New Cory Eggs

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

Microworm cultures are hard to find at an lfs. It's possible, if you have a very good independent lfs, but even then it's not likely. That's why I gave you the link. I bought my own from them and was well satisfied.

All you have to do to keep them going is to refresh the culture every week or two by making a batch of oatmeal and spreading some of the old culture on it. Then it will grow and you can throw the old one out before it spoils and starts to smell bad. If you do that, it's not icky or gross or anything. If you do this, you can grow enough to feed fry for years with just the original cost of the culture and some inexpensive oatmeal and a bit of dry yeast.

By the time you get it started, they will be a few weeks old, but will still eat them along with their other food. Until then, try feeding them the LiquiFry for a few days and then see if they will start on flake food. Just watch your water quality carefully.

 

[Barracuda518]

Hi Barracuda518

Microworm cultures are hard to find at an lfs. It's possible, if you have a very good independent lfs, but even then it's not likely. That's why I gave you the link. I bought my own from them and was well satisfied.

All you have to do to keep them going is to refresh the culture every week or two by making a batch of oatmeal and spreading some of the old culture on it. Then it will grow and you can throw the old one out before it spoils and starts to smell bad. If you do that, it's not icky or gross or anything. If you do this, you can grow enough to feed fry for years with just the original cost of the culture and some inexpensive oatmeal and a bit of dry yeast.

By the time you get it started, they will be a few weeks old, but will still eat them along with their other food. Until then, try feeding them the LiquiFry for a few days and then see if they will start on flake food. Just watch your water quality carefully.

I did a water change today, about 30%. I added stress coat to get rid of the chlorine. There is some stuff on the bottom, looks like sand and some stuff from the filter intake from when I took the eggs off it. Im afraid to put a siphon in there for fear of sucking up some of the fry. What do you reccomend for getting that stuff out? They still arent very active, but they are moving. Im going to order a culture from that website and give it a go. So far so good. Thanks for all the help. The more I learn, the more I can help other people who are new at this like I am

 

[Barracuda518]

Inchworm,

I went to that website and learned about Microworms and how to raise them and all. I looked all over that website and can not find a place to buy a culture. Am I missing it somewhere???

Do I order from Splendid Farms or High Prairie Farms?

 

[Barracuda518]

Inchworm,

I have a couple questions for you. Ive been feeding them and they have been growing. You can see thier stomachs and they are an orange color. Is this normal? Also, I put some chopped up Hikari wafer in there and they seem to want it. Could this be they are not quite big enough? They are a little over 2 weeks old now. They also have black stripes starting at the top of thier heads and running down over thier eyes and down to thier barbels. Do C. Aeneus fry have these stripes when they are young? These fry look a lot like minature C. Leucomelas to me.

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

I'm glad to hear that your fry are growing. That's the only way to tell if you are feeding them well.

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying out different foods at an early age, but be certain to remove any that doesn't get eaten. Actually, it's probably a good idea to add variety early so they will get used to it. I think I catered to my older spawn of black corys too much and then they didn't want to be bothered with flake until they were almost four months old and were growing so fast they would eat anything they could get.

Last Thursday I introduced flake to some of my newer corys. Here's a picture of them enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner:

That's one of the giant flakes, BTW, that come in a can of Ocean Nutrition flake food. The biggest corys in that batch were about 27 days old in that picture. For more perspective on their size, this is the picture I posted two days before on another thread:

If you look closely, you will see some very tiny fry from a small batch of C. aeneus Gold Shoulders in there too. Right now the smallest ones are eating the flake too. They seem quite content and are doing well. Yours should do the same on the Hikari wafers, if they will eat them.

Whatever you do, continue feeding them the microworms as long as they will take them. They are a good source of protein for the fry and are able to stay alive for a while in the water. This gives them a steady source of food to eat and will help them get big faster.

As to the coloration, well, it's hard to say. If you look closely at the picture of them eating, you will see that even the fry that will become solid, velvety black are still spotted in appearance. All you can do right now is wait and see how they turn out when they get bigger.

 

[Barracuda518]

Hey Inchworm,

I started using that Ocean Nutrition Fish Food the other day after you told me about it. I like how the flakes are bigger and sink to the bottom quicker so my cories can get some. Ive been grinding up the flake food for my fry as they are still small and seem to like it better that way right now. They push the little pieces around the tank and eventually eat them up. They are looking good so far and Im hoping for the best.

On the microworms, I started that culture about a week ago. I cant tell if there are any worms there. It still looks like the stuff they came in. Should I be seeing them moving or something? I still have a bunch of the culture stuff left sealed up in a bag. How long does that stuff last?

