Have been pondering on the subject of in-tank nursery boxes/nets for egg layer fry since my cories laid eggs yesterday. Most every breeder box and net I've seen is designed for livebearer fry, and completely unsuitable for hatching/housing tiny fry like newly hatched corydoras.
Is the lack of that sort of thing because most people breeding them would fashion their own nursery tanks or have dedicated breeding/fry tanks? Or that they engineer and fashion their own in-tank system using old plastic containers held on with algae magnets, like I did last time my cories spawned, and seems common on youtube too?
Stealing an idea from someone on youtube, I ordered a Kritter Keeper acrylic tank purely because I want something in-tank, and because I want to be able to view the eggs and fry from the side, and not just from above as I had to when using my home-made solutions last time. Right now, my cory eggs are in a tupperware, holes punched into it so I could string it up and tape the string to the outside glass... secured with an algae magnet, and propped against the lightbar...! While I've done everything I can to secure it, it would only take one bad knock during feeding or a water change to send them all to the depths and to their doom...
Was thinking how much better it would be if the kritter keeper had built in hooks to hang it over the rim of the tank, had another hunt for breeder boxes, and spotted these! HOB breeder boxes! Not a perfect solution, since the output needs to be carefully covered for tiny fry, but this one has grates you can put in front of the output to prevent fry being washed into the main tank. I'm sure it would be simple to glue some fine netting over one of the grates if the holes still seemed too large, or some fine sponge in front if fry risk being sucked against the grate. You can see the barrier/grate thing in this diagram;
Just an airpump needed to circulate the water. Surface disturbance should take care of oxygenation, but an airstone could also be thrown in there I imagine. Obviously the bottom of the container would still need to be cleaned with a turkey baster/pipette/airline tubing to remove uneaten food and waste, but as long as the water in the main tank is good, the water in the HOB will also be constantly changing and turned over, making the needed water changes when raising any fry easier! The constant circulation of fresh water appeals to me; I wonder whether that would be helpful with cory eggs and preventing fungus through water circulation, or if it would be too risky, blowing eggs into the output.
There's a larger Marina(? Fluval?) one here, and while I'd want this larger one ideally, the lack of a grate bit in front of the output makes me hesitate.
I'd even be tempted to test it out with some of the small guppy/platy fry I have, since they're in with adults anyway, look for potential pitfalls before risking cory fry. Or raising the cory wrigglers in the magnetically held critter keeper for a week or two before moving them to this, when they're a little larger and have more co-ordinated movement.
@Deanasue @mbsqw1d @CassCats @Gypsum @EllRog would love to hear what any/all of you think of these, whether you've tried one, any pros or cons you see!
Is the lack of that sort of thing because most people breeding them would fashion their own nursery tanks or have dedicated breeding/fry tanks? Or that they engineer and fashion their own in-tank system using old plastic containers held on with algae magnets, like I did last time my cories spawned, and seems common on youtube too?
Stealing an idea from someone on youtube, I ordered a Kritter Keeper acrylic tank purely because I want something in-tank, and because I want to be able to view the eggs and fry from the side, and not just from above as I had to when using my home-made solutions last time. Right now, my cory eggs are in a tupperware, holes punched into it so I could string it up and tape the string to the outside glass... secured with an algae magnet, and propped against the lightbar...! While I've done everything I can to secure it, it would only take one bad knock during feeding or a water change to send them all to the depths and to their doom...
Was thinking how much better it would be if the kritter keeper had built in hooks to hang it over the rim of the tank, had another hunt for breeder boxes, and spotted these! HOB breeder boxes! Not a perfect solution, since the output needs to be carefully covered for tiny fry, but this one has grates you can put in front of the output to prevent fry being washed into the main tank. I'm sure it would be simple to glue some fine netting over one of the grates if the holes still seemed too large, or some fine sponge in front if fry risk being sucked against the grate. You can see the barrier/grate thing in this diagram;
Just an airpump needed to circulate the water. Surface disturbance should take care of oxygenation, but an airstone could also be thrown in there I imagine. Obviously the bottom of the container would still need to be cleaned with a turkey baster/pipette/airline tubing to remove uneaten food and waste, but as long as the water in the main tank is good, the water in the HOB will also be constantly changing and turned over, making the needed water changes when raising any fry easier! The constant circulation of fresh water appeals to me; I wonder whether that would be helpful with cory eggs and preventing fungus through water circulation, or if it would be too risky, blowing eggs into the output.
There's a larger Marina(? Fluval?) one here, and while I'd want this larger one ideally, the lack of a grate bit in front of the output makes me hesitate.
I'd even be tempted to test it out with some of the small guppy/platy fry I have, since they're in with adults anyway, look for potential pitfalls before risking cory fry. Or raising the cory wrigglers in the magnetically held critter keeper for a week or two before moving them to this, when they're a little larger and have more co-ordinated movement.
@Deanasue @mbsqw1d @CassCats @Gypsum @EllRog would love to hear what any/all of you think of these, whether you've tried one, any pros or cons you see!
