Cory Breeding Setup?

[geo7x]

hi there,
i am in the process of gradually building up a corydoras breeding setup, and thanks to sp00kys friend who imports cories, i will be able to do my bit to bring back the rarer breeds. So far i am about to get a 10g off Ginge, this will be for the adults to spawn in. I know that there are 8 gallons going quite cheap at pets@home right now, which is useful because i dont have much money. I want to use an 8g for the eggs to hatch and the fry to grow to a sellable size, i hope this will be ok? the dimensions of the 8g are 18x10x10, so its a longer one. Oh and for the 8g i will make a diy sponge filter, will i need a heater?
so, please can you give your opinions on this?

the first cory i want to breed are genuine juliis (not trilineatus), and then in the future move on to black venez. or maybe before then i can get another tank so i can do both
anyway, tell me what you think

 

[Sp00ky]

why make a diy sponge filter when you can buy one for about a fiver from an LFS. thats all i use in my hatchery with an old air pump to power it

yes you will need a heater.... probably a 50w.

anywho, back to it, 2 of my albino females are spawning... AGAIN !

 

[jayjay]

yes you will need a filter.... probably a 50w.

Think he means heater It depends on your room temperature and how stable it is, to wether you need a heater.

Yeah sounds good, personally I like to hatch the eggs in a different tank from where I will grow out the fry but your system should work.

 

[Sp00ky]

yes you will need a filter.... probably a 50w.

Think he means heater It depends on your room temperature and how stable it is, to wether you need a heater.

Yeah sounds good, personally I like to hatch the eggs in a different tank from where I will grow out the fry but your system should work.

given that temps drop drastically in the winter in the UK, i would advise that a heater is a definate.... even if it is set at a low temp... its always best to have one in there just incase the ambient temp in the room drops significantly.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi geo7x

An 8 or 10 gallon tank won't be big enough to raise many corys in to a size you will be able to sell them, but you will be able to get them off to a good start.

Some species (pandas, for example) will give you small numbers of eggs frequently, often on plants, and these are easy to remove for hatching. Other corys (like C. aeneus) will lay a lot of them all at once, and on the glass. These are harder to deal with and it's usually easier to move the fish and leave the eggs to hatch where they are. There is less chance of damaging them this way and they can begin their life there.

But, if you are planning ahead, you might want to think about getting a larger tank, 30 gallons or so, to use as a grow out tank. Bigger is always better for this purpose.

 

[Sp00ky]

Other corys (like C. aeneus) will lay a lot of them all at once, and on the glass. These are harder to deal with and it's usually easier to move the fish and leave the eggs to hatch where they are. There is less chance of damaging them this way and they can begin their life there.

Thats how i did it to begin with, but i soon got fed up and worried about chasing the parents round the tank for 20 mins or so trying to net them out. I soon learned that for me personally, it was easier to use a stanley knife blade to scrap the eggs from the glass and place them in the hatchery. i was alittle weary at first when i did as i didnt want to damage them in anyway, but i soon learnt that the egss are really quite robust. obviously if you press too hard on them they will burst, but if your careful when removing them (and i tend to scrape from the bottom of the tank upwards of the eggs) they will be very safe and should stick to the inside of the tank of the hatchery with no problems.

obviously everyone does it a little different, but thats how i do it

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Sp00ky

I think you will find that some eggs are easier to move than others. C. aeneus and C. panda eggs, I have found, are very sticky and will easily cling to your finger and let you roll them off the glass and onto another surface. Others, like C. similis, are less so. When I try to move them, once they are free of the glass, they float off into the water and sink. I have just about given up trying to move them and since they only lay small batches, I would like to do it that way instead of tieing up a whole tank for a few eggs.

Another thing to consider is the time factor. If you try to move them too quickly, the eggs will be soft and more likely to be crushed easily. After awhile they will firm up and feel like little balls of rubber. I like to move them no sooner than 8 hours after they have been spawned. Sometimes I will even wait until the next day.