Wanting To Start Breeding Pandas

[Macko1968]

More than any other fish, I love Pandas.

I currently have 7 pandas in a community set-up & they are frisky little so & sos. I've seen loads of typical mating behaviour in the tank & have spotted the odd fry in there. I'm really keen to start breeding these little fellas properley & have been looking for a suitable nursery. I've been spurred on to this because the only decent supplier of Pandas in the area has stopped stocking them due to his breader moving to other fish.

I wonder could you folks give some input on the following points;

1) The tanks I'm looking at are the Arcadia ARC 20L or 35L models, would one of these be OK?

2) Is a standard internal filter OK or should I be looking for an air driven sponge?

3) I'd rather leave the pandas in their community set up & try to remove the eggs to the nursery, is this possible or do the pandas need to be re-homed until they spawn in the nursery tank?

4) How hard is it to find Panda eggs? I have a selection of broad leaf silk plants which I'm guessing would be where they would lay?

Thanks in advance.

Mick

 

[mattlee]

More than any other fish, I love Pandas.

I currently have 7 pandas in a community set-up & they are frisky little so & sos. I've seen loads of typical mating behaviour in the tank & have spotted the odd fry in there. I'm really keen to start breeding these little fellas properley & have been looking for a suitable nursery. I've been spurred on to this because the only decent supplier of Pandas in the area has stopped stocking them due to his breader moving to other fish.

I wonder could you folks give some input on the following points;

1) The tanks I'm looking at are the Arcadia ARC 20L or 35L models, would one of these be OK?

2) Is a standard internal filter OK or should I be looking for an air driven sponge?

3) I'd rather leave the pandas in their community set up & try to remove the eggs to the nursery, is this possible or do the pandas need to be re-homed until they spawn in the nursery tank?

4) How hard is it to find Panda eggs? I have a selection of broad leaf silk plants which I'm guessing would be where they would lay?

Thanks in advance.

Mick

leaving cory ar any fish in a comunity set up and wanting to breed them is risky business as any eggs will be eaten by the other fish. it doesnt matter how well they are hidden the fish will find them before you do.... ideally you need a big enough tank to house your pandas, remember they need enough room to be happy and healthy otherwise they will do nothing, and if they spawn you can either remove the parents to another tank or remove the eggs into a suitable container to hatch but once hatched they will too need a tank of their own to grow up in without any threat of hungry mouths. corys dont have any prental skills and will quite happily eat the eggs and young fry. when the fry have outgrown the small fry tank then move them into a grow out tank where they can have more room and get to a decent size before you sell or transfer back to your comunity tank or in with the breeding group. daily 20%water changes will be required and feeding 2x a day to keep them healthy and growing well. also corys can lay eggs pretty much anywhere, mine lay them all over the glass, on the silicone joins in the corners, on the end of the heater, on plants. but they do seem to have their favourite spots which you will soon figure out....

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Macko1968

I love C. pandas too! They are frequent spawners and the fry are not difficult to raise.

Since you have already found some in your tank, chances are that your corys are spawning small groups of eggs weekly (more if you have more than one mature female) and you are just not seeing them. They are known to be egg eaters and the females try to hide them from the others. If there are a lot of plants in the tank it might be impossible to find and remove them before they are eaten.

I have never kept them in a heavily planted tank but do have success by providing metal thermometers for them to spawn on. The females will place the eggs on the underside of the thermometer between it and the glass. They are easily seen and removed to another container to hatch.

These eggs hatched shortly after the picture was taken:

If you try doing this, place the thermometers in a spot where the water flow from from the filter passes over them.

I'm not familiar with the models of the tanks you ask about. I use the container to hatch them, then move them to a 2 1/2 gallon tank and cover them with filter squeezings for their first week. This tank has no filter and just an airstone (placed near the surface) to provide oxygen. After that I start doing daily water changes and feeding Hikari First Bites or microworms until they are large enough to move to a 10 gallon tank running a box filter. They will be eating a variety of foods by then. They can reach a salable size in there if you continue doing good daily water changes.

Good luck raising them. I'd be very interested in following your efforts.

 

[Macko1968]

Thanks so much folks for the advice. My breeder tank is up & running, just need to find soem metal thermometers & I'm ready to go!

 

[lilacamy931]

LOL sounds good, best of luck, sure they will breed readily for you

 

[Macko1968]

Well I did a water change last nght shotly after feeding them some bloodworm. Short of playing some Barry White they couldn't have been more rampant. 1 hour later I managed to rescue 4 eggs which are now in the breeding tank.

As soon as I have sorted a metal thermometer I'll be looking forward to some more romantic evenings.

 

[lilacamy931]

Aw congrats, Let us know how the eggs go xx