PlanetCatfish.com

Hi Everyone!!!
I'm looking for some feedback on a few cory myths. Please feel free to post your opinions!
Drop in barometric pressure (storm front): Through my own personal experience...I find that this can be a useful trigger...if accompinied by a water change, right before the storm.
Full moon: I haven't seen anything happening in MY fish room that makes me suspect a full moon has any effect.
Drop in temp: My standard water change for conditioned cories drops the temp from 72 to 62. I've found this to be a usefull trigger for most of the cories.
Live black worms: I've found these to be the absolute BEST conditioning food for cories. Keep them clean or you'll run into problems!
Sand or gravel: I use ALL bare bottom tanks, and do fairly well. If there's a benefit to sand or gravel on the bottom...I'm not aware of it.
Live plants: Live plants just get in the way in my tanks. I like spawning mops. I can see the benefit of java moss for SOME species. But 95% of the time...it just gets in my way.
Aged water: I use straight tap water (no conditioners) and have been sucessful. Obviously; this will depend on your water parameters. I'm using Chicago tap...and YES...it's chlorinated.
Chrlorinated water: In small quantities...I find that chlorine polishes the tank...and actually induces spawning. Once my fish are acclimated to it...I'll do as much as a 50% water change with straight tap water.
Pulling eggs: If there's over 50 eggs...I pull the parents. The paleatus changed my outlook on this...lol. I also use spawning mops for some species. Pull the mop...not the eggs.
Please feel free to comment on any or all of these myths. Add a few more if you'd like as well! Thanks for taking a look!
Rich

Using straight tap water, are you kidding? I live in Chicago too and can't imagine that!

Hi Biomechmonster,
Try it...you'll like it. I've been using Chicago tap for 35 years now. The quality has improved since they put in the deep tunnel project. They used to use huge amounts of chlorine after a heavy rain. Now it is fairly consistent.
Rich

I thought fish couldn't tolerate any amount of chlorine. How much chlorine is in Chicago's tap and how much can fish tolerate? Where are you, I'm on the north side.

It's hard to say how much they can tolerate. I wouldn't use over 50%...and then ONLY once they are used to it. I don't know how to measure the amount of chlorine in the water. It does dissipate quickly though. I'm on the South side...2 blocks from Midway Airport. They pull your water from a different collection krib on Lake Michigan...but it will be very close. If you seen all the fry I have right now...I bet you'll start trying it
Rich

Drops in barometric pressure does trigger spawning activity. I have no experience with full moons however. Drops in temperature and feeding black worms also work wonders. As far as sand or gravel substrates compared to bare bottoms, I find many Corys feel more comfortable with some type of substrate. They appear less skiddish to me. I have used spawining mops with some Corys. I keep killies with some of my corys and they both use the mops. I always remove the eggs not the parents. I hatch the eggs out in plastic shoe boxes and gradually move them to larger quarters.
Mark.

My water supply is pulled straight out of Lake Erie, it's aerated though a limestone bed to bring the pH up and chlorinated, but that's about it. I do direct water changes of up to 90% or more with no problems. Even on sensitive fish like the topic of a previous post, my Pseudohemiodons. No problems. The only time I use stock tanks is to allow some Nitrogen to off-gas in the winter.

I used to live in Minnesota, neighborhood by neighborhood was different, but St. Louis Park municipal water supply used to add Chlorine and also Ammonia to form Chloramines. This water straight from the tap was absolutely deadly. As little as 10% water changes and I was picking corpses (ASK ME HOW I KNOW!)... I used to use stock tanks and Amquel by the gallon!

Sorry for my ignorance but how does chlorine actually polishes the tank or induces spawning behaviour?

Hi Polkadot,
I hope you aren't expecting a scientific answer...lol. Most of my observations are based on experience. The chlorine kills off some of the bacteria in the tank. It's also a cleaner...an additive is most household cleaning products. In the right amounts...it's very useful. It wouldn't be in drinking water(in any quantity), if it was dangerous. It's my understanding that too much chlorine will paralise the fishes gills. But again...I'm not a scientist.
As for inducing spawning, I never really considered why. I just know it works! I originally noticed it with angels...and later on with discus. I've tried it with other fish...with an equal amount of sucess! All I can tell you is: try it...it works.
Rich

Thanks for the info, i'll try it out and see if it works for me!

Ahh! was it you who also says it also cures Ich? on another forum?



G.

