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I first saw these Corys in a local aquarist as young fish which had been bred locally. I thought they were very attractive juveniles and a nicer fish than the Bronze Cory. I decided to buy a group of 4 young fish and as often happens they were 4 females! Luckily a fellow aquarist had some males to spare and so I got two adult males. He had already had a couple of spawnings so it was no surprise when the group went "on the charge" up and down the glass. This however proved to be a false start and at this early stage, no spawning took place.  However,within 3 weeks I had my first spawning and the eggs were laid on the filter uplift pipe and on the glass. They were just over 1 mm in diameter. A rough count gave me over 100 eggs. I removed them and put them in a 9" mini aquarium floated in the tank, with Meth Blue and an air stone, which is my standard procedure. (Or half a plastic toffee jar works just as well for me). By the 4th day I could see that I had a very good hatch with about 90%+ hatched out. I gave them microworms and did my usual 50% daily water changes. The fry On hatching, I found them to be surprisingly small fry. In their early development they have quite a patterned/ marked body rather like a dark Cory paleatus. By the time the fry were about 1 cm in size, the markings are only on the rear half of the body. This can be seen below, as can the size by comparing it with the C. habrosus which obligingly rested on the same leaf!  Gradually the body goes darker with an attractive orange/brown shade on the dorsal. At this size, the young are at their most attractive with a good contrast in the two colours. It is at this stage (around 2 months+) when I tend to trade them in locally, as, due to this colour appeal they are good sellers.  Conclusion I have included a simple report on this species even though it is very much a standard approach to Cory breeding. In fact that is why I have included it. For a first go at Cory breeding, it presents a good alternative to Peppered Corys (my first venture), Cory aeneus (Bronze Cory) or any other of the early Corys that we tend to try. Have a go with them, you won't be disappointed! Copyright. Text and photos; Ivor Hilton. |
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