feeding fry and uncycled tank

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
Post Reply
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

feeding fry and uncycled tank

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

My cories spawned last night, not something I thought would happen, and I'm not prepared. I have an uncycled 10 gallon that I just put plants in (the plants are in a tupperware full of Onyx Seachem sand -- long story -- sitting inside the tank -- the rest is barebottomed). Can I use that? Would I just do water changes every day?

Do I need special fry food or can I just crumble my flake into powder?

Someone said they might not be fertilized because they are a frosty white color -- but many look like they have a dot in the middle (solid white dot). I want to be prepared whether they are fertilized or not. I don't want my fish eating any babies.

Can I remove those eggs to the 10 gallon and can I feed them crushed fish flakes (Omega One).
kateswan
Posts: 87
Joined: 02 Oct 2003, 21:51
Location 1: US, Northern MI

Baby corys

Post by kateswan »

What kind of corys laid eggs?

There are lots of people here to give you advice on
separate rearing accommodations . . . So far I've
only brought 2 kinds of corys from eggs to adults,
the albino aeneus and paleatus. Both times the
eggs were laid in community tanks, and I chose to
let them hatch there.

When the babies hatched, they dropped to the bottom
and immediately hid in the plants or between bits of
larger gravel. I fed the community a little extra finely
crushed flake food, and some frozen daphnia every
other day for the first few weeks.

This method seems to leave me with around 15-30
juveniles from each hatching . . . more fish than I
can absorb in my tanks, more fish than I can place
in the homes of my friends! By breeder standards this
is probably a very small hatching, but I shudder to
think where I would be if every egg produced a fish.

So ... do you plan to bring your extra fish to a LFS,
or keep them for your pleasure? This might make a
difference in how you choose to rear them.

BTW, my adult corys don't bother newly hatched fry.
The only fish I've had a problem with is my bettas,
who are hunting fools, so I have to remove them from
a community tank where babies are.

Kathy S
"Animals without backbones hid from each other or fell down."
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

Well, they are corydoras aeneus. I have no idea what I will do with the babies, but I don't want them eaten. "Live food" is not something in my vocabulary. I have a 20 gallon I can eventually keep them in, but it is being used as a Quarantine tank at the moment for 2 neon tetras.

I put the plants from the 20 into the 10 gallon, which is the tank I am contemplating putting the fry in.

I have 1 big Gourami and 3 clown loaches and one Chinese Algae eater with the cories, and any of them I would suspect would eat the babies even if the cories don't.....

Thanks for your help.
User avatar
Coryman
Expert
Posts: 2119
Joined: 30 Dec 2002, 19:06
My articles: 12
My catfish: 5
My cats species list: 83 (i:0, k:0)
My BLogs: 1 (i:0, p:1)
Spotted: 194
Location 1: Kidderminster UK
Location 2: Kidderminster, UK
Interests: Cory's, Loricariids, photography and more Cory's
Contact:

Post by Coryman »

SunflwrgrlS

Firstly where are you located? I do like to know where the poeple I talk to are from, it helps when giving advise.

In recent weeks there have been several posts in this forum regarding housing and rearing Corydoras fry. My advise would be to use a small container, a 2ltr icecream tub or large plastic sandwich box would be ideal, three quarters fill this with water from the tank with the eggs in. Then carfully remove the eggs, this can be done fairly easily with the fingers or use a razor blade to lift them of the glass. Put the eggs into the container and an air stone, a drop (1 only) of anti fungus medication and the eggs should be fine, they will take 4 days from laying to hatch. Once hatched change 50% of the water every day taking new water from the main tank.

Food, in the event of no live food being available, although Brine shrimp eggs be obtained fairly easily. I would recomend using Tetra Tabimin tablets, they can be crushed easily between the fingers and small amounts given at least twice daily.

The fry take two days from hatching to become free swimming and do not need any food untill the third day.

Ian
Image
Image
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

Thank you for your reply. I'm in North Carolina, USA, and I unfortunately moved the eggs (well what was left) into my 10 gallon uncycled tank. Most of the eggs were eaten. I really didn't think my fish would eat the eggs because they don't eat snail eggs -- but I was pretty sure they would eat any fry.

I don't have fungus med -- can I use Binox? or quick cure or Melafix?

