Think Im Gonna Be A Daddy ! Now What?!

[watertown28]

Alright:

Moved them from the net to the 3 gallon tank for now so they can swim free.

From the looks of it I have about 12 of them alive and well. I got some really fine ground foods for them and just add a little pinch to the tank 2 times a day.

Very active they are. they like to swim along the face of the glass up to the surface.

I have added a air stone with an adjustable air flow. I guess to keep some kind of circulation going in there . Also have a pre-set heater for the tank and its keeping the water around 78F.

I can confirm that they are indeed cories because I can see the little "whiskers" on them. I am sure they are the albinos too... though I wish for some Julii's but I think I need to get a few more.

Another thing. Now I will have to clean the bottom out every day... how you think I should do that? Use a air line due to the small diameter and better control over where it goes and picks up?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, syphoning with airline is the usual method.

Do you have a filter in the tank? If not, you'll want to change the water, twice a day, using water from the main tank; fry are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites

 

[watertown28]

Yes, syphoning with airline is the usual method.

Do you have a filter in the tank? If not, you'll want to change the water, twice a day, using water from the main tank; fry are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites

no I do not. I have a little one that came with it... one of those in the tank filters for the 3-5 gallon tanks...tetra whispers I think that is what its called... attach an air line to it.

If I do use this... how do I avoid the fish from getting caught in it?

If I can not use that filter... how much per change you think would be good? 10% or something like that?

BTW , this is not the tank water. Its fresh water cleaned the holding tank out. The ten gallon that I put the eggs/breeder net in was also cleaned before hand with brand new water. So they hatched into that environment.

BTW I will eventually get pics of them...most likely sunday. Busy with work and now this added chore eats up enough time. Ill will try to get a pic of them when I feed them... they already know what food is lol.

 

[Noura]

Congratulations!
Indeed, my Albino Corys did exactly what you're describing (spots of eggs on glass). But they never hatched because I wasn't prepared.
As for the filter, I believe it's necessary to put one and don't rely on PWC's alone. A sponge filter is IDEAL for these fry. It won't suck them and it will also provide an excellent and constant food source because of the little things that grow on it.

Please keep us updated, this is exciting

Noura

 

[fluttermoth]

Wrap your filter in a piece of mesh, or a (new and rinsed well!) foot of a pair of tights and put a piece of mature media from your main filter in it

If you can't get any cycled media in there, then you'll need to do much bigger water changes than 10%; more like 80 or 90% every day, or you'll lose the fry to ammonia poisoning.

 

[watertown28]

Congratulations!
Indeed, my Albino Corys did exactly what you're describing (spots of eggs on glass). But they never hatched because I wasn't prepared.
As for the filter, I believe it's necessary to put one and don't rely on PWC's alone. A sponge filter is IDEAL for these fry. It won't suck them and it will also provide an excellent and constant food source because of the little things that grow on it.

Please keep us updated, this is exciting

Noura

I modded the little filter with a fine net and zip ties. Now the inlet is covered. I also slowed the flow down with the air pump because that is what drives that pump. Sooo I got some filtration going on in there by seeing how the particles move around in there so its enough to get something going .

im am going to take a nap here quick and update you all when I wake up.

 

[watertown28]

Now that they seem to be not bothered by the flow anymore I sped it up a bit. I also put some extra plain pad in front and back of the carbon in order to catch more of the dirt.
Did a 1 1/2 gallon water change.

Did a feeding they seem to get the hint after a bit. There are a couple that are very responsive to food floating in the water and swim off the bottom . A few others swim on the bottom while many of them just sit there and when they get hit by the others swimming they wake up and move around.

They are all still alive though so that is good.


When are we out of the danger zone for deaths for them? I know if not paying close attention right now can cause many loss of life...more or less not needing to check on them every hour because you are worried??

 

[watertown28]

Well. day 5 coming to an end. Another 50% water change and feeding. Now most are being very active looking for food this time around. Still a few that are little slow in that area yet. All is well though and think that if I just keep doing what I am doing and am going to be able to keep a huge majority alive. I think if I would have killed em with something I done, I would already have. Now its up to the fish and I can only provide the best environment for them to thrive.

