New group of true C. Hastatus

[Coriequest]

I just had to share that I finally got a colony of juvie c. Hastatus from my friend Art Trino who has had great success breeding these lovely fish. They are so beautiful! I'm very excited. After buying 15 at an auction last year and losing them one by one it took a long time to approach the new kids. I actually kept them at Arts for three months to start a species only tank for them. I have a modest group of 15 once more. Hope to share a video or image soon!

[Joost]

Cool, I really love those!

[Coriequest]

They are still hiding so no pictures yet. 15 didn't look big enough so now I have 30! Hope to breed some later this winter when the pressure drops!

[Coriequest]

Thank you Jools! I got another group right after I posted since they are so small. Moved them from quarantine into their new home this week! They are very good schoolers and active. They aren't shy and hiding at all anymore. 31 total! I'm thinking to add some more because I love seeing them as natural as possible. And i have a great source for healthy F1 hastatus fish just down the road! (thanks Art!) They should start breeding when we get our rainy season here in the Bay Area around Dec to April.

[N0body Of The Goat]

Any temptations to add a group of Aphyocharax nattereri, for a great example of a mimicry biotope?

Regardless, I bet 30 of them looks amazing.

[Coriequest]

Interestingly enough a friend has some and it looked cool, but have to think about breeding these guys and want to focus on them for now. I may make a bigger school. They have lots of room and appear more natural in a big group! They are great hunters and eat bloodworms like a kid slurping down spaghetti! A fun fish!

[Coriequest]

Saw a few eggs yesterday but they must have eaten them because today I didn't see them. Still, on the right track. I think they may have hatched but to be safe I will add a breeding net next time!

[pleco_breeder]

I'm still rather new at spawning this species myself. I had my colony for about a year and constantly saw spawns with no hatches. Earlier this year I decided to focus on getting the colony built up and went through all the normal cory egg collecting/pulling breeders with the same result. The adults wouldn't eat the eggs, but they fungus within a few hours after being laid.

At that point, I decided to put them in a new rack I built for spawning my tetras. The pH was substantially lower than my tap/RO tanks. That's when they started spawning successfully. I've heard of people spawning them in high pH and TDS, but I've only had success in tanks with a pH below 6.5 and clean/fresh water. Even in that rack, the eggs will only hatch for a few days after the initial tank cleanings and water change with freshly mixed water even though they still spawn constantly.

As I mentioned, I have heard of them spawning in other water, but thought I would pass this along as an option in case it doesn't work for you.

Larry

[Coriequest]

Thx so much! I added some peat pellets to the filter when I saw it wouldnt stay at the PH level I wanted. The PH of the water is now stable at 6.4, same as Art's where I bought them. San Francisco tap is 8.2. I age it and use Prime and add a small amount of RO water in the mix. They are all still young so I expect more breeding in a few months. I'm lucky to live close to their breeder! So fun to watch them school and hunt for food. They are very active and beautiful!

[Coriequest]

More eggs today! Art came over and we saw one or two wrigglers nosing about! These would be from the first batch of eggs. Added some more moss and the macaroni filter media for more hiding places. So it's official! I have a breeding colony!

[Coriequest]

The Hastatus fry weren't surviving their parents' hunger so we removed 25 tiny little wrigglers to a special breeding box that has a flow through feature with a air stone powered drippy cup with an adjustable drip nozzle made into a fry food feeder and attached with velcro to the corner of the tank where the fry house is situated. Now they can't get highjacked from the bottom of the old breeding net as this one is solid on the bottom and has flow through sides modified with net material and tiny styrofoam insets to ensure it stays afloat no matter what! An air stone keeps the fry food moving in some tank water so the drip a second valve doesn't get clogged. Excited for my fry!

[Elwood]

Congratulations! Take some pictures!
Hope I will be lucky enough to see my hastatus breeding too.

[Coriequest]

Hmmm, not working after all....will try plan B

[Shazray]

I am envious. I would love some C. Hastatus and C. Cochui. Congratulations!

[GhostArcher]

Oh man, I cant wait for pics! Definitely one of the best looking corydoras in my opinion. I bet 30 of them look awesome.

