Bronze Cories

[§tudz]

Hi,

I have bred Bronze cories in the past, in a tropical climate, but I've read that they are cool water fish really.

I want to try to setup a breeding program with some again.

would they be ok in a tank without a heater? I have a spare 15gallon sitting in my room, and I'd put them in there.

I was lucky last time I bred them I bought two fish and one turned out to be male and the other female,

how many do you think I should buy for a decent chance of breeding, 6? or should I try for more?
and at what size should I expect them to breed?

I'd set the tank you wil a thin layer of sand, as the substrate.
I have a load of small pots I used in my old ram tank, which I can put in the tank as well.

any other details I should be aware of? and will they be fine with no heater , my room is ALWAYS hot as the other four tanks are heated and I have to have a fan on constantly to make the room barable.

 

[Sp00ky]

hiya mate.

6 is a good number for a breeding project. however, if your LFS is good, then i would ask for 2 females and 4 males... good ratio as the female can produce more eggs than 1 male can fertilize.

I would never recommend that corys are placed in a tank with no heater. It only takes that one real cold night for the temp to drop to a dangerous low and you start losing your corys.

Bronze, along with peppers and albinos are relatively easy breed. Condition them up with plenty of live and frozen foods, then when you see the females are nice and plump, do a 50% water change with cold water 10 degree less than temp of the tank. Do this for a few days until they spawn. If they dont spawn doing 1 change, then up it to 2 changes a day.

good luck mate

 

[§tudz]

cheers, hehe! just gotta find someplace to put the tank now lmao!

the tank is 12" high, if I half fill it would that be ok? I'm just thinking about weight thats all

 

[Sp00ky]

cheers, hehe! just gotta find someplace to put the tank now lmao!

the tank is 12" high, if I half fill it would that be ok? I'm just thinking about weight thats all

what are you worried about weight for?

 

[§tudz]

cheers, hehe! just gotta find someplace to put the tank now lmao!

the tank is 12" high, if I half fill it would that be ok? I'm just thinking about weight thats all

what are you worried about weight for?

lol I got a 22gallon, a 15 gallon two 3gallon and 4 gallon tank in my room, so weight on the floor, plus I've run outta fish tank sides, so It'll be on one of my 'computer desk' sides, tey are strong, as one currently holds my 22gal.

 

[Sp00ky]

cheers, hehe! just gotta find someplace to put the tank now lmao!

the tank is 12" high, if I half fill it would that be ok? I'm just thinking about weight thats all

what are you worried about weight for?

lol I got a 22gallon, a 15 gallon two 3gallon and 4 gallon tank in my room, so weight on the floor, plus I've run outta fish tank sides, so It'll be on one of my 'computer desk' sides, tey are strong, as one currently holds my 22gal.

ahhh reet. i have 11 tanks and 9 of them are upstairs LMAO!

 

[§tudz]

yeah, I keep getting complained at, saying "the floor will collapse!" lol

if it collapses under that weight jeez, it must be badly made


Just need a tidy up in here and move some junk about, and see what happens I've al;ready found a space, but its too close to the window really, lol, might have to more even more junk

 

[Inchworm]

Hi §tudz

I like to keep groups of six corys, with three males and three females, whenever I can. I think they are happy that way and I also like the way they look.

The thing about having more males than females is that at breeding time, one male might not be able to fertilize all the eggs a female can lay. Two of them in the tank at spawning time will give a better hatching rate. Since corys don't mate, and all the females won't be spawning at the same time, as long as you have more than one male, you will do fine. But, of course, spawning is only part of the reason for keeping corys.

Bronze C. aeneus like water that is a little cooler than some of the other corys and I usually keep mine in unheated tanks. If you feel the temperature will fluctuate very much, by all means, add a heater and set it at a low setting. It might turn out to be more a case of insurance against a sudden drop than anything else. During the summer (when I am often running the air conditioner) I use heaters in the cory tanks even more than I do in the winter when the heat is more constant in my apartment.

You are apt to find that when they are ready to spawn they will do so easily. Often a normal water change is all that's necessary to set them off.

 

[§tudz]

Hi §tudz

I like to keep groups of six corys, with three males and three females, whenever I can. I think they are happy that way and I also like the way they look.