Those are some nice pictures you have of your cory fry. I did not have near that many eggs when mine spawned. Mine are 16 days old and you can clearly see they are cories

Thanks again

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

I've heard that, if they are refrigerated, microworm cultures will last for months without feeding them. I've never tried this though. If you are keeping the rest or your starter package closed up at room temperature you might have a problem, since they need air to breathe.

To see if they are alive and multiplying, take your culture to a window or other source of good light. If you move it around to get the light hitting them at the right angle, you will see a shiny or glittery appearance on the surface. That is the mass of microworms. They are very tiny and you will only see them alone once you start adding them to the tank. Then they separate and look like bits of dust floating through the water. Once you know what you are looking for, it will be much easier to see them.

When the culture is going well, you will actually see them trying to move up the sides of the container. These are the ones you will remove and feed to your fry.

I have to feed and restart my cultures later today, and then I will try to take pictures. Perhaps that will help you.

 

[jollysue]

Ok, come on, I want to see the tummies,

 

[Barracuda518]

Hey Inchworm,

My cories will be 4 weeks old this up coming Saturday. I think its time for the filter. They are growing very well and I started feeding them the microworms yesterday. Better late then never I guess. They are eating them all up too. I have a couple of questions:

Is it time for the filter?
Is it time for sand (I like the bare bottom tank, easier to keep clean)?
How often should I put microworms in there? They seem to really like them.

They look more and more like C. Leucomelas every day

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

The time certainly goes by fast!

Yes, it would be a good time to start a sponge filter going in place of the airstone. And, you don't have to be in a hurry to get substrate in. They will do just fine with the glass bottom for another month or so. It is easier to keep clean, and you might find that any uneaten microworms will clump together and can be more easily netted out with the bare bottom. Keep up the daily water changes too.

You will have to guess at the right amount of microworms to add. Since they are eating flake already, the microworms are more like a snack to them right now, and you can feed more lightly than if they were their sole source of nutrition. It's good to be able to have a constant food supply there for them, but if you add too many, you will have to keep netting them back out. You'll see what I mean.

 

[Barracuda518]

Hi Barracuda518

The time certainly goes by fast!

Yes, it would be a good time to start a sponge filter going in place of the airstone. And, you don't have to be in a hurry to get substrate in. They will do just fine with the glass bottom for another month or so. It is easier to keep clean, and you might find that any uneaten microworms will clump together and can be more easily netted out with the bare bottom. Keep up the daily water changes too.

You will have to guess at the right amount of microworms to add. Since they are eating flake already, the microworms are more like a snack to them right now, and you can feed more lightly than if they were their sole source of nutrition. It's good to be able to have a constant food supply there for them, but if you add too many, you will have to keep netting them back out. You'll see what I mean.

That sounds good. So far I haven't had to remove any of the microworms. So I can pick up a good sponge filter at a LFS right?

I can't wait until I get the next clutch of eggs. I know exactly what to do now

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

You might have to look for your sponge filter in an independent lfs rather than a chain store. The chains around here don't seem to stock them.

This is the brand I use, but other brands would probably do as well.

http/petsforum.com/ati/atb100.htm

I use the second one from the left for my fry. The sponge part is about 4" high and about 2 1/2" in diameter. It stands alone on a base that comes with it, but I like to hang it from the side of the tank so that no babies get caught underneath it.

 

[Barracuda518]

Hi Barracuda518

You might have to look for your sponge filter in an independent lfs rather than a chain store. The chains around here don't seem to stock them.

This is the brand I use, but other brands would probably do as well.

http/petsforum.com/ati/atb100.htm

I use the second one from the left for my fry. The sponge part is about 4" high and about 2 1/2" in diameter. It stands alone on a base that comes with it, but I like to hang it from the side of the tank so that no babies get caught underneath it.

Hey Inchworm,

I saw a Pengiun Sponge Filter today. Do you know anything about these? Im afriad it might be too powerful. Its uses a powerhead.

My cories spawned again today, I only saw 3 eggs on the glass. Im think I might have interupted them. Will they start up again? Do I need to keep the light off for the rest of the night?

Thanks B)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Barracuda518

I'm not familiar with that brand of sponge filter, but maybe some of the other members are. Why don't you start a thread in the Hardware forum and ask about it?

If you only interrupted the corys when they started to spawn, they should start back up again. You don't have to worry about the light being on if they are in the mood. If you're lucky you will get to see them at it.

 

[Mr.September15]

OOOOO...Inchworm, well thats a lot of baby cory. Tell you what,I will give you my address and will pay for shipment. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA JK . But if you wanna you can gimmie a PM . Well anyways I was wondering on how to seperate the tiny white worms from the soil? Do you need tweezers and take them out?

-Arrowhead