pollute the water and foul the bottom than microworms are. I might use the liquid food for the first few days, but after that I get them off it. You can find microworms on AquaBid, but it's not likely that you will find them in an lfs.

The fry also need daily small water changes and a clean tank bottom, so you will need to get them into a regular tank very soon. A little sand on the bottom is good, or you could use a bare bottom tank for the first few weeks, if you keep it clean. You can start with just an airstone for circulation, but you will want to change it to a sponge filter before long.

Do keep an eye out for more eggs too. Once they start, they are likely to continue spawning for awhile. Feeding them live blackworms will help condition them and they will produce larger numbers of eggs.

 

[showjyr]

Thanks for all the help. They are still doing well and I may be crazy, but they seem to have already gotten bigger. As for feeding the adults to condition them...no need. I only have 4 but think I have 2 male and 2 female. I find anywhere from 20 to 50 every 5 or 6 days. As the tank is heavily planted I hoped some would survive on there own but no luck, they could use a little help.


I also have 3 pygmy corys and I believe one is a female. Are these as likely to spawn too?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi showjyr

It's easy to tell the males from the females with C. paleatus (peppered corys). There is usually a big difference in their sizes, with the females being the bigger of the two.

You're lucky that you seem to have peppereds that don't eat their eggs. While any corys might eat their eggs, this species has frustrated many would-be breeders by indulging in this habit.

Since the fry rest on the bottom, and corys are bottom feeders, it's easy to see how they might not survive too long in a tank with adults. Even newborn livebearer fry, which swim above the corys, are safe from them.

C. pygmaeus (pygmy corys) are known to be good spawners, but you might need to have a larger group of them.
Here's an article you might find interesting:

http/www.kcff.net/fish/catfish/corydoras...aus/article.htm

 

[bike_riding_cichlid]

From my experience the parents just need time to recover after spawning. Just feed them normally