Is My Bronze Corie Pregnant?

[tom_os]

well i was looking in my tank and my bronze corie looked a little fatter. he/she then swam with belly up to the glass and there was a significant bulge. i only have 1 bronze cory but i also have 1 albino 1 pepper and 1 leapord. can they interbreed?

i couldnt really get a picture but i got a pic i took a few days ago and one i just took now to show the difference

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[OldMan47]

A possibility is that the albino is a bronze. Albino is not a species, it is a color. Bronze, pepper and leopard are all different species but the albino may well be the same as the bronze or a little less likely it may be a peppered.

 

[tom_os]

oh ok. so do you think that she is pregnant?

 

[Kets]

She is gravid. Cories are not livebearers and therefore cannot be "pregnant".

She is very good-looking.

 

[tom_os]

thanks. how long do you think till she spawns her eggs. i am doing a WC now with slightly cooler water

 

[Inchworm]

Hi tom_os

Your cory looks very beautiful and fit. Let's hope the albino is a male C. aeneus like she is.

There's no way to really tell when they are going to spawn, but cool water changes often bring it on if other conditions are right. It might be a good idea to rinse your filter media in old tank water at the same time.

The rest is up to her.

 

[tom_os]

ok thanks!

the problem is i am going on holiday in 3 days so hopefully she will do it before then so i have a chance to seperate the eggs. i have someone to feed the fish so i wil get him to feed the fry as well. i dont have any specialist fry food. is there anything i can make like crush flakes or something?

thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi tom_os

How long will you be away? Unless it's a very long time, I would advise you not to worry about it. Even if you have two C. aeneus, and they do breed together, they are still unproven. This is usually a prolific species so if they do, they will likely do it again once you return.

Do you have a picture of the albino? Perhaps we can help you determine the species.

 

[tom_os]

i am away for a week.

this is a pic of the albino.

its from when i got him, but he hasnt changed much

 

[Inchworm]

Hi tom_os

I can't tell the gender from the picture, but it does look like a C. aeneus (albino.) If it's a male, they will spawn together and you would be likely to get some fry that are bronze and some albino.

Here's a picture of two wild caught bronze C. aeneus so you can see the difference if you look at yours from the top. The female is the one on the right.

This is a picture of the eggs that this pair had just given me:

If you can print it out, you can leave it for your neighbor so he will be able to let you know if they spawned and you missed it.

Here's a closer view of eggs from other fish, but you will be better able to see them:

If your fish are young and have never spawned before, you might not get that many, but later spawns will usually be larger.

 

[tom_os]

thanks for that. yeah it is the first time. i have had them about 2 months and when i get back i am getting more anyway.

will the female produce eggs even if there isnt a male to fertilize them?

thanks