Interested in breeding... seriously this time.

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

What? Baby Julii’s!?!?

I would definitely like breeding those little cuties.

The issue is... I don’t want to mess up my pretty 20g long. Does breeding usually do so?

I would actually like to breed the neons and Rasbora’s because they are super popular. The blood fins are still settling in and are super skittish, so I wouldn’t want to put any stress on them.

This is a fun project, wishing you all the best with your breeding plans!

Since it seems as though your cories are still a bit too young to spawn, you can use this time to make sure you have everything you need to raise the eggs and wrigglers when they do arrive. A spare airpump and perhaps heater for the 5g (the eggs need a lot of flow) alder cones and/or methelyne blue, to reduce fungus on the eggs, even simple small things like a turkey baster to move eggs around and clean the substrate once the wrigglers are being fed. If you plan it out now, you won't be caught out and panicking the way I was when mine spawned last October! Also what food(s) would you be planning to feed them? I went with microworms, which meant learning how to culture live food for the first time for me

Lots of little things, but you can spread the cost by planning now, and not suddenly have to panic and order First Bites, or start a live food culture, hoping they arrive in time for the wrigglers that have hatched out before you were ready! Can read articles about breeding cories and raising eggs/fry, and how to improve your chances.

You could try sexing your neons and seeing whether you have a M/F pair now, or would need to get more to breed them, or you could see if you want to try breeding some of your other fish while your cories are growing up and aren't ready to breed just yet! Colin's post seems like a good place to start, and the articles on @AbbeysDad 's blog are great.

Do you need to know about the birds and the bees?
If not, get a girlfriend, get drunk and go for it
Timewise, it only takes a minute

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All Corydoras breed the same. They lay eggs on hard flat surfaces, usually glass or broad leaf plant leaves. If you look down on them from above, the males are slimmer than females. The females bulge out around the belly area.

You can breed them in pairs or groups. Feed them well 3-5 times a day for a few weeks and do big daily water changes. The fish will breed when they want to. Sudden changes in temperature or barometric pressure will sometimes help get them breeding.

You can breed them in any size tank from 2 foot long or bigger. Temperature and pH/ GH don't make much difference to captive bred Cories. Ideally keep them in soft slightly acid water and leave them to breed, but they will breed in water with a GH around 150-200ppm and pH above 7.0.

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Harlequin rasboras lay eggs on the underside of plant leaves. A male and female will pr off and display together. They find a nice plant leaf (Amazon sword or Anubias are commonly used) and lay a few eggs on it. They swim around for a bit longer before laying more eggs on the leaf. After a few hours they stop laying eggs and swim back to the main school.

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Glass bloodfins and neon tetras are egg scatterers. They are best bred in single prs in an 18-24 inch long tank. The pr swim into fine leaf plants like Java Moss and scatter eggs in that. They continue doing this until the female has expelled all her eggs, then they swim off.

Virtually all tetras breed in very soft acid water (pH below 7.0 and GH below 50ppm (GH 0ppm is ideal for most South American tetras and is required for cardinal tetras).

Tetra eggs are light sensitive and need to be kept in the dark while they are developing.

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Get another bristlenose (opposite sex to what you currently have) and keep them together. Feed them well and have a few pieces of pvc pipe in the tank. They breed inside the pipe and the male guards and fans the eggs. The female swims off and gets down and dirty with other males. Bristlenose catfish don't need anything special to breed, just feed them well and do water changes and gravel cleans.

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General things to do before breeding any fish.

If you separate males and females for 4-5 days before breeding it encourages them to spawn when put together. It also allows the fish to build up gametes (eggs & sperm) so they have more to release when breeding.

Feed fish on a variety of live, frozen and dry foods 3-5 times a day for at least 2 weeks before breeding the fish. This allows them to build up fat reserves and they produce healthier gametes. Mozzie larvae is one of the best foods to get fish breeding.

Do big daily water changes when feeding more often. The big daily water changes also simulate rainfall and this is when most freshwater fishes breed. If you use slightly cooler or warmer water for the water changes, it can stimulate the fish and get them going.

