cory tank

[trace1]

i was thinking bein as i have an empty 12uk gallon tank trying to breed corys. anyway what i wana know is how is the best way to have the tank set up ?? do i leave the bottom bare or put sand in, i have a filter in another tank that i can put in there with the corys till they swawned. at the moment i have 3 albino & 3 bronze corys, i know these 2 will breed with each other & are the same.
any advice will be gratefully recieved

 

[Inchworm]

Hi trace1

If your corys are mature, they should spawn for you with little trouble, especially at this time of year. As you can see by looking at some of the recent threads, corys are responding to their biological clocks. It's rainy season (spring) in their native South America. What you want to do is try to make conditions similar to their natural environment. Nature will do the rest.

I like to set up a small tank ahead of time and move the corys into it. There I can feed them lots of blackworms, tubifex and/or bloodworms. This will help condition them and they will have more eggs forming.

I set it up by cloning a bigger tank. I take some gravel or sand, but just enough to cover the bottom, from it and some filter material which I put in a box filter. The filter you have in your tank will work fine too. You will need an air pump so you can add an airstone or two once the eggs are there. This is important.

After a week or two of conditioning them, I give them a big water change with water a little cooler than what I usually keep it at and unplug the heater. The water will be cool overnight and when I plug it in again it will warm. When I refill the tank, I like to leave the water level an inch or so from the top instead of filling it completely. Then, if they spawn there is room enough to clean the sand from it without overflowing the tank.

This is often all that is necessary to let bronze and albino corys know that the time is right. If they are ready they are likely to spawn within the next few days. If not, just leave them there and condition them some more. Give them about 2 weeks before trying a second time.

Good luck!

 

[trace1]

hi inchworm
thanks for that. i,ve still got my tank in dining room. don't know if you remeber but i thought it was leaking anyway its nearly full now and no sigh of a leak so was planning on using that 1. the filter has only been in my main tank about a week so am i right in thinking it will need another week to make sure it has the bateria in it i need ??? so think i will start moving the tank back in here if my arm is ok tomoz or maybe get hubby to do it 2nite .
hurt my arm feeding the fish last nite ) teach me to stand up & do it rather than sitting down & stretching up lol

 

[Inchworm]

Hi trace1

Yes, I remember your leaky tank problem and am glad it is going to be OK.

Yes, I would give the filter another week or so before you could trust it to have enough bacteria for 6 corys, but if you borrow some gravel, that will have some bacteria too. Remember too, that you can always return it to the main tank when you are finished. The bacteria you are cultivating won't go to waste.

You only need enough gravel or sand to cover the bottom. I do this because once I had corys spawn on the bottom. Then, before they were even finished, they swam over them and sat on them and they were crushed. It was such a shame. When you remove the fish, you will easily be able to siphon the sand or gravel (if it's small) out with your gravel cleaner. Once it has started, take the big part off and the suction right out of the hose, since it is more concentrated in a small area, will be strong enough to pull it out. Then you will have a nice clean bare bottom tank for when the little fry hatch.

What are you planning to feed the fry?

 

[trace1]

just been looking at some microworm culture on ebay, it was only £2 so thought of gettin that. or mite go to lfs tomorrow & see what they have there. will get some sand out my big tank as i,ve put a bit to much in there.
i've got at least a week now to make sure i got everything i need to keep fry safe & happy.
from the stuff i've read i also need a sponge filter, so can have a look for that tomorrow as well, that goes in when the fry have hatched is that right ???
thanks trace

 

[Inchworm]

Hi trace1

Yes, but you can wait for a week or so before putting the sponge filter in. An airstone will be fine for a while.

One thing you will need to do is small daily water changes in the fry tank. This will remove any uneaten food and it does help them thrive and grow. Once they get a little bigger, you can slow down, but it's important for the first month or two.

I like to give them some Liquifry or other liquid fry food for the first few days and then switch over to microworms. They work out very well until (even after) they are big enough to eat chopped up blackworms or tubifex worms or bits shaved off a piece of frozen bloodworms.

Do get the microworms as soon as possible. It will take a few weeks before the starter culture reproduces enough so you can use them.

 

[trace1]

nice 1 thanks for all that inchworm, will go shops tomorrow & see what i can get. wana get this right & do the best for them. will keep you informed of how its going .
if you can think of anything else i will need let me know
thanks trace

 

[J_acon]

Got nothing to say ) except good luck