Cory Schultzei (black) Prolific Spawning

[SuperColey1]

As per the title I noticed these 3 eggs earlier this evening and immediately though Corys. I also though 3 thats not many so I looked around my tank for more and found one cory dead. Could it be that the Cory was laying and then couldn't get the rest out and died?

I have Cory Schultzi (black) and Otocinclus Macrospilus in this tank along with a few burmese Zebra microrasboras

These eggs are perfectly round and approx 2mm diameter:

thanks in advance

AC

 

[MHunt]

Definitely look like cory eggs to me. I had a cory die through overbreeding, ruptured something and burst her swimbladder in the process. Hates to say though but unless it's just the light but those eggs don't look fertile to me. They're rather pale.

 

[drewry]

id defo say cory eggs aswell SuperColey1
my black corydoras spawn all the time now and i get a good 300 eggs off 1 female have a look underneith plant leves there maybe more eggs chances are its layed more and they have been eaten.
sorry for ure loss by the way maybe it got egg boung or some thing



egg bound sorry for spelling mistake

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1,

I'm so sorry. They do look like corys eggs.

This is a strange thing to happen during a spawn, but if your fish are young and just starting out, they might not give many eggs. Blacks seem to be slow at maturing, but since spawning at all is usually a sign of health, I'm surprised at this death. Was it a female that died? Please check your other fish to be certain that there's nothing else going on with them.

 

[SuperColey1]

The others seem OK. Eating normally, scavaging normally. A little shaken by me taking out the corpse. It is hard to tell what it died of as I have Cherry Shrimp in there and they are straight onto a corpse. I know from experience that a dead microrasbora can last less than an hour before it is in pieces. I would guess this corpse was les than a day old because it was a lightish grey and only the tail, eyes and chest/stomach had gone. the rest of the outer and abdomen was still in tact.

I bought them in September and they are now about 3" including tail. And they are pretty fat. They feed on algae pellets, flake, peas every few days, frozen bloodworm once a week.

I think I got more females than males by the looks of their width.

I've put these 3 eggs in a normal net that I've hooked onto the side of the tank. Didn't seperate them from the leaf, just cut the leaf off.

They are very white but have a barely visible black/brownish dot in the centre.

AC

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1

I'm glad your other corys are OK and I hope these few eggs hatch for you. With a little luck you will have many more.

 

[SuperColey1]

I have 1 wriggler and the other 2 look like they are still breaking through the eggs side.

So I guess they were fertile. About the right time too? 4 days

Now I come to feeding.

I have no specialist food but I do have some 'Hikari first bites' Will that do? and how much/how often should I put in?

EDIT : I have just read somewhere else that some crushed egg yolk for the first week and then move onto the Hikari. Any opinions would be gratefully accepted

AC

 

[drewry]

hi SuperColey1
congrats mate

i use hikari first bites with crushed flake for 4 days the add crushed catfish pellet to it aswell
and hard boiled egg york with a little water and squash it into a paist but dont make it to sloppy
it can mess ure water up pretty bad.

you wont have to feed much to them as theres only 3 just feed little and often
with reagula water changes
good luck with them

regards dave

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1

Congratulations! It looks like you have some promising breeders there. Do you plan to raise a full batch if you have the opportunity? If so, it's not too soon to start getting prepared. Let us know and we'll guide you through it.

 

[SuperColey1]

I'll see how this fares first. I can only see one in there at the mo but they are that small and transparent that its hard to see anything. lol

If I see a load on the glass or leaves next time I may just let nature take it's course. Theres loads of circulation in this tank (2200lph in a 125Ltr tank) so there shouldn't be too much of a problem from fungus. Just the Corys, Otos, Shrimp and Rasboras that would pick them off.

We will see. lol

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

Forget the above. lol

I've just cut up an old window pane of glass into 5 pieces which will now make a 13" x 6" x 8" (10 litre) tank for next time.

Just got to silicon it and its a goer.

Will then use an MP400 powerhead I have with some sponge in the intake to slow it down and then use a hose from its output to go into a DIY sponge filter. Don't want to spend any money. lol. and the sponge in the intake plus pushing the water into a DIY sponge filter should mean that the 400lph is substantially reduced.

I don't want to buy a heater if at all possible. Would Cory Shultzii fry beOK at 21ºC which is where my other tank seems to sit at when I forget to turn the heater back on after a water change?

I'm thinking bare bottom is best to remove any rubbish. Do I need any 'cover' in there or just leave it bare. Also does it need light or just ambient light will be OK?

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

4 days on there is 1 wriggler and he/she is getting bigger. Must be all of 6mm now. lol All I can see really are the eyes, organs and a faint backbone.

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

I've just found another 8 or so new eggs (1 week and a day later) they are safely in the net now with the wriggler.

Would this be the same female or does that meant that I must have 2 females?

AC

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1

I'm glad you changed your mind about raising some. Going to the work of making your own tank shows some real dedication too!

I think the temperature is a little on the low side for the fry. As I understand it, the cool water causes their metabalism to slow down and so they eat less and grow more slowly.

I used to use a bare bottom tank to raise fry, but switched to sand. With a bare bottom, you must be certain to keep the bottom clean. Any film that develops can cause them harm. You can remove it by just rubbing your hand across it and doing big water changes every day. All things considered, I find it easier to keep up a sand bottom.

Since you said you had some wider fish in your group, I wouldn't be at all surprised it you have more than one female spawning.

 

[SuperColey1]

Being an aquascaper the extra tank gives me something else to work with. lol I am looking to scape it with very fine gravel.

Also being a scaper I am used to keeping tanks very very clean and over filtered with higher flow rates too. lol

The temp in the main tank is 26ºC and I am now aiming to get a 10W heater for this 10 litre tank.

I will of course do a planted journal on it and stick it in here when done but here is the sort of layout I am aiming for just with much smaller gravel and no slate in it (and on a much smaller scale

this is Filipe Oliveira's latest offering:

I think it would look good, make an attractive home whilst having enough open space to be able to catch fish in

AC