Baby peppered cory catfish?! What do i do?!

We just found a super tiny baby catfish in our filter!! Our filter keeps crapping out and I went to dump the water out and do a clean when I noticed a tiny little thing swimming at the bottom. Our female catfish laid a few eggs a couple weeks ago and we thought that the community tank just ate them all but we found this little guy who must have been swept up into the filter. We have no idea how to care for it or what to do! He is currently housed in a make shift side tank, which is a tupper ware container inside the fish tank kinda floating on top so he stays the same temp as the water (78) with a couple floaty plants, some moss and a bubbler. He seems to be chillin under the bubbler but obviously this can't be a permanent solution. We're going to go to the fish store today as we apparently need liquid fish food? I have no idea how much to feed just one baby! LOL we want this little guy to survive. Any ideas? Help!!

 

Technically speaking, your little guy has already done most of the hard work of surviving. Does it still have the yoke sack? How small is it? Is it still a fry?or can you see the spotted patterns yet? Please send a picture with a dime next to it so we can get a comparison. Different stages need different requirements. Good Luck!

 

i know he's such a little survivor!! I can't tell if it still has the yolk sac or not...I've watched some youtube videos since and he seems to be past the yolk stage because he's kinda black and not so white/yellow anymore. He does have a bit of a belly but i can't tell if he ate something or that's the yolk sac? it looks more reddish than yellow. He's so tiny, less than 4mm long. Here are some pics, you can see him next to snail for size if that helps! We went out and bought a breeder tank to host him in. The store clerk told me to cook egg white and feed it to him? but then i read a google article that said feed them egg yolk! So now im confused LOL. I do have frozen brine shrimp so i did my best to cut it up a whole bunch into tiny pieces as i heard they like that too? but he doesn't seem to be eating it so either he ate whatever was in the filter before hand, has a sac still or just isn't hungry? Its so hard to tell! Let me know if this helps!

 

I have no advice. But wow that's great hope the little guy makes it, congrats

 

4 mm long it’s not going to eat much at each meal.
In an idea world it would like to be living on the bottom of an established dirty fish tank . Rummaging through leaf litters.

Any old ornaments, gravel ,rocks, and plant material will have small amounts of food.

A corydoras fry does not need special liquid fry food. Far from that it needs only a place to hide and what it can find in most established tanks.

The tupper ware container is ideal if it’s big enough and you can swap some water from the main tank a couple times a day.

You can buy hang on front breeding boxes that have air driven up lift tubes moving water from the main tank. Plus an air pump if you don’t have one. That seems like a lot for one fry?

In a couple of weeks with lipuck the fry can go into the main tank . Especially if there is leaf litter ( old oak leaves) to hide under.

Everything that fry needs can be found ON a dirty sponge filter. These fry often grow up living in a tank of fish living under sponge filters.

The fry can eat any adult dry food that is small enough. It will suck on bigger chunks.

 

Ok it looks like it still has its yoke sac. My best advice is to have a very small sponge filter setup, or air stone for a little water movement. Do 10% daily water changes. No chlorine please.
You can try some steamed egg whites, but not too much cause it dirties up the water. It may nibble it but it may be too soon. Honestly, the picture you showed us is almost at the edge where its yoke sack falls off. Just remember to keep the water clean and free of chlorine.

 

4 mm long it’s not going to eat much at each meal.
In an idea world it would like to be living on the bottom of an established dirty fish tank . Rummaging through leaf litters.

Any old ornaments, gravel ,rocks, and plant material will have small amounts of food.

A corydoras fry does not need special liquid fry food. Far from that it needs only a place to hide and what it can find in most established tanks.

The tupper ware container is ideal if it’s big enough and you can swap some water from the main tank a couple times a day.

You can buy hang on front breeding boxes that have air driven up lift tubes moving water from the main tank. Plus an air pump if you don’t have one. That seems like a lot for one fry?

In a couple of weeks with lipuck the fry can go into the main tank . Especially if there is leaf litter ( old oak leaves) to hide under.

Everything that fry needs can be found ON a dirty sponge filter. These fry often grow up living in a tank of fish living under sponge filters.

The fry can eat any adult dry food that is small enough. It will suck on bigger chunks.

All of that.

I’d stir up the tank water a bit, take a cup or so and add that in then take a cup and put it back in the main tank (I had about a dozen hatch so I worried about scooping them up). I raised some last year with the kiddo for fun. They grow really well outdoors if you live in a warm climate or move them in for winter. Those little fry are tough little armored cats.

 

Thanks everyone! This helps We have him in one of those breeder side tanks that's maybe a 1L or so, maybe a bit too big for just one baby! But he seems ok in there as it has the bubbler that is taking water from the main tank and circling in through his little tank for movement and keeping it within the right temp i hope. I have been using a mini droplet thing to remove any waste from the snail thats been doing a good clean up job as I've tried to feed him powdered "bug bites" and minced brine shrimp. but maybe it needs to have more substance in there as i currently just have a moss type plant floating around and not much else. He doesn't seem to be eating so maybe he still has his sack for now. I will try and add a dirty beneficial sponge, which i do have attached to the bottom of the main tank filter water entrance. That would explain why he was doing Ok in the actual filter!

All of that.

I’d stir up the tank water a bit, take a cup or so and add that in then take a cup and put it back in the main tank (I had about a dozen hatch so I worried about scooping them up). I raised some last year with the kiddo for fun. They grow really well outdoors if you live in a warm climate or move them in for winter. Those little fry are tough little armored cats.

we live in the Lower Mainland of BC so its a little chilly outside most of the time but summers have been getting into the high 30's these days!

 

British Columbia? Then we’re both on Salish land lol I’ll start moving my livebearers and Cories out around Mothers Day.