Corydora Aeneus Fry Kepping Problem

HellaSancho · Post by **HellaSancho** » 22 Feb 2006, 18:07

Hello all,

I have had 2 failures at keeping my cory fry. This 3rd time I have been having more luck. Out of about 100 fry I have lost 4. I Have lost 2 in consecutive days one of them being today. Should I be worried? This is my setup specs:

~1.5 gallon tank (Bare Bottom)
~Sponge Filter(Small)
~6 inches of water with a couple drops of funguside treatment.
~Fed 3 times a day(Frozen rotifers,Frozen bbs,Frozen rotifers)
then(Frozen bbs,Frozen rotifers,Frozen bbs)etc..
~Cleaned every feeding with a turkey baster.
~They are eating, there's plenty of fish pooh to clean up.
~Subdued lighting
~Waterchanges of about 1 cup of water 3 times a day. Replaced with half tap and half water from my 75 gallon tank with food thawed and mixed up.
~77 degrees

Are there any suggestions anyone has that could keep these fish alive and healthy? I'm worried that by next week 4 losses will turn into 100... Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

HellaSancho

corydorus · Post by **corydorus** » 23 Feb 2006, 03:45

This is my current practise.

No overfeed. Twice works just fine. Use Live bbs instead. No other food till 1.5-2 month old.

Use tap water only of about the same temperature as the fry tank with Anti-Chlorine/Chloramine.

Post by **corybreed** » 23 Feb 2006, 13:17

How long are the fry in the 1.5g container before they start dying? I beleive that you are feeding too much three times a day. You did not say what the pH of the hatching container was. The pH in small containers will crash very easily from over feeding. Sprinkle a little crushed coral in the container to keep the pH from crashing.

Mark

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 23 Feb 2006, 14:45

I usually start Aeneus or Paleatus eggs in a 10 gallon tank and add more water as the fry/juveniles grow(as they can reach the surface). At the 1 week point, I have the tank at 6 gallons and change 3 gallons daily. I only feed when I see their bellies aren't full. Right now, I'm down to one feeding a daily(frozen baby brine shrimp)with a group of Aeneus juveniles. Within a brood, there seem to be a few that get to the food faster than others. The ones that can't get to the food starve. This may also be a remote possiblity. I find it a bit difficult cleaning out a 10 gallon tank with just 20 fry, so I would think a 1.5 gallon tank with a 100 fry(most likely juveniles at this time)would be quite difficult to clean on a daily basis. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. These are just my hobbyist observations.

Amanda

HellaSancho · Post by **HellaSancho** » 23 Feb 2006, 17:47

Well, the PH is 7.5 at the moment. The same as my tap water. Do you think it would be a good idea to move these fry into a larger setting? I do have a plastic drawer under my bed (the type you purchase for 10 dollars that come with 3 shelves and a white frame) that is getting cycledt as we speak. Should I place them all in this container? It holds approximtly 7 gallons at 6.5 inches deep. How important is lighting to them suriving? If my PH is too high, can I add PH Down or are the fry way to fragile to handle that? At the moment cleaning isn't exceptioally hard. I use a turkey baster for about 5 mins. I wipe the small tank once a day. It's small work but it seems to be running ok. If I put them in the bigger container, should I use some sort of substrate or is bare bottom best for now? I do have a fry tank full of 1/2" and 1" long guppies (10 gallon.) I was planning on putting the cory fry in that once I could remove all of the guppies and put them in my 75 gallon tank. I cleaned and fed today and I don't see any more dead. Thats 2 days without death. Should I stop using funguside or would it be a good idea to leave a little in the water?

Once again, thankyou, this is very helpful as I am a novice to breeding all egg laying species of fish.

HellaSancho

corydorus · Post by **corydorus** » 24 Feb 2006, 02:40

I prefer slightly lesser than ph 7. But usually i got 7 since is from tap.

Bigger tank means big volume of water which provides
stability in temp. and longer water quality. A healthy fry should be able to find live food that you drop in a 1.5ft.
Else there will not be cory species in the wild.

HellaSancho · Post by **HellaSancho** » 25 Feb 2006, 23:38

Would a gravel bottom UG filter 10 gallon tank be better for cory fry? I have had 3 deaths sence moving to a bare bottom 6 gallon drawer. The 10 gallon is fully cycled and devoid of fish as of new.

HellaSancho · Post by **HellaSancho** » 25 Feb 2006, 23:39

Also, when observing my fry, one of them has very dark spots on its top compared to the almost translucent white of the others. What causes this?

corydorus · Post by **corydorus** » 26 Feb 2006, 14:25

UG no no. The fry will dig under it and get stuck or crushed. Food will seeps in as well.

6 gallon is ok. Make sure no overfeed. And change 20-30% water daily if possible.