I found eggs today! First time...

[TheShocker]

Hey guys,

Today I found eggs on the wall of my 20 gallon tank today for the first time and I have some questions...First, here's a pic:

Should I leave them alone and see what happens? Or should I somehow isolate them so no other fish can eat them?

In my tank: Two Zebra Danios (that have been chasing eachother a LOT recently as well as my long-finned danio missing its tail fin ), a few mollies, an underwater frog and two cory cats. I used to have two frogs though, but one jumped out of the tank onto the carpet and dried up the other day.

Thanks for the help!!!

-Seth

 

[Ben]

the pic isnt working

but im preety sure it could be cory eggs

search for pictures of cory eggs on google images and see if it matches your

DD

 

[TheShocker]

Sorry about that...the pic should work now.

That would be really cool to have more corries...I want some for the work tank!

 

[lightningjoe]

I agree that they are cory eggs. I would isolate them from all other fish if possible without moving them. The parents will try to protect them but if they feel to threatend they will eat them before anyone else can. They should hatch in a day. I never had any last more than a couple days without being ate. Good luck!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi TheShocker

Those are cory eggs, and as you can see from the circles on the glass near them, some of them have already been eaten. This might have been because they were imperfect and would not hatch, or other fish might have done it.

The important thing to do is get water circulating over them by adding an airstone to the tank near them. They will hatch in 3-4 days. If your tank is planted and they can find hiding places, perhaps a few will survive.

More important is to prepare for the next time they spawn, since it will probably happen again fairly soon. Here is a link, started by someone in similar circumstances, where I explain how to set up a breeding tank for them.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...l=breeding+tank

Please try to identify your corys. This is important since corys of different species do not usually breed together successfully. Here's a link with pictures of the different kinds of corys. While not all are usually available from lfs, some are and if you can narrow it down, perhaps we can help.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ra/g_thumbs.htm

Good luck and please let me know how it turns out.

 

[TheShocker]

Those are cory eggs, and as you can see from the circles on the glass near them, some of them have already been eaten. This might have been because they were imperfect and would not hatch, or other fish might have done it.

Actually, I accidentally moved those while I was scrubbing the side of the tank (this is when I first noticed them!).

Please try to identify your corys. This is important since corys of different species do not usually breed together successfully. Here's a link with pictures of the different kinds of corys. While not all are usually available from lfs, some are and if you can narrow it down, perhaps we can help.

I know one is a julii but I dont know what kind the other one is. It is a grey/blue color and bigger than the julii. I think it might be an ellisae? Link here: http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ydora/476_1.php .

Both of them are in hiding now, actually. One in some plants and the other in a flower pot. Here are their mugshots:

 

[TheShocker]

I think I'm going to try and separate a section of the tank off for them. I really would like to save as many as posisble. What should I feed them?

 

[TheShocker]

Is this normal? One of my corys is darting about around the eggs--my guess was he/she was fanning them. It does this from time to time. Also, good news, none of my other fish are eating the eggs! Woo hoo! I've been making sure to keep them well-fed so they aren't tempted.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi TheShocker

If you leave the corys in the tank with the eggs, they will often spend considerable time inspecting them and eating any that might be infertile or spoiled. This has a practical purpose in that it keeps them starting to fungus, which might spread to the healthy eggs.

Sometimes corys will eat their own eggs, but I would expect that if they haven't by now, they are not egg eaters.

As to your corys, I think the grey one is a Bronze C. aeneus:

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...rydora/51_f.php

This one has a number of color variations and even the basic "bronze" one is more like gray than brown, as you might think. They are also sold as "green."

The other one could be a C. trilineatus, which is often confused with the C. julii. I don't know why this happens as they are both fine little fish, and there is nothing more special about the julii, including the selling price, then the other. Here is a link that will help you tell for sure:

http/www.scotcat.com/factsheets/c_trilineatus.htm

Now, seeing as they are two different species, please prepare yourself for the possibility that the eggs might be infertile. If this is the case, and you want to try breeding corys in the future, I would suggest you get some additional bronze corys since your bronze looks like it is a female, and they are more apt to be the ones that spawn spontaneously in a community tank.

Let's hope for the best and see what happens. Corys are great fish and there is nothing like watching a tank full of them grow from tiny fry to young adults. They are also one fish that your local independent lfs might be happy to buy from you if you raise more than you want to keep.

Good luck.

 

[TheShocker]

You were right, it is an aeneus, and the other is a julii. I checked with my LFS today. Still no progress on the eggs. Some more have been eaten, too. I wonder if they're duds?!

 

[ral]

I would move the other fish out and just leave the cory's there. If they don't eat them while they are eggs, they will be pretty tempted to eat the wriggling fry that hatch.

 

[TheShocker]

well the eggs are gone. it's been three days since i found them, so the timeframe is about right. cant see any fry anywhere though...

thanks for the help guys. i might set up a smaller tank i have as a breeding tank and see if they'll do it again.