The thing about having more males than females is that at breeding time, one male might not be able to fertilize all the eggs a female can lay. Two of them in the tank at spawning time will give a better hatching rate. Since corys don't mate, and all the females won't be spawning at the same time, as long as you have more than one male, you will do fine. But, of course, spawning is only part of the reason for keeping corys.

Bronze C. aeneus like water that is a little cooler than some of the other corys and I usually keep mine in unheated tanks. If you feel the temperature will fluctuate very much, by all means, add a heater and set it at a low setting. It might turn out to be more a case of insurance against a sudden drop than anything else. During the summer (when I am often running the air conditioner) I use heaters in the cory tanks even more than I do in the winter when the heat is more constant in my apartment.

You are apt to find that when they are ready to spawn they will do so easily. Often a normal water change is all that's necessary to set them off.

Thanks for the info, inchworm. I have bred bronze before, but I haven't been able to keep the fry alive for more than a little of a week. I think the tank I was raising the fry in was too big, so I bought a smaller tank for them about 4 months ago, but my breeding pair, died dont know why, but they did

 

[Inchworm]

Hi §tudz

Please don't get discouraged by the run of bad luck you've had. It can happen to anyone. I'm glad to see that you're ready to try again.

Cory fry are tiny and delicate creatures that easily succumb to less than ideal conditions on the bottom of their tank. I suspect that they were wiped out by a bacterial infection. Small as they are, if you keep them in a bare bottom tank, you will see how quickly their wastes and uneaten food become a layer of slime that has to be frequently rubbed away. Daily partial water changes help too.

I've been experimenting with adding a thin layer of the material that comes out of the filter when you rinse it (mulm) to my fry tanks . This is recommended by many breeders and it seems to work fairly well. It eliminates the need for constant cleaning of the bottom, and I wonder if it might help give the fry some immunity to certain bacteria. On the down side, the fry just about disappear for a week or two and it's difficult to know what's going on with them.

It's a method you might want to think about when your new corys are ready to spawn.

 

[§tudz]

Hi §tudz

Please don't get discouraged by the run of bad luck you've had. It can happen to anyone. I'm glad to see that you're ready to try again.

Cory fry are tiny and delicate creatures that easily succumb to less than ideal conditions on the bottom of their tank. I suspect that they were wiped out by a bacterial infection. Small as they are, if you keep them in a bare bottom tank, you will see how quickly their wastes and uneaten food become a layer of slime that has to be frequently rubbed away. Daily partial water changes help too.

I've been experimenting with adding a thin layer of the material that comes out of the filter when you rinse it (mulm) to my fry tanks . This is recommended by many breeders and it seems to work fairly well. It eliminates the need for constant cleaning of the bottom, and I wonder if it might help give the fry some immunity to certain bacteria. On the down side, the fry just about disappear for a week or two and it's difficult to know what's going on with them.

It's a method you might want to think about when your new corys are ready to spawn.

so you just spread the mulm form the filter pads into the tank before the eggs hatch?
and leave it in there?

how much of a water change do you do a day? and at what temp do you keep your water for the fry?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi §tudz

Mind you now, I am just starting to use this method and do not have much experience with it, but what I did was rinse out a not-too-dirty filter and let the debris settle to the bottom. It formed a sort of thin blanket there. Perhaps other members who have done this more often will add their comments. It would help me learn too.

I usually like to do good sized daily water changes in my fry tanks. This usually means changing 3-4 gallons in a 10 gallon tank. I wipe down the sides every few days to avoid slime building up on them and this is removed along with the water.

I like to keep my C. aeneus fry at around 75 degrees F. because at warmer temperatures they eat more and grow faster. I don't like to go higher than that though because bacteria grow faster in warmer water too. Once they are a couple of months old, I gradually lower the temperature to that of my unheated tanks. These range in temperature from 72 to 74 degrees, depending on the season.

 

[§tudz]

ok cool, my last few batches were in 5 gallon tank, and I've bought a small 3 gallon tank for the fry.
I'm looking at putting the spawning cories into the 15gallon I have lying around.

I was also feeding liqui-fry, as I dont have the space to setup cultures.