Most fish breed first thing in the morning and a bit of morning sunlight shining on the tank can get them going. However, you don't need morning sun for most captive bred fishes.

When a species of fish breeds, it releases hormones into the water and this can get other species going.

Remove all shrimp and snails from breeding tanks because they eat the eggs.

Have an air operated sponge filter in the breeding/ rearing tank so it doesn't suck the baby fish up. Have a heater (if required) and a thin layer of dark gravel on the bottom.

You can breed most fish in a plastic storage container. After they breed you remove the adults and reduce the water level to 4-6 inches. The shallower water means the fry are closer to the food and don't expend as much energy looking for food. Have fry food ready before you breed the fish. See following link for info on fry foods.

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

 

[CassCats]

Cories do just fine being separated to spawn in a different tank? As it is often recommended by places such as planet catfish, scotcat, and seriouslyfish.
And not all species place their eggs in easy to find places, or not have the eggs eaten without notice in the display tank as they will eat their eggs if given the chance. Trilineatus fall into the category of being stealthy where they hide their eggs.

So having to locate and move a couple adult fish is a lot easier than it is to search and rescue 50+ eggs scattered in separate places in a giant bush of plants.

If you want the most positive outcome, it is best to spawn them in a controlled environment.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Cories do just fine being separated to spawn in a different tank? As it is often recommended by places such as planet catfish, scotcat, and seriouslyfish.
And not all species place their eggs in easy to find places, or not have the eggs eaten without notice in the display tank as they will eat their eggs if given the chance. Trilineatus fall into the category of being stealthy where they hide their eggs.

So having to locate and move a couple adult fish is a lot easier than it is to search and rescue 50+ eggs scattered in separate places in a giant bush of plants.

If you want the most positive outcome, it is best to spawn them in a controlled environment.

I think there was just some confusion about moving the whole school (nine total) to the five gallon, vs a par or trio, that's all

 

[PheonixKingZ]

If you can get photos of the Corydoras from above (looking down on the fish), it will be easier to sex them.

I will try to get some photos from above today. (The 29g is so tall, so this may prove difficult)

Put all the Corydoras julii/ trilineatus in the same tank and let them do their thing when they are ready.

So... I should move them all to the 20g long? Or should I use the container for breeding?

So what I’ve gathered from you guys is this: Move them all to one tank, wait till they breed. And then remove the eggs, not the adults, and which case the eggs should be fine in the 5g? (Assuming I have proper filtration and heating)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I think there was just some confusion about moving the whole school (nine total) to the five gallon, vs a par or trio, that's all

Oh, definitely wouldn’t want to move all of them to the 5g.

I think if I added all of them together in either the tub or the 20g, they would have a better chance of breeding?

Here again, I don’t have a clue on how many males/females there are.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

This is a fun project, wishing you all the best with your breeding plans!

Since it seems as though your cories are still a bit too young to spawn, you can use this time to make sure you have everything you need to raise the eggs and wrigglers when they do arrive. A spare airpump and perhaps heater for the 5g (the eggs need a lot of flow) alder cones and/or methelyne blue, to reduce fungus on the eggs, even simple small things like a turkey baster to move eggs around and clean the substrate once the wrigglers are being fed. If you plan it out now, you won't be caught out and panicking the way I was when mine spawned last October! Also what food(s) would you be planning to feed them? I went with microworms, which meant learning how to culture live food for the first time for me

Lots of little things, but you can spread the cost by planning now, and not suddenly have to panic and order First Bites, or start a live food culture, hoping they arrive in time for the wrigglers that have hatched out before you were ready! Can read articles about breeding cories and raising eggs/fry, and how to improve your chances.

You could try sexing your neons and seeing whether you have a M/F pair now, or would need to get more to breed them, or you could see if you want to try breeding some of your other fish while your cories are growing up and aren't ready to breed just yet! Colin's post seems like a good place to start, and the articles on @AbbeysDad 's blog are great.

As far as the neons go... they are both HUGE, but one of bigger than the other. I will try to get photos today.

The super big one leads me to believe it’s a female, while the other one is big, but not near as, if that makes sense.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok, here are the best pictures I could get of the neons:

You can see the bulk of the (supposed) female, on the right:

(#2 is female on left and #3 is female one right)

(male on top, female in bottom)

Of course all of those are just guesses.

