Sexing Albino Cories.

[William]

I was just sitting here, staring at the tank that has my Cories it in and wondering if they were male,female, or a mix.


I did some searching, and the only way I found to sex them was if they were the same size when you bought htem, then the females would be the larger ones now. That, and that the females anal fin is smaller than the males.


Well, I have big and small ones in my tank, all about the same size when I got them, and I can barely see their anal fins at the time, but they all look the same.


Is there any other way to sex them?

 

[webmoose]

The:

"The females are larger and plumper behind their pectoral fins, and less colorful. Easier to sex when viewed from above."

seems vague but it really does work. When in doubt serve them a buffet for serveral weeks and the female will be considerably larger than the males.

I swear that the females underflesh looks fluffier and softer.. But I probably make that up in my head.

I also sometime think the females surface for air more than the males but once again I am sure that is probably something in my head not fact...

If you are interested from a "I wonder what I have prospective..." Likely the larger ones are female and the smaller ones are males.

If you are interested in the "I want to breed these" than feed them lots of bloodworm and you will soon see if you have interested breeders.

 

[William]

They eat bloodworms? Great, I have a freezer full.


Give bloodworms every day?


*goes off to feed the fishies bloodworms*

 

[webmoose]

I personally do not feed my cory's blood worm everyday...

My cories would probably eat them until they exploded!

But yes most cories love bloodworms.. It makes them very happy and frisky. You should notice them becoming more active with the bloodworm introduction..

 

[William]

if the dnios let any get tp the bottom, that is...

 

[webmoose]

I found to promote the bloodworms to the bottom (when it is intended for my cories) I use a plastic spoon and hold the bloodworms in the water until it melts a bit.. (doesn't take long) and then let it drop to the bottom. and sometime when I am lazy I just tap the bloodworms until a large portion drops to the bottom.. (still with a spoon... I try my best to never actually touch the bloodworms.... yuck.

 

[tkos]

My albino female is significantly bigger than the male. I didn't really notice it before but recently they have started laying eggs all the time. Took them a year to get into the habbit but pretty much every water change, boom lots of eggs. They never hatch though but dad takes care of them, keeping them clean.

 

[William]

See, theres only one Cory in my tank thats Significantly bigger, but even then its not by much.

and they do get fed like little pigs, Shrimp Pellets and Algae Wafers every other day or two.

 

[tkos]

The only way I got mine to lay eggs was by accident. During a water change I used quite cold water, about 2 gallons worth. This got the little guys all randy.

By significantly I mean maybe 1/4 of an inch. But the body is bigger and plumper.

 

[loganj]

I used to breed corys on a regular basis and the bloodworms are the trick. I use a piece of acrylic uplift tubing for an undergravel filter. Stick it in the water and drop the cube of worms into it. They'll eventually sink to the bottom and you can remove the tube. Another trick, once you have them in good condition, is to lower the water level a couple of inches. Take a plastic watering can with a shower type head on it and fill it with cold water. Pour this in the tank. It simulates the rainy season which is when the corys breed. It also lowers the tank temp a couple of degrees which also helps get them started. You want 2-3 males to one female...sounds kinky I know. Eggs will usually be deposited on the glass in groups of 25-50. They may lay up to 300 in one mating. If you want to raise them, you'll want to get the eggs out and put them in a small tank...other fish will eat them. I always used methylene blue in small doses to combat the fungus that the eggs are prone to get.

 

[Sati]

I try my best to never actually touch the bloodworms.... yuck.

I handle all my bloodworms by hand and even wipe the juice on my pants or shirt if they're going into the laundry anyhow