[Coriequest]

An I-phone image

They are small and fast so I apologize that the image is not better. They hide when they see my phone!

[corylady]

i breed c.trilineatus and orange lasers out of peru. i live in florida,no real season changes. to push my corys to spawn(trilineatus spawn every 8-10 days) i do a water change every day for 4-5 days. my ph is 6.6, hard water and all tanks r 74 degrees. i live in a 60 ft. single wide fema trailer, so i set my ac thermostat to accomadate the tanks. or u can keep a treated gal. of water in the fridge and add it everyday in the waterchange to chill the water. for each species i use 4 tanks. 10 gal. spawning tank w/ small round gravel, plastic plants,sponge filter and whisper 10 on back. egg tank is 5 gal., fry tank is a 10, and teenage (grow out)tank is a 10. after 4th or 5th water change they usually spawn on the glass but mostly on the plastic plants. i sit on a little stool and take out the plants(air doesn't hurt them), pickoff the eggs and use my fingers to roll the sticky little devils onto the 5 gal. glass. the trilineatus hatch in 6 days, the lasers 3. i also use meth blue w/the eggs. when they hatch, i siphon them out of the 5 with air line hose into a 5 qt. ice cream bucket. then i pour them into the fry 10. then they get a little bigger and i use a little bigger hose from home depot and siphon the bigger ones back into the bucket and pour them into the grow out tank. then they get big enuff i sell them. i have a trilineatus tank w/150 or so juvies, 50-70 fry in the fry tank, and i have 130 eggs on the glass. my spawning group is 10 rite now w/ a couple youngsters in there almost old enuf. it sounds like a lot of work but i get very few dead. the hose and bucket can move a WHOLE bunch of fry w/no damage. this sounds like a lot of work but its actually not. i've been doin it this way for 3 1/2 yrs. and have raised a lot of fish w/ small tank space and small group. my lasers r new out of peru and have spawned already for me. about 95 or so out of 137 eggs, same set up.12 lasers,also.

[Coriequest]

That's great! I'm trying a separate tank for the Hastatus eggs but for my pygmaeus, the breeding net was fine in another tank. I think these little monkeys thought the breeding net was a new snack dispenser. My pygmaeus eat their eggs if I leave them. The Hastatus don't eat their eggs but will eat fry hiding on the sand. The fry didn't stay put on the filter media and cholla wood "safe areas" that I put in! Last year my pygmaeus spawned from Feb to May. Have to see what the Hastatus do, this group was new after the breeding season..

[corylady]

i don't use sand. i use small round white aquarium gravel.only in the spawnong tanl and grow out tank. sometimes i drop eggs in the spawning tank when collecting. they fall in the gravel and usually don't get eaten. they hatch and congregate under the 6" SPONGE FILTER. A LOT OF TIMES I LOOK UNDER THERE FOR FRY. IF I FIND THEM I SIPHON THEM OUT W/ THE AIR TUBING INTO THE BUCKET AND DUMP EM IN THE fry tank. i am an old lady(56), disabled and this occupies my time. when i first started i found winter to be spawning season but now my triple-lines spawn every 8-10 days! i have fish for sale all year. the back-to-back water changes w/cooler water mimics the rainy season in s. america where they r from. somw people tell me i will burn them out faster spawning them so much. but i let them do their thing as much as they want! of the 10 triple lines there r only 4 left of my original spawning group. the others i grew. some died when i put the sponge filter against the glass and they got behind it and got trapped because of their spines. actualy i don't even do that many water changes on the triple lines any more. they just keep spawning... i read in a book once u turn em on its hard to turn em off,which happens to be their case. i'm working on the lasers now to get them goin the same but they r wild and take a little more effort. happy spawning,corylady

[Coriequest]

It's very rewarding to see the Cory eggs become fish! I really enjoy all aspects of them. I love seeing them school. I have 28 now. About four expired here and there with no obvious reason. They were treated with dewormer, hope that fixed them. Otherwise I'll have to medicate which I prefer to avoid if possible. They seem healthy, very active, always browsing for food.