Peppered Corydoras Fry Vs. Pond Life

[nmonks]

A few days ago some Corydoras paleatus spawned in a tank I had set up for halfbeak breeding. The tank is filled with pond life that the halfbeak fry eat, daphnia mostly. But there are also planarians, pond snails, and ostracods. While these beasts pose no threat to even newborn halfbeaks, is this true for the Corydoras fry?

At the moment I have the fry in a breeding trap. They're about two days old, and as far as I know eating the green algal fluff I bring in from the pond plus some Liquifry. Since the breeding tank has been established a while and must be filled with infusorians on the sand and plants, I can't help but imagine the feeding would be better outside the trap than in it. But do the daphnia, ostracods, and other wee beasties pose a threat to Corydoras fry?

Thanks!

Neale

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

I'm not sure about the others, but I know the daphnia wouldn't be a problem. I had some breeding in the fry net when I had oto fry as well as with my panda fry and the panda fry were actually eating the baby daphnia. So a good food source for them.

Congrats and good luck with your new babies.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi nmonks

Pond snails and planaria won't hurt the corys.

We usually raise corys in clean tanks and do daily water changes. This is to help them grow and to protect them from getting bacterial infections. Their tank should also have water movement on the surface. If this is a problem with the tank they're in, it might be a good idea to turn them loose in a tank by themselves.

Corys are omnivores and will eat whatever they can get. I usually feed microworms from the second day on, after they have absorbed their yolk sacs. They will probably eat anything that size or smaller, but should have a good amount of protein in their diet.

Please be aware that even very young guppy fry will attack the tiny corys. If you think the halfbeaks might do the same, then defiantly move them to another tank.

Good luck with them. Please let us know how things work out for you.

 

[nmonks]

Thanks for the replies!

So far, they seem to be doing well. I spotted one or two fry in the main tank with all the pond life, so I may as well leave them there and see how things go.

This tank is far from clean! It's covered in algae and the sand is alive with small worms and other beasts. Halfbeaks ignore anything below them (usually) and only take the foolish daphnia that swim towards the surface. This is a great food for them, and they grow quickly. I'm a bit worried about fungus and bacteria getting to the "kittens", though I was adding anti-fungus while the eggs were still unhatched. I'm assuming that after a couple of weeks, the kittens won't still be sensitive to fungus and bacteria?

Funny thing is, their parents spent the summer outdoors. I'd read peppered Corys come from Argentina and live where it can get surprisingly cold at night. So I figured a British summer wouldn't be too hard on them. Quite the reverse; they really fattened up, and when I brought them in, they spawned the next day.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[nmonks]

I thought it would be fun to add another picture. Apart from the fishes in the net, there are at least three scuttling about under the wood and plants in the breeding tank. I caught a picture this morning. Very cute to see after three days they already have the right colours and teeny-tiny whiskers. I'm also astonished how quickly they've grown.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

What a lovely pic Neale

You are going to have some really gorgeous cories there. Can't believe the change in a day (I know they are two different cories, but they do tend to grow at the same rate, well some of them).

Good luck and keep us updated with pics of the fry. They are adorable.

 

[nmonks]

Since this is becoming something of a photo-diary, here's a picture of one of the babies at day 5.

Although still very small (maybe 5mm including the tail) the front half at least looks very Corydoras-like. The back half is still rather like a tadpole. What is interesting is that the fry that are loose in the tank (rather than the fifteen in the breeding net) are very nocturnal. You don't really see them during the day, but if you look at night, they are scuttling about eating whatever it is they are eating. During the day they seem to be hidden under rocks and wood.

Cheers,

Neale