C. Napoensis Eggs!

[jollysue]

After spending more than my share of frustrating tinkering repeatedly with my Rena and none with my Eheim over the last year or so, I have an entirely different experience than yours. My Eheim always starts immediatly with no priming or fuss. My Rena always requires lots of fuss and frustration. I just spent about 4 hours trying to get my Rena working after having to take it apart to get snails out of the impeller.

The intake tubes are always falling apart in the tank. (Frontosa are bumbling bruisers.) The suction cups don't work well and are always falling loose or off altogether.

As to sponge juice: Everything I have ever read or heard says to add the seeding juice directly to the sponge or whatever the colony growth place is in the new filter. It is not added to the water in the tank but directly to the filter media.

Hope you are feeling better. Thought I might be able to get your blood pressure up.

 

[Cory_Dad]

Oh, you're such a flirt, please don't stop, err, I mean stop.

Which Rena do you have? I have the XP3 and the only problem I'm having with it now (assuming it's filtering properly) is that the return spray bar kept sliding lower (I want it spraying down onto the top of the water, not upwards from under the water). I found a small dense sponge (no, not part of my brain) and placed it under the bar that crosses over the tank ridge. That holds up the whole thing.

Seems that the Eheim hosing problem has settled down. I guess once the hoses 'set in place' problems gone.

Good news! My ammonia count is almost 0; just a barely perceptible tinge of green. After yesterdays 80% water change I got it down to .25. I then took the Aqua Clear 20 from the fry tank and moved it to the 20 gallon AND dropped in a stocking full of ammo chips (along with the sock full already in the tank). Those are all coming out tonight so we'll see what shape the 20 will be in tomorrow morning.

If the count is the same then I'm moving the 7 juveniles from the 2.5 into the 20 with their parents.

As for the cold, I felt a bit better this morning and went on a 2 hour emergency customer call this morning that lasted 8 hours. Dumb move. Needless to say, I'm wiped.

But all this light banter has cheered me up.

Cheers.

 

[tenohfive]

I'm sorry to hear that you feel like hammered s**t but this thread has been fantastic reading. Good luck, hope you feel better soon and let us know how it goes.

 

[jollysue]

Yeah the media room is dependent on the size. My Ehiem is a larger size than my Rena. The Rena is an XP1, but the Ehiem is for 100USG. So the Rena only has 2 baskets where the Ehiem has 3. I'm guessing that your situation is reversed.

I like the suction cups on the Ehiem better. The Rena's come apart and slide off too easily. I haven't had any problem with hoses on either, other than getting them on in the beginning. But for some reason the intake tubes on the Rena which are in 4-6 sections are always falling apart. Probably how the snail got in the empeller. One of my last Apple Snails died in the tube after the strainer part fell off. GRR

I always have to pour water into the Rena tube to prime it when I service it. And then wait forever to see if it will really start sraying the water. I never have to prime the Ehiem. It starts right up. I have the Ehiem Pro--I wonder if that is also a difference.

It is good news that the tank is starting to stablize. Frequent small water changes are a big help in keeping the tank readings down when a tank has to be quick cycled.

It is necessary to know how to cycle a tank quickly. Things happen and the fish have to live someplace. Knowing how to seed and maintain the levels on new or recycled or quick set up emergency tanks is really a useful tool.

I will be setting up a new tank Thursday just before a shipment of fish gets here.

I'm glad you feel better, too. Hope you are getting some rest.

 

[Cory_Dad]

And in today's episode of the soap "As the stomach turns" we find our sick, shell shocked Corydoras enthusiast say:

"OMG, they've just laid eggs again and they're eating them!"

Yes folks, the C. napoensis are at it again, for the sole purpose of driving me insane.

The good news this morning was that the 20 gallon was almost at 0 ammonia count AND the nitrite count was up to .25! The tank was cycling. Woo hoo! Nitrates were just a tiny touch above 0. So it was good I took out the Aqua Clear and the ammo chips the night before.

