# AGE TO BREED CORIES, etc



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

last summer/fall I bought 3 hybrid juvenile ories. they are supposedly bronze but have some pink patches on them. Anyway, one is much bigger than the rest and looks pregnant- the tummy is quite swollen and she/it is about 1 1/2 times larger than the other 2 cories. I can't decide if it is bigger because it is the dominant fish and thus has grown bigger or if it is a female that is egg laden.
The 3 pepper cories I have are about the same size as each other. in comparison and are the same ages as the bronzes.
So how do I know if it is really a pregnant female and are they old enough to breed anyway? All of them swim in formation about the tank and especially at night.
Are they more active at night?


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Mousey,
The hybrid sounds like a cross between a bronze and an albino aneus. The larger corie definetely sounds like a female, and it's probably full of eggs. Most cories are mature after 1 year. Some like the Robustus, require about 3 years to mature.

If I were you, I'd prepare for some eggs. I believe your fish are ready to spawn!

Rich


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I guess I will have to keep my eyes open then!!
Oh what image was deleted from your letter?


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

mousey said:


> last summer/fall I bought Anyway, one is much bigger than the rest and looks pregnant- the tummy is quite swollen and she/it is about 1 1/2 times larger than the other 2 cories. I can't decide if it is bigger because it is the dominant fish and thus has grown bigger or if it is a female that is egg laden.


ms: Please read *Corydoras aeneus*.

If they were indeed juvies when you purchased them last summer/fall, IMHO, no way are they of adult breeding maturity and they will probably not attain this maturity for another year or so.

If the female is indeed bloated but exhibiting no external anomalies you might consider dosing the tank with *PimaFix* as well as adding aquarium salt at a concentration of 1 Tablespoon per 20 Gallons of tank water.

TR

BTW: Have you been able to confirm that the growth of Val's is partially relevant to the location of currents in a tank?


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Mousey,
Check out the link that Jones provided. It shows several pics of females in breeding condition. I would remove any other fish from the tank, and do a 50% water change with cooler water. A drop of 8 degrees would be perfect. They should spawn within 24 hours. 
Even if the fish were juvies when you bought them, they had to be 2-3 months old. (1") I'm sure that they're old enough to breed. I wouldn't medicate any fish, unless it was definetely sick...and I would never use salt with cories.
I'm sure some article somewhere will say it's OK. But I'm offering advice from 40 years of fishkeeping...and breeding over 150 different types of cories. -Prepare for eggs-


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Fn: I am not being argumentative here but just trying to be informative and attempting to elicit your responses.



Fishnut2 said:


> Even if the fish were juvies when you bought them, they had to be 2-3 months old. (1") I'm sure that they're old enough to breed.


Fn: Are you *sure*?

My sterbai were at least two years old (so long ago I could off some here as I am old) before I observed the swirling associated with mating and subsequently the classic TEE associated with spawning.

Also my Orange Laser Cory's are well over a year old and I have not observed the swirling much less the TEE formation.

(Please note that these fish are in water with pristine conditions and are very well fed.)




Fishnut2 said:


> I wouldn't medicate any fish ...


Fn: PimaFix and salt (at the concentration which I indicated), IMHO, are not medications but are curatives.




Fishnut2 said:


> ...and I would never use salt with cories.


Fn: Please refer to this *Article.*

Although the topic of this Article is "Ich Fighting" good information is set forth therein relevant to the use of salt as a curative.




Fishnut2 said:


> ... and do a 50% water change with cooler water. A drop of 8 degrees would be perfect.


Fn: I did not "bring this up" with ms as I was concerned with respect to stress for her Cory if it is indeed ill.




Fishnut2 said:


> But I'm offering advice from 40 years of fishkeeping...and breeding over 150 different types of cories.


Fn: This is "exactically" the reason why I would appreciate your input with respect to my preceding assertions.

My education based upon your experience would be first class as this "hard earned experience" is "something else".

