Trying To Breed My Cories

[Akasha72]

java moss it good for the fry as there's lots of microscopic lovelies in it for them to eat.

They will lay eggs though and it can take up to a week for the eggs to hatch depending on the cory breed. If you suspect them to be spawning just watch for eggs being laid and then gently (and I mean really really gently) roll them onto the tip of your finger (they are very sticky for the first few hours) and remove them from the tank.

I cut a pop bottle down, sterilized it the best I could without using chemicals, and put the eggs in there - they will stick to the side if your having trouble getting them off your fingers. Add some tank water and a bubble stone and clip the bottle to the side of your tank then all you can do is wait for them to hatch. It could be 3/4 days or it could be a week. Keep a check on them, any that go furry can be disposed of (they are fungused and won't hatch) as time goes on they should darken in colour. If they don't they're likely to be infurtile so chuck em out and wait for another batch.

It really is that hit and miss I'm afraid.

I had 3 that hatched. 2 lived for just over a week before dying and the other died not long after hatching.

3rd time lucky for me

 

[micknat]

it will have to be a bottle as i dont have the room or the funds for another tank. large 5ltr water bottle i think will do. crossing that bridge when i come to it. btw is there money to be made from breeding tropical fish? just out of curiosity

#40## fish are more active when i turn out the light, what floating plants would you suggest 2 disperse the light a bit?

 

[Cazgar]

Tbh unless you have multiple tanks to breed on a large scale, & can breed regularly species that command big prices, then there is no money to be made.
You may make enough to break even to cover your costs, if your Lfs is willing to pay cash.
For me breeding is more for my satisfaction watching fry grow up, than monetary gain

 

[micknat]

it was just a random idea, oh well. i reckon they might pay if i breed pearl danios to keep the species from dying out.

 

[Cazgar]

I have Cpd's, my Lfs will give me £1 each, for youngsters, so considering they're hard to breed, there's no money to be made there either.
Just enjoy your fish, if they breed, that's a bonus

 

[Staxx]

if thats a female peppered i have 2 maybe 3 female and 3 maybe 4 males(depends on number of females) out of my 6. and maybe the same with my 5 albinos.

im currently looking for another 6 to add to my tank. then im done with corys i think 18 will be enough spread accross 3 species. il try and find another albino aswell while im at it to make that back up to 6. i seem to have lost one while changing to sand.

 

[Akasha72]

One thing I have noticed with my peppered is both females have plain silver/white anal fins where-as the boys both have the peppered markings on their anal fins. It may be just coincidence but it would be good to know if others have noticed the same as it could be an easier way of sexing them

 

[Akasha72]

had to dispose of 2 eggs as they'd gone furry. Down to 15

 

[Staxx]

15 is still better than 0

do you have a plan if the 15 hatch and survive? like sell them on? use them to breed more? or just keep them and have a massive tank of catfish?

 

[Akasha72]

no, no plans. Just one day at a time, what will be will be. I've lost the previous ones so I'm not going to allow myself to think too far ahead

 

[Akasha72]

just out of interest how long would it take the female that laid the 17+ eggs to be ready to lay more?

we're 3 days in and she's looking a bit chubby tonight. They had one block of blood worm tonight (there's only enough worms in one block for about one worm each so maybe I'll give em 2 blocks next time) but it's cory playtime at the moment. Just wondering if I should be paying more attention that I am ...?

 

[Cazgar]

Not sure about peppers but mine spawned again after 5/6 days

 

[Akasha72]

okay, so technicly they could go again soon? Hmm that's interesting.

I've just chucked out 2 more eggs. One was furry the other wasn't colouring up and when I sucked it up with my pipette it was squidgy - guessing it was unfurtile.

Down to 13 ... never been an unlucky number for me so I'm not worried lol

 

[Akasha72]

UPDATE:

So, I came home from my lunch with my Dad and decided the fry tank was due a water change so I'd take the opportunity to get a couple of undated egg pictures. Here they are ...

You can see how dark they have become so there's me thinking ... mmm not long, maybe a day and I should have some wrigglers! Better do this water change and then they can go back!

One water change ... went to the pot with the eggs and was faced with this ...

OMG!! Talk about shock of my life!

Your not gonna believe what happened next ............ (you'll have to wait, it's still uploading)

 

[Cazgar]

Oh wow, babies!
Well done, bet you're thrilled.
I think I can guess what happened next . .