 

[Guyb93]

I stumbled across breeding fish on accident never planned it but nature is nature , personally I’d pick fish that would do most of the parenting for you , live bearing or cichlids just to avoid the multiple tanks and stuff , from selling my fry iv found it’s financially beneficial to sell them your self rather than bulk selling to a LFs unless you plan on having more fry than you can physically sell but if your in no rush I’d list local adds advertising them . I know fish prices vary around the world but tetra are cheap as chips here in uk 0.5-£1 each but as where even really easy fish to breed like my electric blue acara are £10-£15 each , something to think about when you choose what fish to breed as if it’s business and done for finance

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I stumbled across breeding fish on accident never planned it but nature is nature , personally I’d pick fish that would do most of the parenting for you , live bearing or cichlids just to avoid the multiple tanks and stuff , from selling my fry iv found it’s financially beneficial to sell them your self rather than bulk selling to a LFs unless you plan on having more fry than you can physically sell but if your in no rush I’d list local adds advertising them . I know fish prices vary around the world but tetra are cheap as chips here in uk 0.5-£1 each but as where even really easy fish to breed like my electric blue acara are £10-£15 each , something to think about when you choose what fish to breed as if it’s business and done for finance

Here neons/Rasbora’s are usually around $4 a fish.

Thats why I want to breed the corys, because they usually run for $7 a fish. Assuming I sell for $4 a fish (if I’m selling to my LFS), I could stand to make some extra money.

 

[Colin_T]

So... I should move them all to the 20g long? Or should I use the container for breeding?

So what I’ve gathered from you guys is this: Move them all to one tank, wait till they breed. And then remove the eggs, not the adults, and which case the eggs should be fine in the 5g? (Assuming I have proper filtration and heating)

Yes, move all the Corydoras into the 20 gallon long and let them do their thing in that tank. Then move any eggs into a smaller container (5 gallon or whatever you have available).

To sex neon tetras, the male has a straight blue line. The female has a kink about half way along the blue line.
There is a male and a female in the picture with the 2 neon tetras.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Ok, here are the best pictures I could get of the neons:

You can see the bulk of the (supposed) female, on the right:
View attachment 131082

View attachment 131083View attachment 131084
(#2 is female on left and #3 is female one right)

View attachment 131085
(male on top, female in bottom)

Of course all of those are just guesses.

I believe you sexed the neons properly.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Yes, move all the Corydoras into the 20 gallon long and let them do their thing in that tank. Then move any eggs into a smaller container (5 gallon or whatever you have available).

To sex neon tetras, the male has a straight blue line. The female has a kink about half way along the blue line.
There is a male and a female in the picture with the 2 neon tetras.

Yep, that’s how I do it with my cories.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yes, move all the Corydoras into the 20 gallon long and let them do their thing in that tank. Then move any eggs into a smaller container (5 gallon or whatever you have available).

To sex neon tetras, the male has a straight blue line. The female has a kink about half way along the blue line.
There is a male and a female in the picture with the 2 neon tetras.

Ohhh ok! I was never able to understand how the line vs curved line worked, but now I see clearly.

That’s good news that I have a female and male, and both look mature.

Hopefully I’ll be able to breed them soon as well.

———-

I will move the Corys over to the 20g long today and hope for the best.

On the shopping list:

• Heater (for 5g)
• Sponge filter
• Methelyne blue
• First Bites

Anything else I’m missing?

 

[Guyb93]

Here neons/Rasbora’s are usually around $4 a fish.

Thats why I want to breed the corys, because they usually run for $7 a fish. Assuming I sell for $4 a fish (if I’m selling to my LFS), I could stand to make some extra money.

Depending on the cory they normally sell for £2ish by me but in fairness most fish shops will sell them 6for £10 stuff like tht it annoys me when shops sell shoaling fish for price per fish they should give you an incentive to buy the correct amount but it seems like we get fish fairly cheap here in the uk from what Iv heard

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Any suggestions on a decent heater for the 5g? Preferably something adjustable, but not to expensive...