Tiny Cories

[RonWill]

Why not try it with some young paleatus or equally inexpensive fish. Put in a breather bag filled normally and keep in a styro with minimal light. If they make it for a day, try for two, etc., etc.

Wright, I've been tied down with so many chores that I've forgotten all about the experiment. If Jian Yang can remember, perhaps he can remind me, when we meet tomorrow, to bag some juvenile Cory similis.

Anyway, this is what I just harvested. Let me raise them till they lose their tadpole-shape and start looking like cories. That would be 8~10mm before I pack 'em your way.


Should I ship separately to you and Bill, or can I consolidate the package, together with some Cory hastatus, and leave it to you guys to split the loot. Is the weather at your end favorable to receive fishes?

[stormhawk]

Yippeee! Baby habrosus.

\/

[RonWill]

Folks,
Here's another round of cory harvesting yesterday night and I'm quite delighted.

Corydoras hastatus... real puny little fellas!


====================================

Corydoras oiapoquensis *

A small grouping of fry, one of them still absorbing the egg sac.


Another new hatchling with more obvious egg sac.

... and this is what happens when one's not careful while transferring the delicate fry.

ya... I popped the sac


Hopefully, the rest will be ok.

I wanted to shoot some pics of the earlier batch but forgot which grow-out container they were in but... here's how they'll grow up to look like.


* Last Sunday, Kwek Leong and his brother-in-law were so fortunate to observe the entire spawning sequence; courting dance, T-position mating and egg depositing. Interesting stuff and I never tire from watching their 'consumate act'

[RonWill]

Folks,
Just an update on the 2 month old Corydoras oiapoquensis fry, which has grown nicely and at about 1.5cm, are taking on the caudal markings of their parents.


Here's what I harvested again on Apr 12th & 13th...

If I can keep up with the corys' spawing runs, I should have enough to sell some, to fund my killie purchases.

I've lost count of hastatus spawns but those from the earlier batch are about 7mm now, with the distinct caudal spot and have started "going to school". [Wright & Bill should be gleaming ear to ear ]

In a separate tank, I had the Corydoras pygmaeus and C. trilineatus lumped together and guess what....? I see a fair number of eggs too, but I can't say whose these belongs to. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[ruyle]

I've lost count of hastatus spawns but those from the earlier batch are about 7mm now, with the distinct caudal spot and have started "going to school". [Wright & Bill should be gleaming ear to ear ]

Ronnie, yepper, gleaming in the gloaming (it's night here). Keep us
posted, I'm sure Wright is interested, too. That's quite a collection you're
building and thanks for the pics!

Bill

[timebomb]

6 species and counting. If the pygmaeus start spawning for Ron then he'll complete the "pygmy" bunch of the 3 most common dwarf species in Singapore.

Whether or not Ronnie successfully completes the list, I would still take my hat off to the guy. As far as breeding fish is concerned, Ronnie is da man

I had the good fortune to see the spawning sequence of the Corydora oiapoquensis when I was at Ronnie's house a few weeks ago and I must say it was a real eye-opener. I thought only Cichilds do the "oral sex" thing

Loh K L

[RonWill]

Thanks for the thumbs-up, Kwek Leong, but there are more proficient breeders out there than yours truly. Problem is, most choose to be silent about their success (and I talk too much )

For the pygmy group of Corydoras, I remain hopeful to spawn C. gracilis, C. xinguensis and C. cochui. IMHO, I think the pygmy species (and P. gertrudae) are perfect companions for young killies and permanent setups.

Folks, I don't want to come across a being 'cheap' but if there are any Corydoras fans out there who're game to loan me a pair or small group of any of the 3 species, I'd be delighted to take the challenge and try spawning them.

Females of Corydoras sp. cf. aeneus "Gold-Line" will also be welcomed with open arms

Anyway, here's a slightly more decent pic of a 1.5cm oiapoquensis juvenile that I transferred to the annulatus permanent setup.

I had the good fortune to see the spawning sequence of the Corydora oiapoquensis when I was at Ronnie's house a few weeks ago

From what I've observed so far, the Corydoras I've come to own or care for, all spawn in the same manner... including the otos.

[stormhawk]

Ron, let me go find some long-noses for you to try.

[RonWill]

Jian Yang,
No long-nose fry to shout about (yet) but here's a couple of C. pygmaeus fry in a 2inch plastic petri dish


So do I get a free lunch for 'completing the course'?

[stormhawk]

About the free lunch, let me think about it.

