Fat corys or females with eggs?

[Ellebrius]

These guys are less likely to spawn in hard alkaline water. So you may just have to put up with them being a little rotund. How many males are in the tank, you could always up the numbers so there are more males than females that may help.

To be honest my tank is overstocked as it is. I have 2 juvenile angelfish which will need to be rehomed eventually if I can’t provide them with a larger tank. I really want to get a 55 gallon for them if I can convince hubby. If not I have a friend who will take them.
Right now my biggest tank is a 40 gallon 23 inches tall. The 3 gouramis love it and are there to stay. I have the 2 angelfish, and one female Bolivian Ram who can show the huge gouramis who is boss when they try to steal her food.
At the bottom I have 2 panda corys. I started with 6 and was planning on 4 more but they were so small whenI got them I lost 4. Now you can’t get them anywhere anymore so I got 4 bronze corys to keep them company and that is working out well, they are all moving around together and all seem really happy and relaxed. Now that the bronze are larger I think I have 2 males and 2 females and I don’t think have room for more in my tank.
I do water changes every 5 or 6 days and everybody is happy and healthy. I feed my fish sparingly but I do it 3 times a day. Those are my favorite times Of the day.

 

[Tez_20]

I noticed today that 2 of my corys are really fat the others are normal. I posted a picture, can anybody tell me if the 2 on the left are females with egg and the one on the right is a male? I know there are fat fish but those 2 are really fat!

Hi Ellebrius, in your first picture you have definitely got 2 females & one male and the second pic a female but the panda is to young for ID.

I have 28 cories in my tank with 6 different breeds and every day is breeding day and i have hard water here of a pH of 7.8.

Yours are ready for breeding they hold a good weight so keep up the good living and they're holding some eggs. To get them in the mood i suggest a water change and put the water in like a waterfall. My tanks at 77F but i put fresh in at 72F as they like slightly cooler water as it helps them to kick off.

 

[Ellebrius]

Hi Ellebrius, in your first picture you have definitely got 2 females & one male and the second pic a female but the panda is to young for ID.

I have 28 cories in my tank with 6 different breeds and every day is breeding day and i have hard water here of a pH of 7.8.

Yours are ready for breeding they hold a good weight so keep up the good living and they're holding some eggs. To get them in the mood i suggest a water change and put the water in like a waterfall. My tanks at 77F but i put fresh in at 72F as they like slightly cooler water as it helps them to kick off.

Wow! I’m going to be a grandma! Lol
i will keep the good food coming, they sure like the bloodworms and shrimps. Water change is scheduled for Wednesday but I think I will probably be able to do it late tomorrow afternoon. I keep my water temp at 77F as well and I will follow your advice For the rest.
But what do I do if they lay eggs? Have not been there, have not done that!!!

 

[Tez_20]

Wow! I’m going to be a grandma! Lol
i will keep the good food coming, they sure like the bloodworms and shrimps. Water change is scheduled for Wednesday but I think I will probably be able to do it late tomorrow afternoon. I keep my water temp at 77F as well and I will follow your advice For the rest.
But what do I do if they lay eggs? Have not been there, have not done that!!!

Just remember they might not breed straight away but doing water changes to what they like helps them along with good feeding and water qualities.
If they lay eggs then you can either buy a fry box that holds in your tank and you move the eggs over into it which i tried and it was no good for me, so in the end i thought if eggs are going to hatch it will be in the tank but if you have a pleco or any form of algae eater and eggs are layed in the open they can be devoured plus corys will eat their own eggs down to either eggs being threatened or to keep their population right.
Eggs that go a golden cream colour are sterile but if they stay pure white they're not sterile.
I achieve more luck letting nature take it's course as the fry come out more at night and feed off the food adults don't eat and mature that way, as you can see below on my video's and also adding them to give you a rough idea.
Cory's breeding

Albino fry

Pepper fry

 

[Ellebrius]

Thank you for the good advice and videos, it’s appreciated.
I will go the natural way as I have no plecos (still haven’t gotten use to the look of them) and I have pogostemon stellatus octopus one one side of the tank which is huge and dense so lots of places to hide In there. The danger will be the female Bolivian Ram that roams at the bottom of the tank and my 3 large gouramis that are everywhere.
We will see how it goes let’s see if they lay eggs first.

 

[Ellebrius]

Nobody in the tank is chasing the pearls. The exception is when the pearls decide to go steal my female Bolivian Ram’s food right under her nose. She then nudges them until they finally reluctantly move away. Not an attack she just passes her message