I'd just keep them in there for now. I think the mesh breeder boxes tend to provide better water movement than the plastic breeder boxes, and there's the added bonus that the waste from the fry falls out of the mesh as well.

 

Yea , that's what I am thinking too . I just didn't want them to get crushed between the mesh and the plastic frame . I need more Corys and free is always a good thing....lol

 

I've raised countless cory fry exactly that way. The only other thing I do is I have the output of a sponge filter flowing into the top of the breeder net. Before the eggs hatch I have the flow at maximum to keep fresh water on the eggs. After they hatch I turn the flow way down to a trickle to prevent the fry from getting blown around but still provide a positive flow of fresh water into the net area. I feed them Hikari First Bites until they're bigger and I start feeding manually crumbled flake food. I usually let them stay in the net until the next batch of eggs get laid on the glass, then I dump them out and start the next cycle.

 

Thanks . I have the mesh box in front of an HOB output for the same reason . Not too much flow as the mesh slows it down , but allows clean water to pass through . How long does it usually take for the fry to get big enough to join the community ?

 

The age/size depends on what else is in the tank and how much cover is available for them to hide. My main tank is a 75 with cories and endlers so mainly I leave them in the net to make sure they have a good food source. I feed them the First Bites 2-3 times a day until they're a bit bigger. Typically I just leave them until the next cory spawning, but I could let them out much sooner in that tank. What else is in the tank with them?

 

They are in a 30 gal long with other Corys and a bunch of Platys . I will leave them in the net till they are big enough to fend for themselves . It is a heavily planted tank and I get many Platy fry when they decide to do their thing . After what you said I went and got some Hikiri First Bites , but I am not sure how to feed it . I just put a bit on the water in the net and let it sit for a bit then take my finger and touch it and that seems to send it to the bottom . I am afraid that it is just going through the mesh and into the tank . How do you feed the Hikiri ? I really appreciate your help . I have bred Corys before , but by accident....lol

 

If it's heavily planted, you could turn them loose in a couple of weeks. They are pretty good at hiding in the weeds. The adult platies will most likely eat them given the opportunity, but since they mostly stay near the top and the cories will stay mostly at the bottom you will probably be fine letting them out whenever you feel like it. You could PROBABLY let them out now but it depends on what you want out of this batch. I used to stress over every single fry death, but I have so many cories now that while I still try to get as many as I can to adulthood, I don't stress so much when some of them don't make it. If you are determined to get absolute maximum survival rate, then leave them in there for a while.


As far as feeding them, I do pretty much what you said. I dip a fingertip in the water and then in the bag and then back in the water. What stuck to the fingertip is how much they get fed. Some of it does go right through the mesh, but it isn't so much that it will foul the water if it goes uneaten and/or gets sucked up into the filter. I also keep moss and baby anubias in the breeder net all the time so I also think/hope that there is plenty of stuff in there for them to nibble on as well. I do turn the filter output for a little while while feeding or it will flush all of it right out the bottom as soon as it settles. Honestly I'd be surprised if half of what I feed is actually consumed, but for me it's a small price to pay to keep my "herd". Everyone in the house and all the family that come over all love to see the cories. All the kids/grandkids want their own and I tell them when they can take care of a tank I'll give them some of the "herd" for their own.

 

Thanks Bandit1200 ,
I have moss and floaters and I figure they are getting micro food from these , plus whatever I feed them . They are growing as thy are easier to see now . I have had a herd in the past and it is fun to watch . Again , thanks for the help .

 

Maybe add something to lay on the bottom of the mesh box they can hide under? I've raised a few cory fry in the same thing; I had oak leaf litter and subwassertang in mine. They seemed to like the cover on the floor of the box.

 

I have moss on the bottom of mine like Leeatl.

How are they doing?

 

I have a lot of Java Moss on the bottom , but I may try your ideas next time . I saw one swimming up the side of the mesh today so they are getting big enough to venture out....lol Still tiny though .

 

They seem to be doing fine Bandit1200 . They are growing , and are out and about more all the time . One of them is a lot bigger than the rest , guess he will be the boss....lol I have counted as many as 8 in one area but I think there are more . I just hope they are getting enough food . Can't wait till I can put some in my 30 and 75 and get the next batch going...lol I think they would be growing faster if I was feeding them freshly born brine shrimp . I have been giving them freeze dried blood worms , tubifex , and brine shrimp as well as the First Bites , but from what I have been reading the live brine have much more nutrition . I just don't want to spend the $ on a hatchery and the hassle of hatching them . I may change my mind before the next time they lay eggs .

 

Might be a good idea to release them after dark with the lights out. Give them a chance to get cover without being chased down.

 

I fed the fry this morning and I noticed that most of the First Bites went to the bottom then out through the net . So I took an old medicine bottle top , weighed down with a stone , put it in the net . Then I mixed some First Bites with water and used a syringe to put some in the top . Man they came a running . Makes we wonder if they have been getting any of the food I have been putting in . Maybe now they will really start to grow...lol I recorded a video , but I get a missing token error when I try to post , then get another error when I try to report the original problem . I tried 4 different browsers with the same result so I gave up .

 

How are the fry coming along? They should be a decent size by now.

 

Three of them are doing great and growing well . They are in the tank now . I had about 20 to start and got these 3 up to size , but the others quit eating and were dying at the rate of 1 or 2 a day so when they got to 5 I put them in my heavily planted 30 gal . I guess they didn't make it cause I haven't seen them since . I don't know what went wrong , but they layed again and I have 3 in the net breeder . They are eating good and growing . We'll see . Thanks for asking .

 

It happens like that sometimes, I can't guess why. Sometimes I can scrape up hundreds of eggs and it seems like they all hatch. Then as they come along they get fewer and fewer until when they're big enough to let out, there's only a handful left. Sometimes I get a much smaller batch of eggs and it seems like they almost all make it to a good size to let them loose. I don't think it's anything I do differently, I try to treat every batch of eggs I scrape up the same. As often as they lay in my tank, it's probably for the best that only some of them make it to adulthood. I still usually have plenty to give away to friends and family.


You'll probably be in the same position I suspect. Even if you only get 3 to adulthood from each batch, that's still going to give you a good supply of them for the foreseeable future. I started with only 3 of them about 12 years ago and I've never been without a good size "school" of them since. One of the parents long ago was an albino and I still get an occasional one to show up. I think I may get another couple of them to bring some new bloodline into my tank. After all this time the gene pool must be getting kind of weak.