Cory Schultzei (black) Prolific Spawning

[SuperColey1]

Of the new eggs there are now about 10 more wrigglers to go with the previous 1 wriggler which is still alive and well after 7 days

I have just siliconed the nursery tank together and once tidied up I can scape it some time next week and getthe nursery up and running in about 2 weeks

Do Cory Black Fry turn out black also? or do most come out as normal Schultzii?

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

I have 10 wrigglers from the last batch of eggs and this morning I noticed that the group of Corys were a bit lively swimming all over the tank. The big female being chased by what I now think are 3 males.

Lo and behold a while later I saw her holding eggs and looking for a good spot. She seems to have gotten into the habit of laying them on the suckers that hold my CO2 drop checkers in place which is great because I can just remove the suckers and roll the eggs off into the net. So far she's laid about 15 on the suckers and another 30 or so on a fern leaf.

They're all still buzzing around the tank though and it's another 4 hours till lights on which is a pain. I want to leave the tank alone until they've finished their business.

The nursery tank should be scaped and sorted in the next 2 weeks so the wrigglers will be close to a month old by then!!!

AC

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1

You're doing very well with the blacks, it seems. They can be very prolific if you have good ones.

Do Cory Black Fry turn out black also? or do most come out as normal Schultzii?

That's an interesting question. They were originally line bred for color but I've never seen one, or even heard of one, going back to a lighter shade. All the ones I've had hatch were black as can be.

I can't wait to see pictures of the fry in their new tank. But do take my advice on the fact that the tank must be kept clean. However you set it up, be sure to make it easy on yourself so you aren't tempted to skip daily water changes or be unable to clean out leftover food. Little fry die off easily from these things.

 

[SuperColey1]

Today The blacks spawned for the fourth time in 3 weeks. Was like Chaos in the tank today. Definately 1 female and 3 males and the males were fighting each other the whole day for the chance to be 'the one'

Got about 60 eggs this time. The amount is getting bigger.

Of the first batch the single wriggler is still alive however there only looks to be about 2 left from the second spawn and then there are loads just hatched from the 3rd.

The nursery tank will be ready by the end of the week and hopefully they will survuve better in there with more water to move in. Each time I will try and keep the fry in this little net for their first week though.

the if I get a decent survival rate I need to find out if my LFS will take them off me for store credit or something. Should have a good chance with them being blacks?

AC

 

[Inchworm]

Should have a good chance with them being blacks?

Absolutely!

 

[SuperColey1]

Here is their new home. I think the change killed off quite a few but not to worry. There will be many more spawns. the few that are in there now are loving the freedom:

Not quite finished yet. will have Glosso in the rest of the substrate eventually when it arrives (snowing like mad at the mo and I guess deliveries are delayed.)

AC

 

[SuperColey1]

A little picture I took although not very good of one of the Cory fry. I think there are 3 left from the first 2 spawns. The third and fourth didn't work out because the eggs all went bad, so the next spawn will remain in the net in the main tank until they hatch and then be transferred to this tank.

The gravel in this pic is the small 3mm stuff. I would say this little baby is about 1cm from head to tail. You can't see in this pic but his tail is now a visible 'fan' and he has some barely visible barbels

AC

 

[Truck]

looking good andy! are you going to sell these to members on here? or just your LFS?

 

[SuperColey1]

If my LFS doesn't want them I may sell them elsewhere but not posting. Will be collect only. lol

AC

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuperColey1

Your tank is really beautiful, but the gravel looks a little coarse for the tiny fry. It might be hard to keep clean enough.

Good luck with them.

 

[SuperColey1]

A quick update.

The good news is that the female is spawning regularly every week (every 5 to 10 days)

On the progress front it isn't such a succes story do far. The first fry I got as pictured above is so far the only survivor since this all began and is looking like a miniature version of the others. Probably about 2cm nose to tail now at 2 months or so old

I have been trying several methods so far and yet to find one where the fry survive.

Originally they stayed in the net in the main tank for a week after hatching and I had lots of survivors. Then transferring them to the small tank seemed to mean only the older stronger on e survived. Probably new tank syndrome at this point and the older one was 2 weeks old at the time.

I have since tried to transfer them the day they hatch, 2 days after etc but this filter (MP400 with modded sponge attachment) is too strong for the tank. The Fry have to sit on the substrate or get spun around all over the place in the current. I think this is what is killing them at the mo.

Therefore I have ordered a 200lph external which is half the turnover of this powerhead and should hopefully 'calm the waters'

The tiny 10W heater that is in this tank is a 'permanent on' type which should raise temp to 5ºC above ambient. The water temp has been getting to 29ºC in a house where the thermostat is set to 18ºC!!!!! I don't think it is the heaters fault at the moment. I am pretty sure that the powerhead is heating the water and then the heater is going a further 5ºC above that so the new external should sort that problem out.

I have also added some Cherry shrimp into the tank just to keep it clean of any left over food. They will also eat any fry that die so there will be nothing rotting in the tank I am assured that they won't eat eggs or fry unless they are dead.

So once this new filter arrives my process will be:
Fresh eggs into the net in the main tank.
Freshly hatched into a small tupperware container floating (suckered to the side of the main tank to stop it moving) with water changes daily.
1 week old fry transferred from container to nursery tank.

Will have to see if this works. If not then maybe they should stay in the container a little longer

Will try and get a pic of the 2 month old next to an adult for comparison. No idea how long they take to reach adult size.

AC