My Bronze Corys Have Laid Eggs - What Next?

[davidjp1982]

Today my 5 Bronze Corys in a 15 Gallon Amazon Blackwater setup produced their first eggs - only 15 laid up behind the filter I hope to hatch / grow out these eggs and any possible future ones in a 10 gallon I have had laying empty for a while.
 
Can anyone more experienced please check what I have done so far and offer and tips if possible?
 
So far I have emptied about 20 litres of water from the larger tank and added this to the 10 gallon topped up with 10 litres of dechlorinated tap water. Heater is set to 26 degrees, filter is an Interpet PF1 and have been keeping the sponge in the filter in the larger tank. Filter flow set to low as it is a small tank but I have adjusted the output to offer lots of agitation.
 
I transferred the 15 eggs in a tub of tank water and gently rolled them onto the side of the tank in good constant flow of water to prevent fungus (?) I accidentally popped one during this process (not a nice feeling!).
 
Tank is bare with no substrate or anything is this ok or should I add sand from other tank?
 
. I understand that if the eggs are fertile they will hatch in around 3 days?
 
Can anyone suggest anything obvious I have missed as would really love these to successfully hatch Thanks in advance
 

 

 

[Ny82]

Congrats on your eggs! I have about 40 I found just yesterday. Do you have an airstone? What I do is put the eggs into a breeding trap and float them in my fry tank which is 64L, with an airstone in the trap and tights over the sides to stop them escaping once they hatch. 
I was advised to add methylene blue anti fungal - just a drop to stop the fungus. I didn't have any the last spawn and they all hatched and I don't have any this spawn. Good circulation should prevent it-hence the airstone! My friend actually has his bouncing around in his tank with the amount of circulation he has!  My fry tank is also set at high temps for my guppy fry it's about 28. 
Your setup looks good, in the next day or so the eggs will start turning brown. Mines are a nice tea colour just now and this is day 2. The next day they will go a dark golden brown, before they hatch. If there are any white eggs while the rest are brown-remove them as they will be fungal.
I also start adding liquifry to the eggs from the moment they are removed, every morning until they hatch, then I add it twice a day and do water changes twice a day. That's all I can think of, I only learned this a month ago when I had a surprise spawn!
Good luck!
 
I forgot to add, try and add some sand to the tank, I have read that a bare bottom tank encourages infections. 

 

[davidjp1982]

Hey thanks for the reply - I haven't got an airstone but the PF1 gives good aeration / water movement - my only concern would be fry ending up being sucked into the filter....I will boost the temp a bit and add some sand. No Liquid Fry food at the LFS so going to have to wait till weekend to get some in!
 
As I type this I have just spotted one lone egg up against the aquarium wall again! I think my Apistogramma is eating them up as soon as they are laid - I wondered why she was hanging around the filter alot the last couple of days.....

 

[Ny82]

Lol! That's like me yesterday, thought my ram had a fungal infection in his mouth until I saw the eggs everywhere!
 
If you (or someone else ) has an old pair of tights/pop socks, just cut it, and stretch it over the filter, and secure it in place with a rubber band. That will stop anything being sucked in.

 

[davidjp1982]

Think I'll print this post off and take it with me in case anyone starts asking questions at the lingerie shop

 

[Ny82]

Hahaha good idea! It's for my fish tank filter honest....

 

[greenmumma141]

Congrats!!! I have a little fry box with about 30 baby cories buzzing around   I would agree that a thin layer of sand would be best as well.  If you don't have tights, you could always wrap some filter sponge around the intake as well, you just have to be aware that it will need a lot of washing or it will clog and you won't get the water flow through your filter that it needs... this is what happens with my fry tank anyway. I like to keep my cory fry in my floaty box for a little while after they hatch, they're not the best at finding food, they just have to stumble upon it really, so I wait to move them to my 10g.  Whatever hatching type of box you use, make sure you do lots of wc's on it, I do 3-4 a day. Even the mesh breeding boxes do not get good water flow, so they require a lot of wc's as well, especially when you start feeding them.  Oh, and when they first hatch, you'll see they still have really big bobble heads, that's the yolk and that's what they feed on for the first 1-2 days, so don't feed for at least 2 days after hatching, it will just mess up your water.
 
