Planning On Spawning My Corys

[pinkdolphin_113]

well i've been waiting a couple of months and i feel my corydoras sterbai are big enough to spawn... correct me if i'm wrong though please lol
they're all around 1.5 inches at the moment and there are 4 of them, with 2 c. schwartzi. (i'm sure the chances are i'll have atleast 1 male and female that can spawn together.

anyway, i read about the ice cube method a while back. i have a 20 gallon tank, how many ice cubes should i put in it?
or an easier question, what temperature should i lower the water to to get them to spawn?

or should i go for method 2... lowering my heater setting? that would make it controlled, however, i do have other fish which are fragile. i'm affraid if my neons tetras are subjected to low temperatures all night, they might die.

so, if i use method 1 (ice cubes), the other fish have more of a chance of surviving.
method 2 should mean i get a longer spawn from the corys.


i have a huge feeling where they would spawn.

this is their home in the tank and i'm sure they'd spawn on the glass wall there.
nothing else swims around this area so i'm hoping the eggs will be safe until i can remove them.

and this is where i will be placing the eggs if they spawn.

it is full cycled, thanks to some white cloud minnows, and is a clone of the 20 gallon tank so hopefully there won't be much of a change for the eggs.


in my tank, there are a pair of kribensis but at the moment, they've been getting it on themselves lol so hopefully, they won't realise the cory eggs are there if it does go to plan. my female has been shaking around the male and they both have been spending alot of their time in the cave i made for them to spawn in. i will be keeping their eggs with them if they spawn.
in the chance that the kribs do find the cory eggs and eat them, i will move the corys to the fry raising tank and try get them to spawn in there and put the corys back into the 20 gallon.

is this a good plan?
i've never done this before so help/tips would be really appreciated

 

[OldMan47]

I would not put any cories in with spawning kribs. Cories will ignore the territorial warnings from the kribs and will end up damaged. The cories need a tank of their own for breeding. If you moved just eggs to a tank with kribs, they would think its feeding time. The community in the other tank will almost certainly eat any eggs before you get them. Unless there is a tank we have not heard about, I don't see a place for the cory breeding right now.

 

[Blade118]

Agreed, i can tell you from my own experience, kribs are very very defensive, they don't really like other fish if theres a pair, they tend to stick with one another, if you tried, i would guess the kribs wouldt be happy about it.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

hummm, thats what i was affraid of. they don't seem to be bothered by the cories at the moment though. they warn off the tetras but let the cories swim through their cave and what not. maybe they'll begin warning them off later on(?)

The cories need a tank of their own for breeding. If you moved just eggs to a tank with kribs, they would think its feeding time.

i don't know what you mean(?)
all the fish are in the 20 gallon atm. i was planning on trying to get both species to spawn in there, remove cory eggs, put them in the fry raising tank, and let the kribs keep their eggs.
would there be more of a chance of this workin if i were to wait until the kribs spawned and began looking after their eggs?
that way they would be occupied, right? and i could remove the cory eggs.

if i were to remove the krib's eggs, would i be taking away their instinct to defend their eggs?
or would they still have the "aggression" with no eggs?

 

[OldMan47]

If the fry tank is big enough, it might be possible to move the cories to breed there and let the kribs breed in the community tank. The kribs will do there best to defend the fry but I don't give them much of a chance with lots of other fish in the tank.

 

[Cory_Dad]

I wouldn't put the eggs/fry into a tank with a sand substrates as it'll be quite difficult to keep clean. Use a bare bottom tank.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

well if i put my 4 c. sterbai into the breeding tank, lowered the temperature after about a week and then raised it again in the morning... dya reckon it'd work? or do they need more time to settle in etc.

the fry raising tank is only 4 gallons btw which is why i only wanted to put fry in it.


my kribs had spawned (but the eggs went white) so i know what their behaviour is like toward the corys.
the don't seem to be as bothered by the corys as much as the neon tetras.
the male let the corys get about 2 inch to their spawning area and must have thought that was close enough, which is when he chased them away. the neon tetras, on the other hand, are different. they seem to get chased away when they're about 10 inch near the spawning area.

if none of this makes sense, its because i've just woken up lol

i have a feeling i may just get away with the corys and kribs spawning if they spawn together.
the male only goes away from the female and eggs when chasing something away, and then he doesn't go far.
if the corys spawn in the right place, he won't see the eggs and hopefully i can retrieve them and put them into the fry raising tank.

if not, i'll have to think of some other way.

my biggest concern is the cooling method. does anyone know the best method?
ice cubes vs. turning off heater

 

[Cory_Dad]

This isn't an exact science.

A lot depends on if the corys are ready to spawn and in the mood.

Firstly, is the female really fat with eggs (what Coryologist calls gravid with eggs)?

Secondly, are the males showing interest in her and cleaning plants in preparation for the eggs?

c) Have you notched up the food (fresh/frozen blood worm, brine shrimp, etc.)? Laying eggs is hard work and they need to have a ready energy source.

4) A tank of their own helps so they won't be disturbed but is not essential.

Cinq) Although a drop in water temperature by several degrees can help, I'm also convinced the weather outside plays a part, especially an approaching low.

Infinity) Patience... some people have had a pair for a year or more with no action. Others just get hit between the eyes with a ton of eggs.

Good luck and cheers.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

OHHH!! thats what they were doin!
a couple of weeks ago, some where cleaning leaves of my amazon sword but i thought they were just lookin for food lol damn it! never mind.
well my temperature at the moment is at 24oC/75oF so should i lower it to 20oC/68oF tonight and change it back to 24oC in the morning?

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

well no one seems to be answering how many degrees i should let my temperature drop by so i'm just going to have to experiment.
i think about 5oC should do it (?)

 

[Cory_Dad]

well no one seems to be answering how many degrees i should let my temperature drop by so i'm just going to have to experiment.
i think about 5oC should do it (?)

Patience... Did you forget point 'infinity'?

Normally you would drop the temp 4C - 5C with a 20% - 25% water change.

Good luck.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

well i lowered the water to 22oC from 26oC which did nothing.
maybe a bigger water change in a few weeks?
should the dropped temperature be out of tropical temperatures?

 

[Cooper2085]

Im always fiddling with my tanks which DOES NOT help. Get it how you like it, leave for 5 days then do a 20% chage. Leave 5 days then do a 30% change and start over feeding. I find that y 8 adult panda corys can get through 3 sinking wafers, 1/2 an algea wafer, some flake and a full cube of bloodworm in less than 2 hours when spawning >.> Fatties.