When To Add Babies To Main Tank

[dpdeb]

I had a peppered cory for the longest time and decided to add two more. They both turned out to be male and the one I had I found was the female. She started laying eggs everywhere. So one day I scraped two off the glass and put a floating fish breeder in the tank and dropped the eggs in it. The next day both eggs hatched. I didn't write down when I started but they are just a little over a half inch now. My other tank inhabitants are two (growing fast) SAEs, 6 white cloud minnows, 2 zebra danios, one lonely cardinal tetra, 3 kuhli loaches, 3 Amano shrimp and of course the 3 peppered corys. Should I wait till the babies are at least one inch before adding them?

Thanks.

 

[mattlee]

ite a tricky one really, there is nothing in the tank that will eat the small corys but will they get enough food with the other corys and loaches searching the bottom....? i would keep them where they are for now do regular water changes maybe 20% every 2 days and they should grow up a bit quicker, basically the more fresh water they get the more chance they have of growing bigger sooner although corys arent fast growers anyway! i would guess from their size they must be about 1-2 months old, its hard to tell as they all grow at different rates. i would probably leave it another month or so before putting them in as they are still small and need regular food and fresh water
dont get me wrong you could put them in now but i feel they wont get the required amount of food to grow with the rest of the fish that are in there. im sure they will be fine but personally i would wait a little longer as you dont want to ruin all your hard work raising them

 

[Inchworm]

Hi dpdeb

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with mattlee on this.

 

[dpdeb]

Thanks. Since they're in a small breeder in the tank, water changes aren't a big deal, it's right in front of the HOB filter and it flows right through. So I'll wait until March to put them in.

 

[mattlee]

Thanks. Since they're in a small breeder in the tank, water changes aren't a big deal, it's right in front of the HOB filter and it flows right through. So I'll wait until March to put them in.

i would still do slightly more water changes than normal just to keep the water fresh and full of the good things they will use to grow. even though the water is coming straight at them from the filter it will lose its goodness in time. also its important to try and keep the breeder trap they are in very clean to help prevent bacterial infection especially on the barbels as there is no substrate provided for them. maybe get another breeder trap and swap the fish over so you can clean the used one and rehome them in the clean one.
i would really hate your fish you have raised to suffer from anything and its best to be a little over the top with water changes and cleanleness to get your reward
good luck with them and i hope they grow to be adults and thrive in your tank with their parents

 

[Harlequins]

I agree with matt,even though you have the hob filter flowing through,its not the same has doing a w/c and putting fresh water in the tank