Hi Graeme,
It wasn't me. I DO believe it (chlorine) works as a preventitive though!
Rich

Given the life cysle of Ich, frequent water changes (particularly with vacuuming the substrate) would reduce the number of tomites(free-swimming infective stage of the parasite) in the aquarium. Does Chlorine have anything to do with this, I don't know, water changes however do.

to add to the chlorine topic I was reading Jack Wattley's Beginner's guide to breeding discus or something like that and he said in small amounts he also knows of breeders that use chlorinated water in their tanks as in small amounts it doesn't harm the fish. So if discus can handle it I would certainly say cories can handle it as long as it chlorine not chloramine as chrloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia and can't be disappated like chlorine can by means of aeration or circulation. I personallt can't get away with it as I have chloramine in my tap.

Well,
This thread kind of died...lol. I was hoping for some answers on some of the common cory myths...like Corybreed gave. I guess I should've started seperate threads, as the chlorine topic was interesting, and kind of took over. At any rate...Thanks to all that posted!
Rich

OK, Rich,
Short answers then I'll add a couple more of my own.

Yes,
No,
Yes,
Yes I agree,
Yes,
Yes,
See the above conversation,
See the above conversation,
I agree,

And one more IME VERY IMPORTANT parameter. Conductivity. In my opinion changes in conductivity (particularly with fish that spawn with the onset of rains) has a greater effect on reproductive behavior than ANY of the other parameters listed above.

I'll look for the reference, but there was a study several years ago on Hoplosternum littorale (for Aquacultural purposes, it's a delicacy in Venezuala) to determine which environmental triggers had the strongest influence on the behavior of this species. Far and away (for this species anyways), shifts in conductivity elicited the strongest reproductive response.

Another important and often overlooked parameter: Dissolved Oxygen content. This IME/IMHO is an extremely important factor. Although I do not have the references available for studies to demonstrate it.

Thanks Paul,
I'm VERY glad to see your post about conductivity. I just bought a PH/EC/TDS meter Now I need to get some R/O water hooked up, and I should be in good shape! I've been thinking about purchasing a D/O meter as well. But I'll work with what I have for right now.
Great post!
Rich

How expensive are conductivity meters, and where does one look for them?

For those starting out, is there any way to make a reasonable guess? That is, what factors increase or decrease conductivity?

Elspeth Wrote:

How expensive are conductivity meters, and where does one look for them?

For those starting out, is there any way to make a reasonable guess? That is, what factors increase or decrease conductivity?

A good durable Conductivity Meter is the Myron L unit. These retail for about $250 however you can get one on Ebay for $65-$75.

Conductivity is a quick method of measuring the total dissolved salts in the water (or roughly TDS).

Tap water typically ranges from 125ppm (fairly soft) TDS up to 450ppm (Liquid Brick, sometimes even higher!) depending on source. Reverse Osmosis water (either from the grocery of from a household unit) will be roughly 90-95% less TDS of the local source. Please note; Water softeners do not reduce conductivity in that they actually exchange two Sodium or Potassium ions per Calcium ion removed. They soften the water, but only as it relates to Ca, not TDS and not Conductivity.

To generate an significant drop in conductivity, condition your fish for spawning in tap water, or some mix of tap and RO (should your local water be hard). Once conditioned, do a massive water change (70-90%) with RO water. Many species of fish will respond to such a change.

BTW: In areas with high Sodium, the conductivity of RO water is much higher because the Sodium ion is so small, it can physically pass through the RO membrane.

Elspeth,
My meter was $129, but they had cheaper ones for about $69. They measured the same things, but mine is more accurate. The $69 meter should be fine. I wanted better accuracy for my discus. It's made by Hanna Instruments...and has a changeable PH electrode. I got it from a company named Grainger.Here is Hanna's web site: http://www.hannainst.com.
Rich

Fishnut2 wrote:Sand or gravel: I use ALL bare bottom tanks, and do fairly well. If there's a benefit to sand or gravel on the bottom...I'm not aware of it.

A bare bottom is definitely the best if the cleaning is concerned. However, I prefer the bare bottom only in quarantine and/or breeding tanks. In other tanks, I think a thin layer of dark colored substrate is better. With a bare bottom or light colored subtrate, the black parts of the Cories (for example the black patch on the dorsal fin of some species) get pale, as it is also the case when they grow older. Even with breeding tanks, it may be considered to paint the bottom of the tank black, from the outside of course.

I have one question to add to the list of Cory Myths. That they are the only ones that blink...

I've had otos, synos, and plecos blink at me....

As to the chlorine in the water, in small amounts it helps. A problem may occur when the chlorine concentration gets too high...HCl and we have a caustic fish reaction...not pretty!

You can potentially get some toxic off gases with the ammonia/chloride reactions. Most fish cannot tolerate high or even moderate levels of chloride in the water. Again these chloride levels will disappear over time...


Scott