Cory Eggs

[The Devine One]

Hi all

I have 3 Peppered corys which I recently moved from my barb tank into my daugters guppie tank (approx. 8 gallons) as they were being picked on by an over zealous rosy barb.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed some white eggs on the glass as I watched over the next hour or so they deposited around 80 eggs all over the tank and I am not sure what to do next? Should I remove the eggs or leave them in place neither the corys or the guppies seem interested in eating them but I do have a spare 10 gallon tank that I have split and have guppie fry in one half but the other half is free but it is the half with the filter box and power head in it (its a juwel 60 by the way) or would it be better to put them in with the guppie fry.


Any help would be appreciated as I am fairly new to all this

 

[Lynz781]

I'd be tempted to keep them in the same tank. But 80 is alot. If they hatched in there they would probably be eaten. But in my tank, my cories like the taste of their own caviar. My danios try to pick them off the glass too but they are stuck down well .

When I want to raise some I have a different kind of method (pm to ask if you want) but means they can stay in the tank in which they were created, which gives the added bonus its probably the right conditions for them to grow in perhaps. Personally, I'd remove some but leave the majority. But in my tank, they will be eaten hours after they have been laid. I feel its better than being eaten alive (but i guess its all about ethics and what you personally think).

I've tried to raise them in another tank but I proved to be hopeless at that. Your eight gallon tank is pretty small though. Watch for some eggs fungusing (turning really white) and remove them if this happens as it could spread to other eggs. To stop this, you must provide plenty aeration and flowing water over the eggs.

Ultimately, its up to yourself but I'd think carefully about how much space you have and how many you can raise.

Right now I'm hoping to raise my first batch of pepper cories. Still not hatched yet and my female pepper doesn't seem to lay them as well or as much as my albinos. But heres hoping all goes well.

Hope you can raise some as they are the cutest little critters when they are small.

 

[The Devine One]

Cheers Lynz

My eggs are white now and they were when the female cory was sticking them to the side of the tank does this mean they are no good then?

 

[Lynz781]

I would'nt give up on them yet. Are all of them white? Usually when they fungus theres a creamy coloured egg with a white ball in the middle.

 

[The Devine One]

They are completely white at the moment maybe they wern't fertilized

 

[Inchworm]

Hi The Devine One

I would move all the fish out of the tank, remove all the sand or gravel, and leave the eggs where they are. Once they hatch, even their parents won't recognize them and will think they are food. You are lucky to have peppered corys that aren't eating their eggs. They would probably have spawned sooner if they had not been in a stressful situation in the other tank. If you lose this batch, feed them well on live blackworms or frozen tubifex and they will probably spawn again in the next few weeks.

This is a picture of cory eggs. They are C. panda eggs and turn a much darker color than yours will. Various species of corys have different size and color eggs. If you look at the thermometer on the far left you will see that most of the eggs on it have already hatched and that some of the ones left have fungus on them. The ones on the far right are newly laid and, while they are a different color than yours, you can see how they have a firm and sound look about them. Eggs with fungus will have a soft and fuzzy appearance. It's normal for a few of them to turn out this way.

The important thing to do to prevent fungus from developing is to have excellent water circulation over the eggs. They will hatch in around 4 days.

As far as having too many fry to raise, remember that some of the eggs won't hatch, others will be lost within the first few days, and still others will not make it to a size that they can be sold or given away.

If you decide to raise them, they will have to be fed and since they are much smaller than livebearer fry, I suggest that you try to find a microworm starter culture. They are easy to maintain and provide excellent food for all kinds of fry.

Please let us know what you decide to do and I and the other members will help you.

 

[The Devine One]

Thanks Inchworm but I'm not sure my daughter will be overly chuffed at me taking her guppie tank apart would moving the eggs to the other tank be out of the question then? I wouldn't want to damage them but if its quite easy/safe to do, it does save the arguement with my 5 year old!

 

[The Devine One]

OK some of the eggs have fungus on them but they are in the middle of clusters of eggs that look ok I have moved as many of the good eggs (to a seperate tank) to stop the fungus spreading through the whole batch but I,m a bit concerned that if I take the good ones that are actually stuck to the fungused ones they may spread the fungus to the healthy ones.

Should I just leave these?

Would the fish suffer any ill effects if they eat the fungus eggs?

Any ideas guys n girls

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

What we used to do before we got separate tank to hatch and raise Cory fry, was one of those net breeding traps hung on the inside of the tank with the parents. Just make sure that it gets some waterflow from the filter. Just scrap eggs from the glass with a razor or roll them carefully with your finger and deposit them onto plastic tube, stick it all in the net and 3-4 days later they hatch. Just keep the tank really clean(lots of 10% water changes) and feed little often. I think a liitle air lift tube will increase water movement in the net, which is what i'm going to try out next time. Hope you've still got eggs to rescue.

 

[Inchworm]

Would the fish suffer any ill effects if they eat the fungus eggs

Hi The Devine One

No, it won't hurt them at all. If the parents are left in the tank with the eggs, they will often eat any that are infertile or beginning to fungus. This is nature's way of stopping it's spread. Unfortunately, within the confines of a small tank, they usually eat the fry once they hatch because the water currents aren't there to sweep them away.

 

[The Devine One]

Thanks Inchworm

I have seperated as many eggs as I can into another empty tank so hopefully I will have a fair few lttle peppers scooting around over the next day or so (fingers crossed)

 

[The Devine One]

Thank you for all your help they hatched this morning and are still hatching now, watching them scoot around with the eggs still covering there heads and bumping into each other is the funniest thing I have seen for ages

I have to give my special thanks to Lynz, Inchworm and Alex and Carmen for your help giving these little guys a chance and will be naming the ones I keep after you all.

Cheers Guys

Steve

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

Hi Steve
Congrats on your cory fry. Don't feed them for the first 3-4 days, they'll absorb their yolk sacs in the first days and very little food when you start, about 3 times a day. For cleaning breeding nets or small tanks, I use a ridged piece of air tubing off an undergravel filter stand pipe, connected onto some air tubing and syphone off any excess food or I've heard a turkey baster works well. And if you catch any fry in your bucket, just pop them back. Good luck with them , cory fry are the cutest baby fish. Keep us all informed on how you go with the babies

 

[The Devine One]

Cheers for the info guys very helpful

 

[Lynz781]

I have to give my special thanks to Lynz, Inchworm and Alex and Carmen for your help giving these little guys a chance and will be naming the ones I keep after you all.

Aww thats sweet of you Think my batch are just a few hours older than yours