Easter Surprise!

[Mol_PMB]

I keep a group of 12 Cory melini in a busy 240L community tank. I have seen them spawn a few times but have only managed to save eggs a couple of times from the mouths of the 35 hungry tetras and have recently added some greedy Brachyrhamdia to the tank too. Sadly I'm no good at raising the eggs and fry myself. So I was amazed to spot this little guy in the tank today! I guess he's at least a month old?

[bekateen]

Cool! Congratulations and a very happy Easter to you! And that juvenile has really a nice coloration - the black band up the dorsal fin is bold and full. I don't know how fast melini grow, but based on its size relative to the tetra (I'm thinking it's about 2cm long, yes?) and my own corys' growth, I'd guess at least 2-3 months old.

Cheers, Eric

P.S., Isn't it nice that our own children don't show up like that? (i.e., We didn't THINK we had any kids, but then unexpectedly a new 2-year old is discovered under the couch when we're cleaning, or we enter the kitchen early one morning and find a new 4-year old eating out of the dog food bowl? Wouldn't that be weird? LOL)

[Mol_PMB]

Thanks Eric, and I love your analogy! Happy Easter to you too.
Yes, it's about 2cm long. I saw it going in and out of a small ceramic cave/tube that isn't big enough for adult fish, so probably that's where it has been hiding from the predators. It looks happy, anyway, with that big black dorsal fin flying high. Hopefully big enough now to safely join the adults.
I've now got 13 melini, 7 burgessi and 9 C048 in this tank. They all seem to get on well together, sometimes in a big herd together and sometimes sorting into their own species groups.

[Jools]

Nice one!

Jools

[PabloG]

Really a beautiful baby. I also think they should have at least two months

[PseudaSmart]

I'm a bit embarrassed to tell this story but I had a similar surprise at the same time. Even as an 'expert' you can never stop learning and finding things to make one smile.

I was cleaning the gravel in my L600 breeding tank as usual and saw a small flash of something as I moved some driftwood. After a bit of searching I found a 3" youngster hiding in a deep crease in the wood. It means I have been asleep for about 7 months!

A nice surprise nonetheless.
Jim

[bekateen]

All this talk of Easter surprises makes me want to rearrange the "furniture" in my tanks more often. Who knows what I'll find? Maybe a new baby melini or a baby L600 (or "something completely different") will dash out from behind a plant or from under a log. Do you suppose this will work for me too?... Does it matter that I don't own melini or L600?

[Mol_PMB]

Congratulations Jim, on the surprise L600 - Happy news!
Looking forward to a photo...

I'd be even more surprised to find a baby Pseuda as I only have one L24, despite Hans and Ole's recent attempts to persuade me to get her a mate!

Here's another pic of my little melini with an adult burgessi.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. Eric - good luck!

[bekateen]

Thanks Paul! And about your baby melini, another nice picture: that fish really looks striking. I've never seen melini in person, so I don't know if it's just because your fish is young (since with so many other species, the young have bolder colors and the adults can be subdued) or if it's just your individual melini, but that stripe along the back and dorsal fin is amazing! Enjoy your fishes! P.S., your other fish look nice too.
Cheers, Eric

[Mol_PMB]

Thanks!

The little melini certainly has bolder colours and a blacker dorsal than the adults I have. Of the 12 adults, all were wild-caught but the first 6 (big ones) came from Rare Aquatics and the other 6 (medium size) came from Pier Aquatics several months later. I am fairly sure that they are of different ages and different catches, possibly different wild populations too. I'm not an expert at genetics, but perhaps this baby could have some of the genetic advantages of an F1 hybrid?

[bekateen]

I am fairly sure that they are of different ages and different catches, possibly different wild populations too. I'm not an expert at genetics, but perhaps this baby could have some of the genetic advantages of an F1 hybrid?

Hi Paul, I'm not an expert either, but if they are from different populations of the same species, and the adults "generally" look the same but simply differ slightly in size, I doubt this would qualify as a hybridization effect. My suspicion is that the young will fade in color intensity as they age. I know that's what happens to my bronze corys: they have beautiful strong orange coloration on their fins (esp. the dorsal fin) as juvies, then the fins turn a dull brownish color as the juvies mature.

Perhaps someone else whose bred melini can share their experience with color maturation?

Cheers, Eric

[PseudaSmart]

I was reading the thread and realized I missed one detail. I knew they spawned. While collecting the fry some always get lost in the tank. This is the first one to survive. That is why I was surprised.

Jim

[Corycory]

Congratulations!!
I wish mine got survivors. I've never had any baby corys pop up out of nowhere. I barely get eggs surviving 10minutes in the tanks, had to sit today stuck to the tank and herd the fish away so I could grab some eggs and then I squished most by accident in the end.