Corys

[richriley]

Has anyone got any idea on how I would breed my Cory catfish I have 5 in my tank how would can I tell if there make and female and is there a special process to go through?

 

[Pamiam]

Breeding Corys

you can find many great videos on youtube for breeding, sexing and fry care of corys...but here is my 2 cents worth I hope it helps.

I normally have 20-30 eggs hatch...but my last batch is about 200+ fry...photos enclosed of my peppered cory eggs that were hatched March 9th...the first photo is eggs with female top and male bottom, not the best photo but you can see size difference, other 2 photos are just fry at 2 weeks and 3 weeks of age

First sexing corys

Females are larger, rounded body and their ventral fin is more rounded, fan shaped. The male is smaller, skinnier body and their ventral fin is long, pointed almost making a perfect 90 degree angle.

Breeding Corys

MAKE THEM HAPPY

This is how I get cory eggs

It is best to have a ratio of 1-2 males to 3-4 females at minimum and a species only tank for breeding as they are egg layers and you will want to remove parents once eggs are laid as they will eat their own eggs.

To start spawning:

1. Over feed them, this is to include a variety of frozen foods such as blood worms and brine shrimp. I have never tried this with just flake foods. In the wild, if there was an abundance of good quality food, the corydoras catfish would be thinking that whilst there is now loads of great food, it is the perfect time to bring more corydoras' into the world! So make sure you feed plenty while you want them to breed.

2. Do 20% water change a few times a week with a bit cooler water than what the tank is...if you keep your tank at 77, do a water change with 75 or 74 degrees. This will start the "interested activity", meaning females will get fatter (filling up with eggs) and males start swimming around females.

If they are already showing increased "interest activity", then do a 40% water change with a bit cooler water.

3. I keep the lights low or off, my corys do not like bright lights.

Once you have eggs like I said, remove parents out of tank...it is very difficult to remove eggs to a new tank...they are very sticky and fragile...the first time I tried to remove eggs...I broke them all.

Egg care:
Depending on your species, eggs like a temp of around 80 degrees to hatch. My bronze cory eggs hatched at 3 days and my peppered corys hatched at 5 days. These are the only 2 species I have experience with.

If you see solid white eggs, those are dead and you will want to remove them immediately as they will promote fungus growth and kill the good eggs.
Fertile eggs will look beige/ light brown in color, and will develop a darker spot in the middle as hatching becomes near.

You will want a small water current to also prevent fungus growth on the good eggs...I used an air stone for water flow or for my larger group of eggs I used a normal filter with a sponge covering the intake stem.

Fry Care:

I do not go to extremes in feeding my fry, I use flake food that I have put into a baggie and smashed with a rolling pin to make the flakes powdered. In the summer months I will hatch brine shrimp and feed those to the fry.

Much to my surprise, my last batch of fry started eating frozen blood worms at 2 weeks of age. I took a sharp knife and scraped off blood worms from the frozen pack...making sure the scrapings were bite size...meaning paper thin. I also started feeding them frozen tubaflex worms and brine shrimp prepared the way I mentioned above.


Good luck!

 

[richriley]

That's great thanks do they just lay eggs on plants or they do it anywhere also will the other fish eat the eggs?

 

[BBradbury]

Corydoras

Has anyone got any idea on how I would breed my Cory catfish I have 5 in my tank how would can I tell if there make and female and is there a special process to go through?

Hello rich...

If you have one that's considerably smaller than the rest, that's likely the male. Otherwise, colors are very similar. You'll need to maintain pure water conditions for sure, through large and frequent water changes. I add a bit of standard aquarium salt to the water too. About a teaspoon or a bit more for every 5 gallons of new water. Just a preference, though. Supposedly, you need a neutral pH (7), but I have Cory eggs all the time in my tanks and the pH is around 7.6. My problem is, I have many other fish in the tank besides my Corys and the eggs are eaten faster than they can be fertilized. No special processes that I know.

Good luck.

B

 

[Pamiam]

Cory cats lays eggs where ever, plants, glass, even on my intake stem of the filter...they are not very bright.

Just about any fish will eat the eggs or new fry if you leave them in your community tank because that is what fish do in nature.

Most of the time I let my fish eat the eggs because it is good nutrition for them.

 

[richriley]

Okay Thankyou

 

[corylover]

you can with practice remove the eggs with a small razor blade. that is what I have to do with my albino, leopard, and emerald cories. and you have to do it about a min after them laying just enough for it to get a little hard but still stick enough for them to not float away.



I put the eggs in this separation container instead of a breeder pin since they have slots that the eggs can get out of. I do 50% water changes with the main tanks water and I keep an air stone in it for current flow and aeration.

 

[meliboouk]

Hi I was wondering at what age or size do you let you albino corys go in with adult fish( safely with no chance of getting eaten)


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[corylover]

I do it in 3 stages. after hatching they go in a separate container. when they are big enough to see there fin structure about 2-3times bigger than when they hatched they go into a 10g. once they get 2-3times bigger than that then they go in the 40g. I have pics on my profile if you need a visual.

 

[SNorlin]

Questions for everyone.....can you use something other than methylene blue when trying to keep fungus off the eggs?


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[SNorlin]

Like Jungle Fungus Clear tabs?


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[Pamiam]

I have never used any medications for fungus growth. Corys are sensitive to most meds. If you keep the water clean and removed dead eggs you should be OK

 

[SNorlin]

Cool. But after a little more research, I think I have four females. lol. I just got another 3 Cory's today. So so cute, they are already all hanging out in a bunch ( adults just adopted them within 15 of placed in tank).


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