I've got bronze cory cats that breed fairly regularly, but I can't get the eggs off. Now what?

Question

I believe that they are Corydoras aeneus, but I'm not totally sure. I've got 4 in a 56 gallon community tank with gouramis and tetras, and they have been pretty prolific about spawning. My problem though is that they place their eggs on the glass of the tank, and when I have tried to scrape them off to place them in a smaller tank, I have been breaking the eggs. My pH levels are actually pretty high (8.2-8.4) for these guys, and so I'm wondering as well if the pH could be affecting the integrity of the egg. Unfortunately, I cannot lower the pH unless I opt for a reverse osmosis system, because I have well water. Bottled water gets to be too expensive when I do weekly water changes!! So how do I get the eggs off? And better yet, once I do, what's the best way to hatch the eggs?

Answer 1

I would suggest that you buy a few pieces of glass from a local glass shop and stand them up inside the aquarium against the side or side they usually breed on. They shouldn't even know the difference and then you can easily remove them without the risk of damage. The pH shouldn't be the cause of a problem, the eggs are just rather fragile. Tough for fish eggs maybe, but still delicate.

Hatch the eggs in a small tank filled from the original tank. Include an air stone near the eggs to keep the water flowing across them. A sponge filter for the tank would be a good idea for the filtration. Try not to expose the eggs to air when you move them. Place a plastic container in the tank, put the glass in it and then move the whole thing to the hatching tank and place it under water there.

Fungus can be a problem, so treating with a fungus inhibitor like methylene blue isn't a bad idea. Try also to keep the tank as clean as possible to avoid a fungus out break.

Here's a link to a page that has some pretty good info on breeding corys:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Naus_Breeding_Corydoras.html

Hope that helps and feel free to email me if you need any clarification or other questions.

MM

Answer 2

Fistly, congrats on having them successfully spawn. Ok, now to answer your question, the eggs are very soft when first laid, but will begin to harden over time. If possible, try to keep other fish away from the eggs, by placing a net or similar over them. Once they have had half an hour or more to harden then I find they are quite easy to lift off using a very fine scalpel blade. You can also try just gently stroking them until they adhere to the object as they are quite sticky. If you are still worried about breaking them, then I would advise buying one of those cheap net breeders. With a little modfication this can be held in place using some suction cups protecting the eggs from all other fish.

The egg's will hatch after around four or five days and the fry can survive on the yolk sac for another four or five days. After this you can feed with infusuria, or if you can get it then use Liquifry no 1 to start then no 3 as they get a little older.

Answer 3

My cory's have only spawned twice but I was able to move the eggs by scraping them off the glass with a exacto knife (don't do this if the tank isn't glass) Almost all of them hatched. I drop them into a breeder net suspended from the side of the tank, one of those green ones from Wal-mart. I stuff it with hornwort and java moss plants for hiding and they eat the micro stuff off them.

Driftwood will lower your ph a lot - just get the good pre-soaked ready to sink kind.

FWIW my ph is 7.8 and the eggs hatched - hopefully yours will too!

Answer 4

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