Make them stop!
By Jeff Michels
From Splash, newsletter of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society
Aquarticles.com
Make them stop...I e-mailed to Kevin Korotev after a non-stop week of my Corydoras
sterbai spawning. I found the on switch, but where did they hide the stop button?
Kevin thought it might just be a cycle the cats go through, to spawn heavy but not
regularly. But the cats seemed to disagree with that idea just a little.
After this first spawning bonanza the sterbai decided to go it all over again a few
weeks later. The first spawning to place during a rainy week, but the second seemed to be
non-storm related. Finally, a third group orgy ensued, lasting only two days. A feeding of
live black worms triggered this most recent act of procreation. The live food had been
absent from the Cory’s diet for 12 days while I was on vacation. While I was gone the
fish were fed Tetra color bits. It took only one feeding of the worms to produce spawning
the very next day.
All of the large spawning and the occasional smaller ones ended up with eggs being
deposited on the cleaned pane of glass at one end or in the yarn mop. Only a few eggs were
laid in other areas. Spawning took place through out the day. During the hot and heavy
times I could watch the fish lay eggs, it seemed, at any time I chose.
With all the spawns I treated the eggs in the same manner. I would pick the 1.5mm eggs
out of the mop and off the glass with my fingers and place them in a plastic dish with
about 2” of water from the spawning tank. Then an airstone would be placed in the cup
to create mild surface agitation. After about 4 or 5 days the eggs hatched and little
“tadpoles” would be swimming about. When all the eggs in the cup were hatched
out I would move the fry into a 2½ gal tank with about 4” of water and a sponge
filter. The fry were fed fresh baby brine shrimp for several weeks with water changes
twice a week. With each water change I would raise the water level of the tank by about
½”. I’ve found the lowered water level helps the fry get to the surface easier
when they go to breath air. If the water is too deep the babies don’t reach the
surface and the mortality rate is much higher. After the babies are about ¼” and
have distinct spots I move them to a 5 gal tank that is full of water to grow some more.
Any one looking to get started in fish breeding or to branch out from cichlids should
look to breeding Cory. catfish. During the entire process both the adult breeders and the
babies are in untreated Milwaukee tap water. No anti fungal/bacterial medications were
used on the eggs. Live black worms, baby brine shrimp, and micro-organisms on Java moss,
frozen brine shrimp, and Tetra color bits were about the only foods used. Only air driven
sponge filters create water movement and filtration. Live black worms, storm fronts, and
water changes were used to aid in triggering spawning.
Other than a little luck and the above tips I would recommend, as do many other catfish
breeders, to obtain a young group of fish numbering 8 or more when possible and not under
6 if any serious attempts are being made to breed the fish.
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