[bt53]

hi im new to this forum malarky but i had to ask someone, my corys laid eggs 4 days ago, 512 to be exact (most eggs ive ever seen from my female) i wake this morning to find another cluster of eggs on the tank and they are full on courting again, they usually took about a month between spawns when in the community tank but i moved them into my planted 60l when i thought the female was ready to save the fry. as i said she laid the most eggs ive ever seen from such a small fish and now only 4 days shes at it again

i suppose i want to know if i should seperate her from the male for a while to give her a rest as im sure it couldnt be good for her to lay so many eggs in such a short space of time

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

Just keep an eye on her, if she doesnt want it, she will try and hide from the male probably. Also cories need to be in groups of at least 4-5, so get some more females to give her a rest and make them happier. Not picking on ya mate, just looking out for ya fish, cheers, Jim

 

[bt53]

i do keep them in a shoal of 8 adults in my big tank i take a fat female and a male or 2 out and put them in seperate tank a few weeks before i think they are ready to spawn so i can look after the young, i only took one male this time i suppose as a bit of an experiment,
when the young start to hatch i move the adults back to the big tank,

i suppose this isnt correct lol i just find it easier to save the fry by doing this and the adults dont seem to mind it and the change in temp seems to start the spawning,

 

[n25philly]

4 days? Wow, I remember when my corys used to breed that slowly...

Now it's typically every 2 to maybe three days. Fortunately not in the hundreds of eggs (at least that I can find) I have 4 males and one female. No hiding from the female, but it does sometimes look like a gang rape when she it trying to lay the eggs.

 

[dancelady]

I have some Corys and need some advice

I am raising Mollies, but have 4 of them in there, too. Recently the female laid some eggs, probably many more, but I didn't realize that's what they were. Finally after most were eaten overnight, I did move a plastic plant with some more eggs on the top of it to a separate tank. How long does it take before the eggs hatch? And what type of conditions do you need to facilitate the eggs hatching? I have at least one female, possibly two, and two males. Never realized how often they spawn. If you can get the eggs off the glass tank, where do you put them in the new tank for preserving and hatching? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[n25philly]

I would put them in a separate tank or in some kind of breeding box so the fish can't eat them. Otherwsie it's pretty simple. I would try to have some kind of water movement on them, either from a airstone or a filter as it will help prevent them from molding over. If you have shrimp put one or two in with them as they will eat the mold but leave good eggs alone.

The eggs get hard shortly after being laid and they can be easily scooped up by hand, and then I stick them to the side of the other tank/breeding box like they were when they were laid. Don't worry if they fall to the bottom, if they are good they will still hatch. You can tell if they are good if they get darker by the next day. Hatching time can vary, but 7-10 days is typical. You'll know they hatched when they just kind of disappear.

 

[dancelady]

Forgot to ask, what do you feed the fry?

I have Hikari First Bites for the Molly babies, will that work on the Catfish fry? I also have Bloodfish dried, and the usual Tetra flakes and granules which can be crushed. I have discovered that the Mollies eat like crazy and I don't even need to make a slurry for them, they are OK with the Hikari fry food (very fine in texture). Also have some algae disks which I put in for the grown Cats to eat. These could be crushed, too.

 

[n25philly]

With the catfish fry the key it to feed them something that is high in protein. I give them frozen baby brine shrimp and it's worked really well. I would think that the first bites would work for them as well. Just so you know, you don't have to feed them the first day or two after they hatch as they will feed on what's left of the egg for the first day or two. If they are in their own tank, put in a snail or two if you have them to eat up any leftover food. (wait until they hatch though as most snails could potentially eat the eggs)

 

[dancelady]

Another ? about plants

I have tanks with Mollies and some Bronze Corys. I have some Hornwort and Pothos in there live for them to nibble on. The Mollies like these, as they lie on the Pothos leaves and chew food that rests on there, and chew at the roots, too. I want some more plants, though and wonder if you can give me a list of good ones to buy. Some I can find at a LFS or at Petco, Petsmart, Walmart, etc. that are not too expensive. Many of the Petco plants seem to be very tiny, I think I could raise many of these at home, if I knew which ones are good. Some for the Cats to hover under, and some at the top for baby Mollies. Also my lighting is just fluorescent tubes across the hood, so don't have any bright lights for this. Not using LEDs yet. Thank you for any information you can supply!

 

[n25philly]

Plant suggestions are tough without knowing things about lighting and substrate for your tank. The other issue has to do with your fish as there is kind of a problem there. Mollies are brackish fish and corys are freshwater. So the ideal situation would be to separate them. Mollies can survive in freshwater, but it's less than ideal and greatly increases their odds of getting sick. I know there are some kinds of brackish plants, but I am not familiar with them.

All I can recommend at the moment would be some moss like java moss. I don't know if you can get it at a petco/petsmart, but a non chain lfs should have it and it's not expensive and grows in pretty much any situation. It's also great for the fry as if you put some in with them they will eat the microorganisms that grow on in which will help keeping them properly fed.