If this happens again, which I guess is probable since they've now spawned once...and I use your container method -- how do I keep it warm? The temp in my house is not stable, and I keep the house temp at 70 during the winter (electric heat pumps are the greatest). I want to keep my house temp at 76 but that's too expensive :(
User avatar
Silurus
Posts: 12420
Joined: 31 Dec 2002, 11:35
I've donated: $12.00!
My articles: 55
My images: 893
My catfish: 1
My cats species list: 90 (i:1, k:0)
Spotted: 424
Location 1: Singapore
Location 2: Moderator Emeritus

Post by Silurus »

I don't have fungus med -- can I use Binox? or quick cure or Melafix?
The best fungus med for cory eggs is methylene blue. See if you can get some.
Image
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

I got the Methylene blue, but I guess I was too late. Most had fungus in the short amount of time it took me to have dinner with a friend, go to the LFS, and come back home (ok, so the LFS and friend were an hour and a half away).

I have my fingers crossed that at least one is OK, but I don't think I'll have any fry. I really didn't want any more fish, but it is kind of a let down now not to think I'll see any little baby cories. :cry:
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

Guess what folks??? I was peering at my plants in that 10 gallon quarantine tank and there he was - an adorable little cory baby!!!! I was soooo surprised. I hadn't removed any of the fungused eggs nor have I done any water changes, so I quickly tested the water and it was 0 ammonia (thanks I'm sure to the plants that I've been keeping in there). Unfortunately I had taken the nylon hose off the power filter so I hope I didn't lose any in there. I put the nylon back on and sprinkled a little fish food in there before I ran out the door to work.

I'm soooo excited -- he's sooo adorable!!!!

He is probably a good 2 weeks now or one and a half -- do I assume he can eat normal food now?

Thanks folks for all the help -- I'm a grandma!!!
GinoInChicago
Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Nov 2003, 02:38
Location 1: Lyons, IL
Contact:

Post by GinoInChicago »

Congratulations on your fry guy. I have been trying to raise cory eggs, albino aneus to be precise for a while. They spawn a couple times a week, yet I never get any fry out of them. I have tried artifiacily hatching to no avail. The eggs fungus almost immediatley. I have found that they seem to fungus less if I just leave them alone. But I have yet to have any reach wiggler stage. after 4 days all eggs turn white. I know I have 3 feamles and 3 males in a ten gallon tank with the smallest gravel I can find. I know a lot of you guys recomend sand, but no one carries it around here, and this stuff is less that 1mm in size. The cories have no problem moving it around to get food. And They just laid a huge spawn...at least 150 eggs and there is one clutch that is a big ball of eggs which I thought was wierd. I hadn't seen that before from these guys. But I need help here it seems they are not fertilizing the eggs. Any ideas?
-Gino Angelic Visions Aquatics
http://www.avaquatics.com
Proud Member of the Freshwater Tropical Aquaria Society and The Angelfish Society
SunflwrgrlS
Posts: 22
Joined: 02 Aug 2003, 19:35
Location 1: Henderson, NC

Post by SunflwrgrlS »

Have you used the Methylene Blue? You should add a touch of that to the eggs after they are laid, if you remove them to a separate tank. I added mine too late because I couldn't find it near me and had to go to a lfs an hour and a half away to get it. Use a small dose, not the normal dose for diseases.


Luckily, I ended up with two, beautiful baby cories, and they are now big enough that I removed the nylon off the filter intake for good last night.

I use Playsand from the hardware store for my cories, but pool filter sand is supposed to be better ( a little larger grain). My babies, however, are in a bare-bottomed tank except for a large square (about 6 to 7 inch square) plastic tupperware container with Seachem Onyx sand and the plants in there. I really like how this worked, because gravel vaccing with babies and eggs is a scary thought. The plants hid the babies and took care of my ammonia issues (it is a thickly planted tupperware!). Where are you located? I truly don't think Seachem Onyx sand is good for cories, as it is a sharp sand. I would stick with the round grains in playsand or pool filter sand or even Estes brand "marine sand" which is freshwater safe but expensive because it is sold in little tiny bags (still, for only one inch of coverage, it wouldn't take too many bags). When in doubt, make it thinner, not deeper).

I would suggest keeping sand very thin in your main tank (an inch, maybe). I made mine much too thick and am slowly having to remove some due to toxic anaerobic gases that can build in deep sand.

Be careful when you remove the eggs that you don't damage them. If they lay them on plant leaves, remove the whole plant leaf (that's what I did).
GinoInChicago
Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Nov 2003, 02:38
Location 1: Lyons, IL
Contact:

Post by GinoInChicago »

yes I have tried meth blue. In fact I have a gallon of the stuff...heh I breed Angels so I tend to go throught the little bottles very quickly :D.
-Gino Angelic Visions Aquatics
http://www.avaquatics.com
Proud Member of the Freshwater Tropical Aquaria Society and The Angelfish Society
Post Reply

Return to “South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)”