Corydoras panda & wild guppies feeding on Repashy

I'm still working on sorting out the old photos & videos, here's a short
clip of two of my favourites: Corydoras panda & wildstrain guppies
(Brazil) feeding. (food from Repashy Norway)

Video: Corydoras concolor & Hypancistrus debilittera Sharing a Meal:)

I'm going through the mess that is my files and found this gem of C. concolor and H. debilittera (L129) sharing a meal of mussels, enjoy:)

Breeding Report Corydoras concolor, Slate Cory

This is one of my absolute favorites and a much underrated species. The fish available in the shops are often juveniles that are not that impressive to look at, mainly due to their greyish coulour.
This drastically changes as the animals mature and adults are among the most impressive Corydoras there is.

Like with most Corydoras the females grow rounder than the males, this is however a very robust species in general so even the males have a heavy look to them. Both sexes grow an extended dorsal fin but the dorsal fin of the males grew to a very impressive length.

I acquired these fish in May 2013 from Artane Aquatics as wild caught juveniles, I also later added a few individuals from a second supplier.

The fish were kept in a 60x40x30cm grow out tank with fine sand, plenty of twigs and moss. An air driven sponge filter as well as a sponge filter driven by a power head was used, the current was in places of medium strength.

The diet consisted of live foods such as mosquito larva and white worms but also dry foods such as catfish pellets and flakes, the fish grew very well.

Weekly water changes using slightly colder water were made of about 20% of the total volume, this might have triggered the intitial spawn. It should also be noted that breeding activity intensified as live foods were offered on a regular basis.
  
The first spawning took place nearly exactly a year after the purchase, the reading were as follows:

Temp: 24-25°C
pH: 7
Hardness: 30-40 ppm

The fish scatter their eggs and they can either be collected and raised in a breeding box or left in with the parents as quite a few seem to survive in their presence.

For the first spawns I collected the eggs and raised the young using fine flakes, brine shrimp, micro worms and mosquito larva. After the initial spawn the adults continued to breed on a regular basis and I stopped collecting eggs. There were still quite a few survivors appearing now and then.

I personally try to keep plenty of moss and dried oak leaves with my fry as these provide both shelter and micro organisms for fry to feed on.

The group was later moved to a community setting containing guppies, tetras and also other bottom dwellers such as Hypancistrus and Ancistrus species. Even in this setting there were juvenile Corydoras concolor appearing on a regular basis.

Corydoras concolor, breeding tank

This is an old favourite of mine.

The tank is not designed for maximum production of Corydoras eggs but rather to be functional and nice to look at, at the same time. I think it's a very good example of how a breeding tank does not have to be bland and boring.

The 72 litre tank runs by a single powerhead with an attached sponge and a 50w Eheim heater. The heater might be the only thing I would have changed if I was reworking this tank. A less visible location would have made the tank look even better.

These are wild caught Corydoras concolor and it took some time before the first spawn occurred but after that the fish spawned regularly usually after water changes had been performed.

The fish are kept at around 24 degrees Celsius, pH of 6.5 and in very soft water. The interior of twigs, plants and moss, especially at higher locations provide perfect spawning material for these fish.

In this tank I do nothing when it comes to rearing the eggs/fry as I am happy with a few young additions to the group. Fry survival could however easily be increased by providing additional hiding spots for the fry such as clay piper, moss etc.. The fishkeeper could also easily remove the spawning material after each spawn and choose to rear the young in a separate tank.
 
Again this is not something for the fishkeeper that wants to produce large amounts of young but it's suitable for people that want to watch breeding behaviour in a nice setting.

I am also of the opinion that this kind of tank lead to quality fry as the young has to compete for food and survive on their own which naturally culls the weak.

Happy Fishkeeping!

 

Nice find in "random" pet shop

I was out driving across the country with work today and made a stop a pet shop in one of the neighboring towns.

The stock was pretty much what to expect from most non specialist shops but I did find one tank with mixed cories. In this tank there was only one individual of each species, some of them quite uncommon. 

This is obviously a very strange way of selling Corydoras, I presume the mixed colours might appeal to new fish-keepers. Anyway I was delighted to see this young concolor as It will be a nice addition to my group and was resonably priced. Perhaps I should not encourage shops to sell cories this way but I felt sorry for the little guy.

This just shows that it’s always worth checking out the more standard pet shops as you never know what could lurk in the tanks. 

Always be careful and quarantine your new fish though. This little lad will be in quarantine for a good few weeks.

Corydoras mystery fry

These two came out with a water change today, they are either Corydoras concolor or habrosus. I have not bred either before so it's good either way.

Does anyone know which species they are?

Corydoras concolor, Male

  

 Got a lucky snap last night of the alpha male feeding from the surface.

This individual has been the strongest and fastest grower since they were about 3cm in length, he is now the boss of the tank and a stunning fish imo.

Andreas

Quick tank updates,

Things are moving along quite well and I just wanted to share some smaller updates of what's going on in the fish tanks.

The 125 litre corner tank above has changed quite a bit (don't mind the algae), the breeding pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus "nigeria red" had to move to a separate tank. The pair was moved as they were getting to aggressive during spawning to let me keep community fish in this tank.

One Red Tiger Lotus, Nymphaea zenkeri which had outgrown one of my smaller tanks has been added and I think it really makes the difference.

12 Ember Tetra, Hyphessobrycon amandae moved in and they really seem to enjoy this environment and are constantly schooling. The colour of this fish also matches that of the Red Lotus plant very well.

I have been trying to spawn the Ember tetras for the last few weeks but have had no success so far.

A group of five L129, Hypancistrus debilittera have moved into the tank and they have already spawned in there which is great.

The pair of Nigerian red have moved to a separate tank and they seem to enjoy their new home, they are now guarding their second batch of fry.

Finally my group of Corydoras concolor are getting on well, they are growing like mad and have started to excibit their trademark hi-fins!

That's all for now,

Happy fish-keeping!

Photographs: Corydoras concolor

While the rest of the world is out basking in the sun, I'm taking photographs of my fish....

I acquired these beauties a while back from Artane Aquatics in Dublin (thanks for holding them for me).

After a bit of a stressful acclimatization period they are now doing great. The fish are still just juveniles but are showing an impressive growth rate. I can't wait until these are fully grown as this species is very impressive when mature.

Corydoras panda, photos

Next up to get its own gallery is possibly my favourite aquarium fish the panda cory or Corydoras panda: