Confused About Species

[Azaezl]

I've had what I always assumed to be 2 bronze corys(as I was told by previous owners) and never gave it a second thought that they might not be. Well I bought 2 'bronze' corys from the lfs to make the number up to 4 and when I put them in straightaway I noticed the difference in colour. So now I'm confused, are my original 2 bronze and the new ones are something else or vice versa?

Some pics, the original 2 are the larger yellowy / gold ones;

 

[Barracuda518]

They are all a form of C. aeneus. C. aeneus is a very variable species. There are C. aeneus orange laser, green laser, peru, just to name a few...

 

[saphphx]

they look like the gold form of bronze corys: http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=150

They're really cute though

 

[Azaezl]

Thanks I looked on planet catfish the other day and thought that might be what they are but wasn't sure, 1 of the new ones looks like a typical bronze, the other smaller one is very pale in certain lights it almost looks albino, but in others it's a yellowy / green. Oh well they must all be happy and not bothered by the slight colour difference as they all swim together and I'm pretty sure somone keeps laying eggs. I wake up every morning to find lots of little egg like things with a sort of clear jelly stuff, some are white some are yellow some are light brown, can't get a clear enough pic to get a positive yes or no, don't know what else it could be. You may be able to see some of them in the second pic just under the bridge and also the last pic in the bottom right corner is a little yellow blob, that's one of the clusters of these things I find scattered all over each morning.

 

[Coryman]

From the pictures I think that your original fish are C. melanotaenia and the eggs in jelly will almost certainly be snail eggs.

Ian

 

[Azaezl]

I don't see how they could be snail eggs, all the plants are fake, I haven't had any snails in the tank ever and the eggs have only begun to appear the past week and they aren't in clutches stuck to things like I've witnessed(I had an outbreak in my coldwater tank so I know what they look like). They are just scattered everywhere alot of them are just singular blobs some are stuck together, everytime I vac them out the next day there is more. Could it be anything else?

 

[saphphx]

Thanks I looked on planet catfish the other day and thought that might be what they are but wasn't sure, 1 of the new ones looks like a typical bronze, the other smaller one is very pale in certain lights it almost looks albino, but in others it's a yellowy / green. Oh well they must all be happy and not bothered by the slight colour difference as they all swim together and I'm pretty sure somone keeps laying eggs. I wake up every morning to find lots of little egg like things with a sort of clear jelly stuff, some are white some are yellow some are light brown, can't get a clear enough pic to get a positive yes or no, don't know what else it could be. You may be able to see some of them in the second pic just under the bridge and also the last pic in the bottom right corner is a little yellow blob, that's one of the clusters of these things I find scattered all over each morning.

Does he look like this:

More pics:
http/www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/Wonk...py/wonkey1.jpg, http/www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/Wonk...py/wonkey2.jpg, http/www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/Wonk...py/wonkey3.jpg, and http/www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/Wonk...py/wonkey4.jpg

as for the blobs, could be eggs, could be snail eggs that came with the new fish (which is how I got them in all of my non planted qt tank)

how big are your fish? what other fish do you have in there? what are you feeding them?

at a first guess:
- fish eggs of some sort - if your fish are big enough to breed
- some sort of snail egg
- uneaten food going funny

how long has your tank been set up?
what size is it?
when did you add the new fish?
did you qt the new fish first?
what are your readings?
can you get a close up of the egg thingies?

 

[Azaezl]

Does he look like this:

Yes, in certain lights

how big are your fish?
what other fish do you have in there?
what are you feeding them?

The 2 I had originally are about 2.5"
The 2 new ones 1 is about 1.5" the other about 1"
The single panda is about 0.5"

Just the 4 bronze and the 1 panda

pellets, frozen brineshrimp, frozen bloodworms, flakes, ocassionally I'll give them a bit of prawn or white fish

at a first guess:
- fish eggs of some sort - if your fish are big enough to breed
- some sort of snail egg
- uneaten food going funny

How big do they have to be before they breed?, I always make sure all the food is gone and if any is left I remove it
If it's snail eggs how can they keep coming back everyday? Whenever I see them I vac them up, lift the decorations up just to make sure I get all of them and then the next morning I have loads of them again

how long has your tank been set up?
what size is it?
when did you add the new fish?
did you qt the new fish first?

Just over 3 months

24x12x12

a few days ago

no, I know I should but I haven't got the space for a quarantine tank, I had seen them in the lfs for a few weeks and all of the fish in the tank looked fine

what are your readings?

Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10
Ammonia = 0
KH = 6
GH = 16
PH = 7.2
Temp = 73F

can you get a close up of the egg thingies?

I'll try but my camera is rubbish




Thanks for you help

 

[saphphx]

-nods nods- they're gold

MAY be eggs, though normally they stick to glass and things. You can try pulling them out and hatching them let me know when you get pics! very interested the golds are my favorites in the bronzy group

 

[Coryman]

If the eggs are in a clear jelly as you say then it is almost certain that they are snail eggs. I don't know any fish that lays eggs in a jelly.

This is a picture of some of my juvenile Gold laser Corys, They are classed as a variety of C. aeneus, but are actually closer to C. melanotaenia.

Ian

 

[Azaezl]

The best pics I could get I posted a few days ago;

[topic="187286"]Eggs[/topic]


I think jelly isn't the right term for the substance that sticks some of them together, it's more of a clear mucus, it falls apart as soon as you touch it, I did find alot of single blobs scattered on the floor and the odd 1 on plants. I had a look at some pics of cory eggs and they do look the right shape / colour, although some are white, some are yellow some are light brown, I'm just baffled the snail eggs I've seen in my coldwater tank(months back) were tiny and the jelly was solid, this stuff is totally different. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I have an outbreak of snails. Thanks for all your help

 

[saphphx]

The best pics I could get I posted a few days ago;

[topic="187286"]Eggs[/topic]


I think jelly isn't the right term for the substance that sticks some of them together, it's more of a clear mucus, it falls apart as soon as you touch it, I did find alot of single blobs scattered on the floor and the odd 1 on plants. I had a look at some pics of cory eggs and they do look the right shape / colour, although some are white, some are yellow some are light brown, I'm just baffled the snail eggs I've seen in my coldwater tank(months back) were tiny and the jelly was solid, this stuff is totally different. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I have an outbreak of snails. Thanks for all your help

Looks like un-eaten pellets to me. The clear stuff can just be them breaking down. Sinse it falls apart I would say food. I have it in my tank when I over feed them

 

[Azaezl]

Ok here are the best pics I can get, my camera is really bad, it has a macro function that is rubbish!

On an envelope;

On a black background;

Here's some more pics of the corys, you can really see the difference in colour in these;

When I said it falls apart when you touch it I meant the clear mucus stuff, the little blobs are quite robust you have to really squish them. I always remove uneaten food after about 20 mins and I always count how many pellets I put in so if 2 pellets are being left I put 2 less in next time or if they eat all of them I put an extra one in next time, same with the bloodworms and I try with the shrimp but it's hard LOL.

 

[saphphx]

donno, I guess set them aside, treat them like eggs and see if they hatch? no idea what else to tell you My corys always lay eggs on glass or plants, not loose on the bottom and such.

 

[saphphx]

any news? they only take 3-5 days to hatch if they're cory eggs.