Life was good for about 5 hours then the kids pulled this stunt. I saw 'em at it and one of the males was worrying a leaf on one of the plants. I reached in, checked it and yay and verily there were about 10 eggs!! When I say "worrying" it looked like he was rubbing his tummy on them. Fertilizing them? Hmm. I figured I'd let them harden for a bit, checked on the wording of an email my youngest was writing as a follow up on a sent resume (anyone out there hiring an IT graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce degree?) but when I got back there was 1 flippin egg left! Grrrr. Quickly transfered it to the net set up in the 10 gallon fry tank and kept watching. She deposited another batch on the glass which I too moved to the fry net. drewry and 5teady, you would have been proud of me, I didn't break 1 egg (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

In all I only harvested about 5 eggs out of ... who knows. The adults are all just sitting at the bottom of the tank in a group now, laughing at me. Evil fish....

Stay tuned tomorrow folks for another episode of "As the stomach turns" or "How I decided to get de-stressed by keeping fish and ending up committing suicide".

 

[ICEEGRL]

Glad you are feeling better...
You know... there are peaceful times between the stresses sometimes... lol
Just keep your sense of humor... that will help a lot.
I will be watching for updates.


I am currently waiting on a response on my post in emergency for one of my new corys. It has a bubble looking thing around its eye... I doesn't look like pop eye to me, and I have treated for bacterial infection already. Now I am unsure wheather I need to do another round or move to something else... I hope to hear something from someone soon.

Amanda

 

[Cory_Dad]

Hi ICEEGRL

Yes, I just saw your post and put in my $ .02 CA worth.

Today's episode is rather boring. There must be a writer's strike.

The eggs haven't done anything except 1 got fungus. I don't think the others were even fertilized which concerns me. I hope the males didn't become sterile from all the meds. (Think happy thoughts).

The nitrite levels keep rising so at least the ammonia bacteria has established itself. I did a 50% water change today to keep things safe.

The adults are quite frisky and I'm still doing daily 50% water changes in the 2.5 for the juveniles.

As for the 60 gallon, I put down one of the zebra danios as he was just getting thinner and thinner and not eating anything. I've lost track of one of my 3 otto's and in fact today I can't see any of them. I have 0 luck with otto's.

That's it for me.

Cheers.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Boring is good sometimes. That means nothing is horribly wrong. Enjoy it!
I get unfertile eggs every now and then from my breeding sets. Then they go right back to doing the fertile ones... I guess that is just something that they do.

I spent all night redoing my 55g. It looks much better. I got my new fish (except the sick one) moved into it. Going from a 10g to a 55g apparently confuses them. It was kind of funny watching them once they figured out that the walls had been moved way back and they could get a good swim going...
Check out my planted tank journal... I added pics of the new look. I am supposed to get more fish today. I am getting some more of the striata and julii. They didn't get/have enough for real groups last time, so I am getting more to get my numbers up.

I hope everything keeps going well for you and your fish. There has been enough drama in your tanks to last a while. Maybe once the cycle has finished they will start to give you good eggs. That could be a lot of the problem... If the water isn't right they might not be finishing the process thinking it isn't a good time for babies even though the hormones and eggs are ready...
It is just a thought...

Amanda

 

[Cory_Dad]

......... Naw, it's a conspiracy. The Cory's are out to get me.

Every morning I come down, turn on the tank lights and there they are, smirking at me. Those evil little fish.

I think I'm just going to let everything go to pot and raise gravel and snails...

WHAT AM I SAYING! I love these guys!

The last set of eggs are definitely a bust. So much for moving them to a net in the breeding tank.

The parents are doing fine but I've noticed something interesting, they've paired off! There's always 1 male and 1 female together with the 2nd male elsewhere in the tank. I didn't think Cory's did this. Of course I can't be sure that's it's always the same male.

All the kids are doing ok. 20 gallon is still cycling. Still doing 50% water changes per day. No one's died since the otto's. Guppies are giving birth like crazy. Life is good.

Oh, and the more intelligent one of the family and I went to the Queen 'We will rock you' musical tonight. Very nice, and LOUD! My ears are still ringing. 7th row orchestra. Ah, nostalgia. Youth is wasted on the young.

