breeding corys....can anyone help?

[pcam86]

i have brine shrimp eggs and i can also powder some flake food.

I think this batch of eggs will probably fungus as i put them in a breeding net in that tank as the adults were starting to eat them i think plus my filter is too strong for them to take.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi pcam86

If any of the eggs don't get fungus, and weren't damaged by your moving them, you will need something a little smaller than powdered flake to feed them at the beginning. The liquid fry food is good and it won't be long before they can eat bbs.

Even if they don't make it, all is not lost. If you continue conditioning your corys there is a good chance that they will spawn again soon. Now that you have had a first hand experience you will be better prepared by then.

If you plan on raising them, I would like to suggest that you look into starting a microworm culture. It's a lot easier and less expensive than bbs and will get them off to a good start.

Please let me know how things work out with the eggs.

 

[pcam86]

ok i only just managed to add some methylene blue to the tank and its been a day and a half since they were laid. i just added melafix this morning and yesterday which i realised was bad as i've mixed meds.

How do i start a microworm culture?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi pcam86

I don't understand why you added the MelaFix. Do you have sick fish in the tank?

 

[pcam86]

well to be honest i added it being as it helps rotting fins and fungus on fish so i assumed it would help slightly with fungus on eggs as i had no other med to add.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi pcam86

Oh, now I see. Actually, finrot is a bacterial infection that is often confused with a true fungus. MelaFix is a mild anti-bacterial agent. Many people get confused with that, so you are not the only one.

I don't know what to suggest you do at this point except some small water changes to dilute it, and then wait and see. It will only be a few days until you will know if they are going to hatch.

Microworms are very tiny nematodes that many kinds of very young fry can eat. It lives on cooked oatmeal and once you buy a starter culture you can keep it going for a long time just by dividing and restarting it every week or two.

Here's a link to a website where I bought mine. It has a lot of good information on it too:

http/www.livefoodcultures.com/microworms.html

 

[pcam86]

I'm not sure if my eggs have fungused or are even fertile right now, they are slightly white but have gradually changed colour over the last 2 days. How do i tell if the eggs are ok?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi pcam86

It sounds like your eggs are still viable. If they had fungus, you would clearly see it.

Below is a picture of some C. panda eggs. The oldest are on the left and the newest are on the right. The older ones are just about ready to hatch and you can see that some have fungused. The newer ones are still soft looking and more clear.

Rememberer that these are eggs from panda corys not peppered corys. Their actual color before hatching is darker than your fish's eggs will be.

You will also see in the picture where I have the airstone to get maximum water flow circulating over the eggs. You can't see the actual airstone, but just follow the airline down and that's where it is.

Good luck! They have made it this far and it won't be much longer.

 

[pcam86]

ok i took the old eggs out because none of them hatched.

They've started laying eggs over the glass and plants again right now so i'm gonna try leaving them where they are and see how that goes instead.

Am i best to just rely on daily water changes OR should i add methylene blue? if so how much?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi pcam86

Once your fish have finished spawning and you take them out of the tank, I would suggest that you give the tank a good cleaning and water change to get rid of any MelaFix that may still be in there. Take everything out except one or more airstones for water circulation. If they have laid their eggs near the top of the glass, this job can be a little tricky, but you can do it.

Water circulation is the most important factor in keeping the eggs healthy, but you could add some methy blue at the rate of 1 drop per gallon of water. It might help, but if the water circulation is not excellent, it won't do much to help either.

Good luck with this batch!

 

[pcam86]

so would adding an airstone help prevent them fungusing?

 

[Inchworm]

Yes, it's the very best thing to do and it's hard to hatch cory eggs without one.

Then, once they have been hatched for a few days, you can take the airstone off and put on a sponge filter. This will gradually collect beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms that your fry will nibble on from time to time, and will not suck them in like other filters do.