Breeding Corys Outdoors

[Robert Keeney]

Have you ever had any corys spawn in an outdoor tank?

I have bronze corys that regularly spawn in a heavily planted community tank. Last year I put them out for the summer, expecting I would get many corys when it came time to take them out. I never saw any sign of spawning, and there were no small corys.

I put them back in the 40-gallon with the other fish, and they started spawning again. In the past, everything I have placed outdoors has multiplied.

They were in a heavily planted 300-gallon stock tank.

[Flumpweesel]

Corys spawn when water temp drops (simulated flood)so maybe your summer tanks didn't have the a suitable temp fluctuations to trigger action.

You might have seen it after a storm I believe that has be noted as a trigger for some even on indoor tanks

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/11/2022 at 5:00 AM, Robert Keeney said:

I have bronze corys that regularly spawn in a heavily planted community tank. Last year I put them out for the summer, expecting I would get many corys when it came time to take them out. I never saw any sign of spawning, and there were no small corys.

What was the filtration setup like?  Was there a big mass of floating plants?

On 7/11/2022 at 5:00 AM, Robert Keeney said:

They were in a heavily planted 300-gallon stock tank.

Definitely interesting.  One of the big triggers apart from temp and barometric pressure is to just feed them heavily at dusk.  Right before lights out and they get a big meal, when it's their active hours at night they tend to go pretty crazy for me.  Whether I have successful fry or not is usually just dependent on if they have a place to lay eggs and if those eggs survive to hatch. (that's where the high flow comes in again or floating plants can play a role)

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

On 7/11/2022 at 6:00 AM, Robert Keeney said:

Have you ever had any corys spawn in an outdoor tank?

I have bronze corys that regularly spawn in a heavily planted community tank. Last year I put them out for the summer, expecting I would get many corys when it came time to take them out. I never saw any sign of spawning, and there were no small corys.

I put them back in the 40-gallon with the other fish, and they started spawning again. In the past, everything I have placed outdoors has multiplied.

They were in a heavily planted 300-gallon stock tank.

I have never but I have also never tried them outside up here. At 9100 feet temp fluctuates between 45 and 65 depending on air temperature.

Outside I wonder if temperature fluctuations and range limited egg and fry to development,  If a predator in the pond picked them off early and often, etc.

 My sterbai took off once I had a species of percieved threat in there the Rhoadsia altipinna tetra. They ignore the corys but the sterbai won't lay unless those tetra are around now. Its like they need the tetra risk in the tank to want to spawn. 

[Robert Keeney]

On 7/11/2022 at 6:27 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Corys spawn when water temp drops (simulated flood)so maybe your summer tanks didn't have the a suitable temp fluctuations to trigger action.

You might have seen it after a storm I believe that has be noted as a trigger for some even on indoor tanks

When we have heavy storms, the water temperature can drop by 10-20 degrees, depending on the conditions. They spawn indoors after a storm, and it doesn't seem to matter if there is heavy feeding, water changes or temperature drops. Outdoors they don't seem to spawn at all.

BTW,  I don't have summer tanks outdoors. I have summer fish. I also have fish that stay outside year-round.

On 7/11/2022 at 7:45 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

 My sterbai took off once I had a species of percieved threat in there the Rhoadsia altipinna tetra. They ignore the corys but the sterbai won't lay unless those tetra are around now. Its like they need the tetra risk in the tank to want to spawn. 

The aquarium they are spawning in now has black tetras in it.

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

You make me want to try the sterbai out there now 

[Robert Keeney]

On 7/11/2022 at 6:44 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What was the filtration setup like?  Was there a big mass of floating plants?

There are lots of plants. Dwarf Sagittarius covers the bottom. Anacharis everywhere so much that I pull it out and throw it away. When the corys were out there last year, there was also a huge amount of frogbit in the tank with roots that go all the way to the bottom. Three times last summer, I pulled out five-gallon buckets of frogbit. There is a large mass of java moss.

 

I don't use filters in any outdoor tanks. Never have and never will.

On 7/11/2022 at 8:37 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

You make me want to try the sterbai out there now

Everything I try outdoors spawns except corys. Give it a try.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/11/2022 at 5:45 PM, Robert Keeney said:

There is a large mass of java moss.

Should be plenty!

I would try feeding them right before sunset and see if that gives a response.

On 7/11/2022 at 5:37 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

You make me want to try the sterbai out there now 

Definitely!  Let us see the little fry when you get some 🙂

[Dancing Matt]

One thing to check is if there is hardscape for fry to hide in and escape predation.

[Robert Keeney]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:07 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I would try feeding them right before sunset and see if that gives a response.

They are not outdoors this year.