Good luck!!!!!

 

[Ny82]

Congrats!!! I have a little fry box with about 30 baby cories buzzing around

  I would agree that a thin layer of sand would be best as well.  If you don't have tights, you could always wrap some filter sponge around the intake as well, you just have to be aware that it will need a lot of washing or it will clog and you won't get the water flow through your filter that it needs... this is what happens with my fry tank anyway. I like to keep my cory fry in my floaty box for a little while after they hatch, they're not the best at finding food, they just have to stumble upon it really, so I wait to move them to my 10g.  Whatever hatching type of box you use, make sure you do lots of wc's on it, I do 3-4 a day. Even the mesh breeding boxes do not get good water flow, so they require a lot of wc's as well, especially when you start feeding them.  Oh, and when they first hatch, you'll see they still have really big bobble heads, that's the yolk and that's what they feed on for the first 1-2 days, so don't feed for at least 2 days after hatching, it will just mess up your water.
 
Good luck!!!!!

 
I forgot about filter sponge! Probably less embarrassing than buying tights! I put light coloured sand so I can see them since they are minuscule and I am impatient!
 
You will fall in love with them instantly they are the cutest things ever!  

 

[davidjp1982]

Oh, and when they first hatch, you'll see they still have really big bobble heads, that's the yolk and that's what they feed on for the first 1-2 days, so don't feed for at least 2 days after hatching, it will just mess up your water.
 
Good luck!!!!!

 thanks that's good to know it frees me up to order some liquid fry food online and get some brine shrimp eggs on the go

 

[greenmumma141]

Yep, it's a good "get everything together grace period"  And after that, they need 3 feedings a day, and make sure you do your wc's after each feeding!

 

[davidjp1982]

Yep, it's a good "get everything together grace period"

 And after that, they need 3 feedings a day, and make sure you do your wc's after each feeding!

 
Any recommendations on water change amount? Say I were to feed 2 or 3 times a day? Also will add some of the oak leaves from my black water tank. Hope they have some goodies for the fry.

 

[greenmumma141]

I do around 50% with my turkey baster. Best fish tank tool ever  I've been using Hikari's First Bites. Yesterday I started with the food, but they didn't really eat anything, I'm assuming they still had some of the yolk left, and that was Day 5. Hopefully I can get some pics/vids uploaded and update my cory fry thread

 

[davidjp1982]

Ok so I came home today to see 2 tiny fry swimming about 

 Lost a few eggs to fungus already but have 8 left on the tank wall 

 Can't seem to get Liquid Fry Food anywhere! Picked up some Tetra Fresh Delica brine shrimps - little sachets of brine shrimp in a protein jelly - guy at LFS said this should do the trick? Anyone had any experience with this? I tried it in my main tank and it kind of stays together in pink blobs on the bottom - should I mix it up with water? I'm really concerned that it will just mess the tank up and go bad if I don't do it right!

 

[Ny82]

Congrats! Mines all hatched yesterday! Aren't they just the cutest?!
You can get liquifry from pets at home. I got it there for £3.99. I also have tetramin baby but they are so tiny I thought that the flake will still be too big!
I had that exact brine shrimp for my guppy fry, they struggled when they were small as the shrimps were still too big. I have never tried it with cory fry, I never see mines eat. Just keep an eye on it and remove it if they aren't eating it. I always do water changes after a feed.

 

[davidjp1982]

I've tried several stores locally and no one has it in stock I am guessing there's been a problem with it lately maybe? I noticed like you said that it is fully grown brine shrimp in the jelly so I was thinking of cracking out the liquidizer and making a home made concoction of hard boiled egg yolks, tetra fresh delica jelly and fish flake and whizzing it all up with some tank water then using a dropper? If it works I'll be happy to bottle and sell it Congrats on your hatch - I was just reading your post  

Also got some brine shrimp eggs on the go waiting to hatch although after seeing how small the Cory fry are I have no idea how they are going to chase them down and devour them in a 10 gallon tank!