corydoras question??

[a.i.m]

well ive borrowed a male bronze corydoras off bigfish!! yaay!!

Going to let it adjust in the bag to its new water climate. Weve a big storm here this evening my other 5 albinos are active, and my females havnt dropped her eggs yet, so it shouldnt take too much time for it all to happen. fingers crossed!!

The 2 females are very big! my 3 new albinos are small, should i leave them all together when i introduce my new male bronze corydoras??

will keep you informed!!

 

[bigfish]

I'm not sure it depends, suppose you could just leave the 3 in there (2 plump females to that 1 male u borrowed off me )

See what Inchworm says when he pops in.

Just look for any signs of stress and Ich!!!! Don't think you will have its pretty much under control.

I just need to get rid of those red eyed tetras!!! they evil

 

[a.i.m]

Well the bronze male corydoras has now met his new mates,( excuse the pun) and all is going well.
Ive seen the male chasing the 1 female already.
So i had increased the temp like Inchworm suggested to 30c to fool the females into not laying their eggs, what temp should i idealy be trying to take it back down to, for the spawning to take place.
ive also heard de-ionised water, cooler than the tank temperature and fed into the tank through a spray bar can give the effect of rain fall, which can bring them into spawning mode. ill just keep using conditioned tap water for now.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi a.i.m

What a fine development!

What I would suggest is giving them a few days to get used to each other and for bigfish's cory to get used to the change of tank. Feed them heavily on live or frozen bloodworms, blackworms or tubifex worms. This will help the female develop lots of eggs and get the male in good spirits too.

When the time comes that I want mine to spawn, I give them a big water change early in the evening using water a few degrees lower than the tank temperature. Then I turn off the heater overnight and let it cool naturally. In the morning I turn the heater back on and slowly raise the temperature. (Turn off your spray bar too.) I would raise it to 76 degrees or so. Since you don't want to warm them too fast, if you work, you might want to do this on the weekend. If your corys are ready, they will spawn within a few days. If they don't, repeat the process until they do.

C. aeneus are usually fairly easy to get to lay their eggs. I hope you get to watch them doing it.

 

[a.i.m]

So today ive started to feed them heavily on very small chopped up red worms. Ive a wormery, free from chemicals and pesticides i use for fishing, also some Tetra prima and cat fish pellets. The worms seem to make them most active.

The male is getting into the hang of things as its swimming along side the females.
will it be best to move the 3 young albinos into the main tank before spawning takes place, or leave them all together so they act more naturel.

 

[bigfish]

Glad the male has got the hang of it...fingers crossed you will have some corydoras babies by the time i come back from Zante in 2 weeks time.

Hope you are ready this is where the fun starts!!!!

What type of filter you using???

 

[a.i.m]

Ive a sponge type filter powerd by an air pump so the fry wont be sucked up, which what can happen on other style filters.

Also have read that a moderate flow over the corydoras eggs may be nessesary, which i dont think i have using just the filtration in their at the moment. So ill add somthing when the time comes, any suggestions?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi a.i.m

It sounds like all is going well so far! How do they like the chopped up worms?

When the eggs are finished being laid, you will need very good water circulation around them to avoid fungus. I would suggest removing the filter and adding an airstone, or even 2, if the eggs are spread around the tank. You could also add a little methylene blue, which is supposed to retard the growth of fungus, at the rate of 1 drop per gallon of water. This will not do much unless the water circulation is good, so don't worry about it if you cannot find any of it.

I like to leave all the corys in the tank when they spawn, but it's up to you. As schooling fish they seem to enjoy being there and everyone has a fine time inspecting the new eggs. If they are very young, they might not pay much attention. I've never had a problem with my bronze or albinos eating eggs, and while it won't usually happen, it could. That would be the only reason for removing extra corys during spawning.

How big is your tank and do you have gravel on the bottom? I like to have it in there because it seems to keep them from spawning on the bottom, which is likely to result in some of the eggs being crushed from the corys sitting on them. Then, after they are finished, but before the eggs hatch, I remove the gravel and give the tank a good cleaning. It's a lot easier to keep the tank clean for the tiny fry if the bottom is bare.

