What Color Are Healthy Cory Eggs?

[Darkmoon Bettas]

There are a lot of species whose eggs I can easily "eyeball" and tell if they're fertile, infertile, or fungused... kribs and bettas I can check in my SLEEP. But I'm new to spawning cories--what color progression does a healthy, normal egg go through? I know they start out clear and soft, get clear and hard, then what?

My m/f/f trio of paleatus has spawned about 5 times and I can't get the eggs to hatch yet. First time was by suprise, in a commumity tank, they just got eaten.

Then it was in a 10-gallon (marbles on the bottom) with live plants and a healthy infusoria population, and I removed the parents, the eggs got dark, kind of brown, then... vanished. I assumed they'd have hatched, but I never saw a single fry, even when I removed all the marbles.

Third and fourth times were in a glass tank with only Endler's livebearers--most of the eggs got eaten, some that I covered in a needlepoint mesh screen fungussed, and a few did the "turn brown, get dark... vanish".

The most recent time--yesterday--I removed all the eggs by hand, and theyr'e now sitting in a mesh breeder net in my betta fry growout tank, which also has a healthy infusoria culture. They're just beginning to turn brown, like they were dipped in iced tea.

Am I missing something? What's going on here? What should I be looking for when eyeballing eggs to tell if they're healthy, infertile, or dead? Any advice?

 

[Kuhni]

Eggs Generally turn darker if they are fertile. A sure sign to see if they are fertile is the existence of a black dot in the centre, As time goes on this "dot" the embryo(that's what you call a developing baby right?) becomes more visible and larger in appearance.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Darkmoon Bettas

It sounds like your eggs are fertile and hatching but either getting eaten or dying off from improper water conditions.

I would suggest you try to raise the fry in either a bare bottom tank or a tank with just a thin layer of sand. Take the adults out once they have spawned since they will often eat their own eggs or young. C. paleatus are especially known for doing this.

Cory fry should be raised by themselves until you are sure they are large enough not to make a meal for any other fish. A clean bottom is necessary to raise corys and daily water changes are a must while they are young.