What Would Be Eating My Eggs?

[ChrisCook]

Hi guys, I have a Rio 240 with the following stocking:
20 Sterbai Cory
5 Adolfi Cory
12 other Corys

The Sterbai Cory were bought as a breeding group about 9 months ago.

Tank mates as follows:
4 large Albino Plecs
3 Bristlenoses (2 are small)
6 Clown Loach
8 Danios
8 Red Eyed Tetras

I do a 20% water change every week and am running two filters (one being an external Eheim).
My temperature is 25-27C

I have never seen any sign of any eggs, but some of my Corys are pretty big which I assume is them carrying eggs. I feed them frozen foods every day, or every other day.

So, are my Corys laying eggs and they are being eaten before I get to see them? If this is the case, then which are the likely culprits?

Chris

 

[Flagtail]

If they do have eggs and laid them, its mostly likely the plecos.
Plecos eat fish eggs in the wild.
Maybe its just their eating too much or can be preganant.

 

[ChrisCook]

Thanks Flagtail, I am trying to get rid of the Plecos at the moment so hopefully once they are gone I may have some success.

Would the Clown Loach eat eggs too?

 

[Flagtail]

Thanks Flagtail, I am trying to get rid of the Plecos at the moment so hopefully once they are gone I may have some success.

Would the Clown Loach eat eggs too?

I have a couple clown loaches in my tank. My silverdollar laid eggs and they were able to hatch. I don't think clown loaches would eat eggs. It could be different per each fish though. They say each fish has their own personailtys and tastes, so if a clown loach would like the taste of an egg, it would eat them.

 

[Curiosity101]

Every single fish in your list will eat the eggs, including the corys. If you have them on a high protein diet and do some large cool water changes then this should prompt them to spawn. Keep an eye out for breeding behaviour and see if they're laying.
If you can I'd suggest doing the change on a friday, that way they should hopefully spawn over the weekend and you should catch it.

If you're particularly interested in breeding you might want to think about setting up some breeding tanks for them. 60l would make a nice spawning tank for a group of 10. Then you can simply catch the fish and move them back to the main tank, leaving the eggs in situ. Alternatively let them spawn then move the eggs to a tub for hatching. Eitherways you'll need an airpump with air stone attached placed near the eggs to keep aeration up and stop any fungus from settling.
Catching them should be very easy if you buy something like an A4 sized plastic cross stich canvas. I've found for most rectangular 60l tanks it fits perfectly allowing you to corner the fish and scoop them easily and quickly with a net.

 

[ChrisCook]

Thank you!

 

[stubert]

anything will prob eat them i've had guppies having a go at my cory eggs, most likely the pleco's tho who ate them all

 

[Carlovel1]

Agreed the most likely could be the Plecs or the cories. Most cories eat their own eggs unless they are taken out.

 

[mattlee]

all of your fish will eat eggs, infact all fish will eat eggs. if you dont want the fry then its a free high protein meal for the fish, if you want to breed them its best to get a breeding tank.
ive never seen any of my corys eat the eggs even though they have no after care for the eggs and fry etc they have just left them alone.

 

[Harlequins]

My fish readily eat any eggs they see,during a recent albino spawning,the eggs were be eaten just has fast has they were laying them...

 

[mattlee]

My fish readily eat any eggs they see,during a recent albino spawning,the eggs were be eaten just has fast has they were laying them...

i must have loving caring cory.....

 

[Harlequins]

My fish readily eat any eggs they see,during a recent albino spawning,the eggs were be eaten just has fast has they were laying them...

i must have loving caring cory.....

 

[ChrisCook]

Well the Plecs met their maker today (well, they went back to the LFS!) so hopefully I will get to see a few eggs....

 

[mattlee]

unless you are uber fast at getting the eggs from the tank then all of your other fish in your stocking will eat them. as i said before to keep fish eggs to hatch and grow on you eed a seperate tank you cant successfully breed fish in a com tank

 

[Inchworm]

Hi ChrisCook

Are these the C. sterbai you bought from FishyJake13 here? If so, they would be mature enough to breed, which is something that is often a problem when it comes to breeding this species. I remember them being lovely looking fish that were sold as proven breeders.

If you are not getting eggs from them there are several reasons that come to mind. The first is that they are not as likely to spawn in a mixed community than they are in a single species tank.

Another reason is that they might just be out of season. If you have patience for a little longer it will be the rainy season in their natural habitat and they might get back into the swing of things without much special effort on your part. If that doesn't help, review the information about dry and rainy seasons here.