TR


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Jones,
The sterbai DO take a lot longer to mature. So do Robustus, Barbatus, Pulcher, and even Adolfoi. But Mousey has Aeneus. They mature a lot sooner. That's one of the reasons that the Florida Fish Farms raise them. Early maturity/hardy/good seller/lots of eggs. They want to turn over large quantities of fish. 
The lazers are a color morph of aeneus. A LOT of people will argue that fact. But my response is...look at the dorsal fin. I've seen that one go back and forth for months in other forums. So I'll leave that one alone, and simply state: That is my opinion.
Cories don't like salt...as a medication or as a curative. Small amounts will stress them out, and large amounts will kill them. Cories come from freshwater rivers and tributaries. I still don't understand why you want to use a curative. The fish aren't sick. The cold water w/c I mentioned is a trigger for spawning. Not any type of treatment.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

although i have only bred a few species of corydoras; i have found that cleaning the sides and bottom of the bare tank and then doing a 40% or so water change with the fresh water 8-10 degrees cooler has triggered spawning every time.... it seemed like it took forever for my barbatus to finally spawn.. i bought them at just over an inch; put them in a tank and paid no attention until about a year later.... so now i can get them to spawn all the time; i just have to figure out how to get more of the fry to survive... there seems to be a fairly high mortality rate..


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Fn: I very much appreciate the time you spent in preparing your post.

Another question though!

In the many years that I have kept Sterbai I have only lost one and to date have lost no Orange Lasers.

I would very much like to add Panda's to my main tank but I keep the water temperature in my main tank at 78F.

What is your take on this "thinking"?

TR


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Jonesy, did you get my PM to you re the vals?
Guys,
Well the cory is quite thin today so I do not know if it/she spawned or if it had a good poop! 
I am currently using pima in the tank as I had an old guppy die suddenly and it had bleeding into the abdomen. Another guppy that is only 1 year old is breathing hard and is very fat( but not pregnant) and 1 female betta can't get off the bottom of the tank- she looks bloated. I am having to monitor that tank very well and they are all fasting for the next few days.
I can't figure out if I have something going on or if they have eaten something that renders them weighted down or if they have been eating the kuhlis food I put in at night. The egg layers in the tank seem to be in fine health as by and large I don't find that they spend any time picking around the bottom of the tank( bettas are huge scroungers)!
the conversation about cories is quite interesting. I do not plan on breeding them deliberately at this time. I am currently overrun with guppy and platy fry and my other Q tank is housing 4 rainbow fish for a few weeks until I get them thru q and fed up. They are quite thin from their recent travels.
So much for downsizing!!


----------



## doggydad38 (Jan 18, 2005)

Bronze and Peppered Cories have been bred for so long in captivity that they really don't need spawning triggers to get them to go. I've had both of these species spawn for me as young as 9 months of age. Good luck!
Tony


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

mousey said:


> Jonesy, did you get my PM to you re the vals?


ms: Yes I did.

Would you mind starting a thread with the text of your pm as the first post in order that everyone can benefit from your experience.

TR


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Jones,
I keep my pandas on the bottom row, with no heaters. Tank temp is about 72. I keep colonies of 10 -12 fish in a 20H. Yesterday, all 4 colonies spawned. Pandas are the only corie I use a spawning mop with. I'm sure other cories would use it, but the pandas get it because of overly aggressive males. I seen a male chase a female with eggs in her pouch, for over 5 minutes (I had a stopwatch). He wouldn't give her a chance to release the eggs. The mop gives her a place to release the eggs, and rest between clutches. It also simplifies egg removal and hatching.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Fn:

In other words I believe you said that I should not attempt keeping Panda's in my main tank?

If not what Cory species should I try which is very "stunning" (please note that I have reviewed every Cory page on PC but I may have "missed a photograph"; that Chris (the gal I run around with from SE NM) does not enjoy albinos; and that I am already keeping Sterbai and Orange Lasers.

Do you have photographs of your "setup" and of your Cory's? as I would very much enjoy viewing them.

TR


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

The pandas should be fine in the main tank. Some other cories that might fall under the stunning category are: Robustus/Adolfoi/Similis/Pulcher and Napoensis. 2 non-corie suggestions are Scleromystax Barbatus (cold water) and Brochis Splendens. As with many things, beauty in the eye of the beholder. Some of the fish I like, others might consider ugly. It all comes down to what you like.

My site is at www.fishnut2.com


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

nice pics!


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Fishnut2 said:


> The pandas should be fine in the main tank.


Fn: Do you have like seven stunning young juvies which could send to me?

Fn: A question and several comments.

What is the large pool with what appears to be 40mil HDPE lining "about"?

Your setup and fishies are way beyond first class!

We all now know that you are into "independent wealth" via the sales of your very stunning Zebra Pleco's! (Folks: Fn is probably getting like $400 for a young adult male, will not sell his select females, and is probably getting like $1000 for a young adult male cull and young adult female cull pair! {but his culls are much nicer than most Zebra's on the market})

TR


----------



## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Jones,
I don't ship. I don't have zebra plecos anymore. That pic of a large pool is probably at Shedd Aquarium.


----------