Can not wait for them to be big enough to be in the 10 gallon. That would be a good grow out tank.

 

[Noura]

Glad they are doing so well!
What kind of filter have you put in there "the one you covered its inlet with a fabric"?

How exactly did you collect the eggs?
Are these little guys visible enough to get some nice pics?

Noura

 

[watertown28]

Glad they are doing so well!
What kind of filter have you put in there "the one you covered its inlet with a fabric"?

How exactly did you collect the eggs?
Are these little guys visible enough to get some nice pics?

Noura

For the pics I will see what I can do it will be via cell phone though .

As for the filter it is a tetra whisper 10 gallon filter. It is air drivin. So on the inlet on the bottom of the tube I put a netting over it in case they decide to swim up to it. It gets awfully dirty fast though so it needs to be cleaned as i found out every other day it looks like.

The problem I have had with sucking up the fish into the tube into the bucket I have solved. I will be using a net as a "filter" to catch the fish if they get caught. This way they can be put right back into the tank.

Now for the fish that got sucked in and then had to be put back we will see how they do. They all seem to be eating still so that is good.

As for egg collection I just used a piece of stiff plastic and scraped them off carefully into a net. I then put them into the 10 gallon tank to hatch in that net. Once they all were hatched I dumped them into the 3.5 gallon with nothing on the bottom. The only downfall of the clear bottom of course is the fry are clear too. When they eat you see the food in the tummy but it still is hard to see them because the rest of them are still clear lol.

 

[Noura]

As for the filter it is a tetra whisper 10 gallon filter. It is air drivin. So on the inlet on the bottom of the tube I put a netting over it in case they decide to swim up to it. It gets awfully dirty fast though so it needs to be cleaned as i found out every other day it looks like.

Hello,

Check this out, a DIY sponge filter:

http/livebearers.o...php?topic_id=78

I don't know if passing links is permitted, I'm sorry if it's not.

These will eliminate the need for frequent cleaning of the mesh or filter parts into less than once aweek. I was researching online about these and planning to make one soon for any unexpected fry.

My Albino Corydoras don't seem to be in the mood for breeding , but I'm trying to trigger it. They have spawned once when I accidently changed water with a colder amount. So I've done it this morning, and I'm observing! Finger crossed!

Noura

 

[fluttermoth]

If you're doing a lot of breeding, then having some sponge filters on hand is a great idea.

One of the big advantages is that you can keep the sponge inside your main filter, so you can just whip it out when needed and it's already fully cycled.

Handy if you ever need to set up a hospital or quarantine tank in a hurry as well

 

[Noura]

If you're doing a lot of breeding, then having some sponge filters on hand is a great idea.

One of the big advantages is that you can keep the sponge inside your main filter, so you can just whip it out when needed and it's already fully cycled.

Handy if you ever need to set up a hospital or quarantine tank in a hurry as well

Very true!

I have an air stone running in my 20g. community tank, I plan on putting my small "future" DIY sponge filter in the corner behing the big rock and stick the airstone in it. I'll still have the bubbles, and the filter will be cycled for any emergency use.

Noura

 

[watertown28]

Well over 2 weeks in and I still have over 50% left. I started with 19 and still have 11 left. Few were due to learning errors on my part when changing water and using a net to catch fish that might decide to get for a water ride up the hose.

There were a couple that did not make it for whatever reason. I do not think they were eating because I never saw food in the tummy which is easy to see when they are fry.

There is one more that I worry about too because it is much smaller than the others. I have been doing a WC ( 50% x 2 a day, clean up any uneaten food when I do that before I feed them again ) and then leave the filter off for a good 1 hour before I turn it back on to let the fine derbs float to the bottom.

I wrapped the intake with some of the filter media stuff you buy in bulk. I figure this would add to the biological if nothing else besides keep the fry out of the pump.

I do have pics I just need to upload them soon.