Documenting Albino Corydora Breeding

[GoofyGarra]

Date: 1-25-24

Hi Everyone!

My albino corydoras have been doing very well and breeding, and they were laying eggs this morning, so i figured I'd raise up a batch and share how i do it here. These are just my experiences, i'm sure there are many other ways to do it that work for other people

    Tank setup and Egg laying

Tank is a 20gallon high, with moderate flow and some tannins from the wood. I have no clue about what triggers my corydoras to breed, it seems to be pretty random for me at least.

Current corydora group size is 11, but ive bred them very successfully with only 5. Tankmates are Platies, Panda Garra, Bristlenose Pleco, Teardrop mosquitofish, pest snails. As far as i've seen the platies, mosquitofish and corydoras will eat the eggs, but the other fish appear to leave them alone.

Youngest spawning corydoras are a few months old, oldest ones are at least 2years old, I do not have exact ages on these batches. They do not breed in yarn mops, I have discovered that they like to breed in higher flow areas though, my current eggs were pulled off a sword leaf right in front of the HOB output.

Picture of tank setup:

The eggs are very sticky right after they are laid and are more difficult to remove, however after waiting a few hours they are stronger and easier to remove. However, often by that point the eggs get eaten, for this batch i cut off the piece of leaf they were attached too, then removed them into a breeder box from there, however I have  carefully rolled them off the glass, yet in my experience eggs laid on the glass are harder to remove without bursting. Personally I do not recommend using cards or razor blades, when i have tried these most of the eggs burst.

Egg Incubation

My preferred option for egg incubation is an ACO specimen container (other brands probably work, just what i have on hand), inside my tank with an airstone. I have tried the ziss egg tumbler but never had great results with it, I prefer the breeder box. I like the breeder box because it is very easy to see and remove infertile eggs, which is very important to me. Sometimes fish will get stuck between the wall of the tank and the side of the breeder box, I fix this problem with a piece of sponge that allows fish to swim through. I have heard people use cherry shrimp to help clean the eggs, which i have a lot of, but i dont think i will try it this time. After removing the eggs they often tend to stick together. I like to remove them and split them apart with my fingernails. The fertile eggs after a few hours will be sturdy enough, that as long as you are relatively careful, it should not harm the eggs at all. This will make it much easier to remove bad eggs, as well slow down the rate of fungusing if they are not all touching.

I will update this journal as the eggs progress and hatch. Current batch is about 15-20 eggs, I have had bad experienced to fungus on the  eggs before, so i probably pull out some fertile eggs by mistake every batch, trying to pull out fungused or infertile eggs, but i predict a few healthy fry from this batch

Happy to answer any questions!

 

-Goofygarra

 

[Guppysnail]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.  Folks who have not hatched cory eggs will benefit.  

[GoofyGarra]

Date 1-26-24

Day 2.

Eggs have not changed enough for me to tell good from bad, probably will take another day or two. I did a water change and tumbled the eggs manually a few times with a turkey baster. Also added a shrimpie friend to help keep the eggs clean:

Edited January 27 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

Date 1-27-24

Day 3.

Eggs have started changing colors. Keep in mind these are at 74 right now, at higher temperatures they would change colors faster. That being said i would not incubate the eggs any higher then 78, Albino Corydoras prefer cooler water.

Here is a good example of fertile eggs, they should be an amber color, infertile eggs will turn white. While my other eggs might change colors in the next day or so, i don't want large amounts of fry so these clearly fertile eggs are the only ones im keeping, the rest i removed with a turkey baster and put into the tank as snacks for the adult fish.

Also the shrimp were not doing well in the breeder box, they got moved out.

 

Edited January 27 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

Date 1-28-24

Day 4

First eggs have begun to hatch

The first eggs in the breeder box have begun to hatch 🥳, but some of them have not hatched yet. This is the perfect time to get some BBS up and running for these guys. In 24-48 hours they will be ready to start eating and BBS is a great choice. If you cannot get BBS I highly recommend Easy Fry and Small Fish Food, Just feeding it twice a day I have seen very fast growth rates in these fry.

This is what new fry look like from a birds eye view. They are very small and look like smaller eggs, with tails and heads. You will be able to tell when they are hatched because for the first day or so, the newly hatched Cories like to dart around the breeder box exploring. I recommend doing a large water change at this point to keep water quality high. I like to use a clear cup, scooping from the top of the breeder box. The fry hang out on the bottom so catching any out is unlikely, and if i do accidentally catch any out, they are easy to see and put back.

 

[GoofyGarra]

Date 1-28-24

End of Day 4

At this point the rest of the eggs have hatched. Using a turkey baster i have moved all the fry into a ziss breeder box. The ziss box is expensive, but it has some nice features, that being said, its not worth it if you are on a budget, just use a normal breeder box. I count around 7 fry in there right now.  I have put a small amount of easy fry and small fish food in at this point, i have starved fry in the past so i always feed a bit earlier then is needed.

[Matt Pike]

Have you ever used methylene blue with the eggs. I find just a tiny amount goes a long way and keeps eggs from fungus. I will take a toothpick dip it in the methylene blue and the touch your egg storage. 

That works well for me.

 

[GoofyGarra]

On 1/29/2024 at 6:14 AM, Matt Pike said:

Have you ever used methylene blue with the eggs. I find just a tiny amount goes a long way and keeps eggs from fungus. I will take a toothpick dip it in the methylene blue and the touch your egg storage. 

personally i have never really tried using chemicals like methalene blue on the eggs. I prefer to just be vigilant and remove unfertile eggs as i see them.

If it works well for you though, thats great. The aquarium hobby is one that there are many ways to successfully do things

[GoofyGarra]

Unfortunately i will have to end this thread early. I'm just not in a good position in life right now to raise up a batch of corydora fry.

Once hatched just feed the babies high protein foods like BBS and easy fry and small fish food at least twice a day (i did 1food for 1feeding time), and siphon out mulm as it accumulates and you will soon end up with a batch of healthy corydora fry. (assuming good water quality etc...)

Still happy to answer any questions on the topic, unfortunately I cannot continue the project

[FLFishChik]

Thank you for this post! I have been trying to breed my Albino Corys for months but have yet to get fertilized eggs. I have discovered what will trigger them to spawn- water change with the temp of the new water a few degrees cooler than the tank temp and a generous feeding of frozen BBS. Works every time. BUT, they only ever lay eggs on the glass which is very difficult to remove without destroying OR inevitably losing some to the abyss of the gravel as they fall. Those I do manage to save never seem to be fertile. It’s frustrating for sure