Oak leaves to grow infusoria for albino cory catfish fry

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Linda N

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Hello all - I posted in the cycling section that I am setting up a tank to try and hatch some of the eggs that my albino cory catfish lay from time to time. I am in the cycling process right now - the tank has only been set up a few days and has no inhabitants. I plan to leave it fishless until the catfish lay more eggs, so once it's cycled it will be ready. I plan to remove the eggs from my community tank to the new empty tank. I have been reading up on the egg laying habits, hatching of the eggs and feeding of the fry. I read that dried oak leaves are sometimes used to grow infusoria for the fry. At what stage in the process would the leaves be introduced into the aquarium? Before eggs are added; after eggs but before hatching; after hatching? If I just put a few in there after the tank has cycled will the infusoria just grow and then be available in the tank to any fry? Any input would be appreciated.
 
The following link has everything you need to know about growing infusoria. It takes about 1 month to get infusoria so you need to start cultures well in advance of breeding the fish. You can use any sort of non toxic plant mater. Cut it up or crush it up so it breaks down faster. Add it to water and aerate it. Let it culture for a month or so (like an aquarium does when cycling the filters), then you get the infusoria.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/back-to-basics-when-breeding-fish.448304/#post-3790221
 
I use oak leaves for any fry that appear, including cory. My tank of pygmy cories has a few oak leaves added periodically. Studies have shown that fry of any species will grow faster with dried leaves present. Oak and beech are safe, other hardwood trees may be too. They must be deciduous, so collect the dead fallen leaves off the ground in autumn (or now if these are still around in your area). Discard any with bird droppings. Rinse them off, then place them in the tank. They will become waterlogged and sink in a few days.

Dried leaves are much safer than any plant matter such as spinach, which can rot and pollute the water. Oak leaves never do this. They will tint the water brownish if there are a lot of them, but this too is beneficial; leaves are frequently added to shipping containers of live fish as a bacterial aid.
 
I use oak leaves for any fry that appear, including cory. My tank of pygmy cories has a few oak leaves added periodically. Studies have shown that fry of any species will grow faster with dried leaves present. Oak and beech are safe, other hardwood trees may be too. They must be deciduous, so collect the dead fallen leaves off the ground in autumn (or now if these are still around in your area). Discard any with bird droppings. Rinse them off, then place them in the tank. They will become waterlogged and sink in a few days.

Dried leaves are much safer than any plant matter such as spinach, which can rot and pollute the water. Oak leaves never do this. They will tint the water brownish if there are a lot of them, but this too is beneficial; leaves are frequently added to shipping containers of live fish as a bacterial aid.
I have a couple of columnar English oak trees in my yard and there are still some fallen leaves around - I will grab some for this tank. Thanks for the information.
 

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