What do you plan to feed the fry?

 

[a.i.m]

hi inchworm

tiny chopped up bits of red worm are going down great. Bigfish bronze cory had never had chopped red worms before and is totally loving them.

The tank size is 2ft long 1ft high and 1ft 2inches wide, theres 2 pieces of bog wood with java fern and a couple of bunches of hygrophila polysperma dotted around the tank. The substrait is a combination of plant fertiliser base, with sand and laterite on top. ive a small round pebbles built up from the one side slopping down to a finer grade gravel then fades off onto sand. ( i suppose similar to a beach ).
im not intending to remove the substrait, but i will do it the way you have suggested next time.

Ive a coulple of spare air pumps ready for when the day arrives aswell.

Will they spawn on the sand?
Im also thinking of feeding the fry micro worms to start with, as ive read it in another post.

Does any one know where i could get some from?

The bronze cory is gliding along side the females at random, so a few more days of feeding them up and im going for the big water change early in the evening like you suggested in an earlier post.

Will keep you updated!! B)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi a.i.m

Your corys could spawn on the sand, but they usually prefer the glass or sometimes the plants. I keep gravel in the spawning tank to cover the glass up so they can't see it.

Microworms are easier to find in the US than the UK it seems. Here's a link to a thread one of the members posted that might help you. I think it's from the UK:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=75239&hl=

Please let me know if I should still keep it in my favorites list for future use. I use the microworms myself and have had good results with them. My culture is over a year old now and still going strong.

The main reason I use a bare bottom tank to raise the fry is because it is easier to keep clean and that is something very important. Bacterial infection can wipe out a batch of fry quickly, and because they live on the bottom where uneaten food accumulates, I don't want to take a chance.

Another reason I don't like substrate in their tank is because I once had a population explosion of snails occur. If you have any snails they will thrive on the fry food and could reproduce like crazy. That was an experience I would not like to go through again! The fry came through it OK though.

If you get the microworms, get them started right away because it will take a couple of weeks before they reproduce in large enough numbers to be useful. Before that happens, you can get them started on Liquifry or something similar. DO NOT feed them egg yolks.

 

[bigfish]

Have you tried ebay a.i.m as i have seen a few whiteworm cultures on their over time. If not try a few aquatic outlets or doing a search using yahoo or google.

Keep us all up dated im excited too!!!

 

[a.i.m]

Today ive orderd white worm starter culture for bringing mature fish into breeding condition, and microworms for young fry. B)

Im still feeding the fish on a mixture of live chopped red worms and blood worm.
The females bellys are getting so big that when they rest they almost rock back and for like a rocking horse.

Thanks for every ones help so far!!

Will keep you updated.

 

[bigfish]

Hey thats great news a.i.m sorry i missed u online earlier, been busy in sorting the tank purning my jungle plants i went to find some down pets @ home in newport road and hey they were sold out (the ones left were pretty minging) coz i had left it sooo late i didn't have time for anywhere else!!!!! went to collect our new widescreen tv, just managed to squeeze it in the KA!!!

 

[a.i.m]

Well ive managed a few more days of chopped worms, blood worms and dried food.
The 2 female Albinos stomachs are massive, their bellys resemble a frogs throat full of air before it croaks!!

Ive also added an air curtain on the back glass which made them much more active, so there is good flow right the way around the tank.

Also recieved the Email to say my micro worms & white worms have been dispatched.

Can i use porridge oats for the white worm culture?
How quick do these white worms multiply?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi a.i.m

I'm glad to hear from you again since I was wondering what was going on with your corys. It sounds like they are doing well!

Here's a link that might help you with the white worms. There is also good information about microworms there. This is the source I bought my micros from.

http/www.livefoodcultures.com/whiteworms.html

You can also start them on a little Liquifry for the first few days until the microworms are ready for them. It's what I do. Just feed it sparingly.

When are you going to let them spawn?