There's a species of long-nosed cory out in the market:

Corydoras cervinus.

Do a Google search for the image and let me know if you're interested to try out. I know where to get them. Long-noses aren't easy to trigger and spawn if experiences from other breeders are anything to go by. I believe you'd like the challenge of breeding them.

[RonWill]

Folks,
In my earlier post of Apr 15th, I hatched out a brood of unconfirmed corys and guess what... I now have little 'trillies' scooting happily in the Endlers' tank



I wanted to get a close-up pic, showing the early body markings and ended up holding a 10x glass loupe to the camera's lens. The vignetted corners were caused by the loupe's folding frame.


Results weren't too bad, I think, considering that it was 'el cheapo' (and the largest juvenile were only 8mm).


Think I'm gonna try Corydoras atropersonatus (Fairy Cory) next, even tho online research tells me that they're egg-eaters Will pass on the 'long-noses' for now since I find the 'short stubby nose' much cuter.

[RonWill]

Folks, I had wanted to try spawning the Corydoras atropersonatus but since the sterbai were already in my shrimp tank, I decided to let them 'do it one more time' before I send them off to market.

A brief collection. Left the remaining, less accessible eggs in the shrimp tank.


... and an earlier batch of sterbai fry


These fry hatched and did remarkably well in a flow-thru hatchery, mentioned in the sturisoma thread.

[RonWill]

Folks,
Despite uploading images taken by myself and relating my own experience, someone PM asking if the hatchery really does work.

Many factors affect viability of eggs during and after the transfer, so YMMV, but I'll repeat once more.

These are the earlier mentioned C. sterbai eggs collected July 15th, not freshly laid but were in advanced embryol development (3 days old, I think)


This the "siphon/overflow" hatchery used.


... and this is the newly-hatched fry I just harvested.


There's no need for exaggeration in my postings and further queries should be followed up here. It's not that I don't welcome PMs but my Inbox keeps getting filled to the brim. Thanks.

[stormhawk]

Here's a bunch of my newly acquired Corydoras hastatus sub-adults. They're still a little small but are beefing up quickly on a diet of tubifex. Here's their latest image.



Cute huh? \/

Ron, if you have 3 of these fellas extra, I'd like to buy some off you to make my current shoal at 30 pieces. They're in limited supply as far as my information goes.. whether that's accurate or not I'm not sure.

Wright, if you're still following up, there's a bunch of little pygmaeus that nobody bought and they're still at the store.
I counted a dozen or so but I think there's more there.

[whuntley]

Thanks Jianyang.

I have been holding out for some of Ron's habrosus as they have not been seen in stores here for quite a while (maybe more than 10 years?).

I had the pygmaeus about 5 years ago, but didn't make a serious effort to breed them. They are usually available if one has a bit of patience.

hastatus appeared briefly at Nippon Goldfish in San Francisco, a few years ago, but I was unable to get there in time to get any. I regret that, for I really wanted them.

One can order hastatus from a distributor/dealer in FL, but all you get, apparently, is pygmaeus. Grrr!

Wright

[stormhawk]

Something I trawled from Aquabid..

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/aucti...ish&1123380335

Seller's from Wellington, Florida.

[stormhawk]

Hey we had that problem too here. Some importers took in a box of what was supposedly hastatus and it turned out to be pygmaeus. Seems like some of the suppliers elsewhere apparently don't know the difference in telling them apart or they're doing this on purpose.

Habrosus is not very common nowadays though they turn up from time to time. I could check out their availability if you like. Its odd that they're so rare in US, considering that they're bred in the thousands in farms located in Asia. I was of the idea that at least part of those farm-bred animals would reach the USA.

[whuntley]

That pic sure looks like the real thing to me. With his shipping, it is already getting too rich for my blood.

Wright

[stormhawk]

Wright, that pic in the auction is of the real thing but he took it off Ian Fuller's cory website.

For 10 little cats its a little expensive for shipping but if you're willing to take the risk I think getting it from Florida would be a viable option for you. Hopefully not another pygmaeus confusion.

[RonWill]

I have been holding out for some of Ron's habrosus...

Wright, I didn't forget about the cories but I've experienced a couple of setbacks; theft, bacterial infection and our friendly Town Council (who's chasing me to get rid of the tanks along the corridor).

You will receive the hastatus and habrosus but pygmaeus will be a gamble (if my own fry are not doing well, I'll get some from the LFS).

Hold on to your seats (yeah, Bill too), I'll be back.