Corydoras panda

[Graham Ramsay]

My C. panda spawn regularly but eat the eggs
as soon as they are deposited. What's the best
method of getting a decent number of eggs?
They aren't interested in any spawning mops
or moss, preferring to deposit eggs on Java fern
leaves or the tank walls.

Thanks

--
Graham Ramsay

[NetMax]

"Graham Ramsay" > wrote in message
...
> My C. panda spawn regularly but eat the eggs
> as soon as they are deposited. What's the best
> method of getting a decent number of eggs?
> They aren't interested in any spawning mops
> or moss, preferring to deposit eggs on Java fern
> leaves or the tank walls.
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> Graham Ramsay

The usual advice is to remove the parents after spawning. I'm not
certain about Pandas, but most Cory eggs harden after being laid, so
perhaps yours are taking too long to harden, leaving them vulnerable to
being eaten? Just speculation, water parameters might be relevant. I'd
also increase the protein level in their diet (more frozen bloodworms).
You know about lowering the water level for Cory's fry?
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Graham Ramsay]

"NetMax" wrote in
> The usual advice is to remove the parents after spawning. I'm not
> certain about Pandas, but most Cory eggs harden after being laid, so
> perhaps yours are taking too long to harden, leaving them vulnerable to
> being eaten? Just speculation, water parameters might be relevant. I'd
> also increase the protein level in their diet (more frozen bloodworms).
> You know about lowering the water level for Cory's fry?

Thanks for replying NetMax,
The trouble is when I say they eat them as soon as they are
deposited that's exactly what happens. Either the female eats them
or one of the attendant males does so. This is within a second of them
being placed on the glass/leaf.
How I've been saving eggs is to tap on the glass at the moment the
egg is deposited. This allows me to collect two or three out of the
spawn, the rest being laid toward the back of the tank where I can't
see what's happening or eaten because I'm not quick enough.
This takes up to an hour or so and is a real bind for two or three eggs.
The water is soft (only one or two degrees of KH & GH) and neutral
to slightly acid. I have the temp at 72F, down from 77F normally.
I've got 6 fish in a 3ft tank with no substrate and Java fern on wood plus
both floating and sunk spawning mops and a big bunch of Java moss.
Filter is a Fluval 2.
Diet is TetraMin Pro, Hikari wafers, live grindal worms, live daphnia,
frozen brineshrimp, frozen bloodworm and my own beefheart mix.
I'll feed bloodworm more often. (About once a week just now)
Out of the six fish, two are female, three are male, and one is undecided.
Might I be better removing a male or two?

Thanks

--
Graham Ramsay

[NetMax]

"Graham Ramsay" > wrote in message
...
> "NetMax" wrote in
> > The usual advice is to remove the parents after spawning. I'm not
> > certain about Pandas, but most Cory eggs harden after being laid, so
> > perhaps yours are taking too long to harden, leaving them vulnerable
to
> > being eaten? Just speculation, water parameters might be relevant.
I'd
> > also increase the protein level in their diet (more frozen
bloodworms).
> > You know about lowering the water level for Cory's fry?
>
> Thanks for replying NetMax,
> The trouble is when I say they eat them as soon as they are
> deposited that's exactly what happens. Either the female eats them
> or one of the attendant males does so. This is within a second of them
> being placed on the glass/leaf.
> How I've been saving eggs is to tap on the glass at the moment the
> egg is deposited. This allows me to collect two or three out of the
> spawn, the rest being laid toward the back of the tank where I can't
> see what's happening or eaten because I'm not quick enough.
> This takes up to an hour or so and is a real bind for two or three
eggs.
> The water is soft (only one or two degrees of KH & GH) and neutral
> to slightly acid. I have the temp at 72F, down from 77F normally.
> I've got 6 fish in a 3ft tank with no substrate and Java fern on wood
plus
> both floating and sunk spawning mops and a big bunch of Java moss.
> Filter is a Fluval 2.
> Diet is TetraMin Pro, Hikari wafers, live grindal worms, live daphnia,
> frozen brineshrimp, frozen bloodworm and my own beefheart mix.
> I'll feed bloodworm more often. (About once a week just now)
> Out of the six fish, two are female, three are male, and one is
undecided.
> Might I be better removing a male or two?
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> Graham Ramsay

If you could determine if it was only one fish eating the eggs, then that
would be the one to remove. As for the rest of it, I've bred Corys, but
not intentionally and not Pandas, so my advice won't be worth a hill of
beans ;~). I'd let them spawn a few more times to see if they get it
right, and then I'd start mixing up the grouping (1F, 2 or 3 M). If you
keep them well conditioned, you might find a ready spawning trigger in
dropping the temperature or doing a large water change. I wouldn't
collect eggs (too laborious, too much work to raise so few, and there is
a significant mortality) . When they get it right, you should have
plenty of fry. Isn't there any Panda breeding articles out there?
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Mike Edwardes]

"NetMax" > wrote in message news:>
Isn't there any Panda breeding articles out there?

Yes:

http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Cpanda.html

Mike.
--
Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net

[Graham Ramsay]

"Mike Edwardes" wrote
>
> http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Cpanda.html

Going by Mike's experience I'm doomed to spending the
next few evenings waiting for their ladyships and picking
eggs off the glass. Ah well, nothing on the telly anyway!

--
Graham Ramsay

[NetMax]

"Graham Ramsay" > wrote in message
...
> "Mike Edwardes" wrote
> >
> > http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Cpanda.html
>
> Going by Mike's experience I'm doomed to spending the
> next few evenings waiting for their ladyships and picking
> eggs off the glass. Ah well, nothing on the telly anyway!
>
> --
> Graham Ramsay

As long as you're going to be there.... I'd experiment to see at what
light level they can be induced to spawn. Hopefully it's something you
can see them in. Then I would offer a large variety of surfaces. Maybe
if they laid the eggs in something porous (coral, tufa, lavarock etc),
the survival rate might be better. Smooth surfaces half-buried in sand
might be another option. Their eating them might be just that, or - if
the eggs are that accessible, then they might as well eat it before
someone else does, so if the eggs were better placed...? Failure is the
best opportunity for experimentation. The down side of success, is that
you have no where near as much fun trying new things ;~)

According to Shultz, another catfish (same family as Corys but different
genus), the Callichthys callichthys is a bubble nest builder, and the
only way to induce them to spawn (at that time) was to spray water over
the surface. Water temperature, pH, hardness, none of that seemed to be
particularly important. The fish-keeper had to simulate rainfall. They
even did it with the very same water from the tank, using a watering can,
and it worked. I bet the fellow who figured that out was feeling pretty
good that day :o).
--
www.NetMax.tk