Cheers all.

 

[jollysue]

Elegan group are different than other common or regular Corys. I think I saw that you noticed some sparing or something between the males. Some of the elegans species will kill the other males.

 

[Cory_Dad]

Elegan group are different than other common or regular Corys. I think I saw that you noticed some sparing or something between the males. Some of the elegans species will kill the other males.

Thanks for that piece of information Jollysue. I feel a whole lot better now....NOT!

I kinda figured they were a bit more aggressive than the others. Not only will the males chase each other, but when they're 'in the mood' they'll chase other fish as well! That was a shock the first time I saw that. None of the other corys I've ever had did that. These guys take crap from no one.

The nitrites in the 20 kept going up and I've been doing daily 50% water changes. This morning I said 'enough'. I took the Aqua Flow 20 from the 10 gallon and added it to the 20. Tonight the 20 is almost normal. It's easier to do water changes in the 10 than the 20. Cheaper too. And besides I have 2 sponge filters going in the 10 with 5 juveniles in it so I'm not worried by ammonia and nitrites.

Tonight I move the 7 juveniles from the 2.5 to the 20. They don't look happy but it's a healthier environment (I hope). We'll see how they feel tomorrow morning. The 3 adults were huddled together under a piece of wood watching the juveniles being added. They didn't look happy either. They just lost exclusivity of their 20 gallon love hotel.

That's all the news for today.

Cheers everybody.

 

[ICEEGRL]

How are things now? Are they all settled and doing well? You have gone through so much for these fish... it is time they did something good for you...

Maybe once they are settled in and happy they will decide to give you some eggs that you can work with...

Keep us up on how it is going

 

[Cory_Dad]

How are things now? Are they all settled and doing well? You have gone through so much for these fish... it is time they did something good for you...

Maybe once they are settled in and happy they will decide to give you some eggs that you can work with...

Keep us up on how it is going

Oh my, and this is from a lady who herself is going through hell with her own corys.

I've been following your posts on the emergencies thread and I really have no advice.

As mentioned, the third batch is gonzo. Well, as my wife asks "Why do you want more fish?", I reply "Don't cloud the issues with facts!".

For now, I'm just going to go with the flow and let nature take it's course. I'm going up to the cottage every weekend from now on plus take 2 whole weeks in the summer so maybe it's good there are no fry.

I need to chill and enjoy what I have.

But thank you for asking.

Cheers.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I lost 2 of my sick ones, and the other 2 are almost well.

None of mine have left eggs in a while. I don't know what the deal is. I really didn't have time to deal with them any way, so I am not complaining.

I hope everything goes well for yours. Are they happier in the new tank?

Getting away should do you good. I wish I had a place to go get away. I am just always here...

 

[Cory_Dad]

I lost 2 of my sick ones, and the other 2 are almost well.

None of mine have left eggs in a while. I don't know what the deal is. I really didn't have time to deal with them any way, so I am not complaining.

I hope everything goes well for yours. Are they happier in the new tank?

Getting away should do you good. I wish I had a place to go get away. I am just always here...

Ya, I read about that in the emergencies section. I really had no advice to give so I just kept my mouth shut. But I do offer my condolences.

They all seem much happier in the 20. It's funny to see the juveniles hanging around with their parents.

When I got home from the cottage yesterday evening I noticed that she had laid eggs again but I don't hold any hope that they are fertile so I'm just leaving them undisturbed. I'm wondering if the parents have become sterile...

You need to get away from 'stuff' just to get your batteries recharged. I ended up going up late Friday morning and spent the day raking leaves from last Fall, getting bitten by black flies and mosquitoes but it was great! I slept 13 hours that night then we went to friends across the lake for a nice salmon dinner. And yesterday I helped a neighbor get his boat engine started (why do people not listen to me until they've tried it their own way and it doesn't work?). This morning I served a breakfast-in-bed waffle breakfast for the intelligent one of the family. Quite a relaxing long weekend.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with Corydoras and has turned into a blog. But we're all friends here, right?

Cheers.