Found a cory in my tank. What a surprise!!

Cory surprise!!

I walked by my main tank this morning when I noticed a small spotted-sized fish swimming fast to the back of the tank. Then I realized it's a cory but it just didn't looked right as it's a lot smaller than my breeding trio. So I checked it out and there it is, about 1" sized cory (alone) scavenging for food. Could it be that 1 of my males have shrunk or did I have a survivor in the 130?

I know they had laid eggs several times in the main tank but never seen any babies as the eggs get eaten by the other fishes. I tried taking them out in a separate tank to hatch but they only get to the wiggler stage and then I loss them all. This 1 must be quite a survivor as the tank once had some bigger fish in it and how he managed to stay alive is a miracle.

Now if only I could keep some wigglers alive. I have another batch of wigglers and they are only 2 weeks old now and they are still teeny tiny wigglers going around the pleco grow-out tank. Hope I get to see some get big.

 

How are your fry?

 

They're doing great! At first I thought I have 1 survivor but the other night I just saw 2 more so I got 3 juvis so far. I hope to find more.

Here are some slightly blurry pictures as they go hide as soon as you get close to them.

I'll try to find a clearer pix of the wigglers.

 

That's really awsome and what a suprise!! I don't have any cories but I want to do want to do a cory tank.

 

And here's my little Cory SterbaI @ 1 month old. They're only about 1/2" big.

 

Congrats C...they are so cute.

 

Congrats C...they are so cute.

Thanks Allie!

And this morning when I turned the lights on 1 of the small tanks, I noticed there's about a dozen wigglers from the latest batch. They are so hard to see and is only visible when they swim around. I hope to have a few survivors from this batch as well.

 

Congrats! I love your cories! Hope the wigglera made it.

 

Hi!

That looks like a Peppered cory to me. I have 5 sterbais myself, and he dosen't look like one.

 

First set of pics look like Sterba and the last set of pics look like Peppered.

 

They are great! How sweet. Nice kind of surprise!

 

Congrats! I love your cories! Hope the wigglera made it.

Thanks, SabI & Debbie2!

All the eggs are hatched now but it's so hard to see all wigglers. I can only see some at the same time (and only when they move around).

HachetHaven & FL, they are actually just starting to get their distinctive "Sterbai" markings. They are actually getting more of a SterbaI looks now than a week ago as their peppery looks are getting more bolder spots as they get older. I'll try to post a "week after" photo of them later when I get a clear pix.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't have any peppered cories. At least I am 100% sure it's definitely a sterbai.

 

Hi!

OK, I haven't read any articles on sterbaI breeding so I don't know what the fry look like.

 

I would have wondered as well if I have some peppered as like you & FL said, they look peppery in their early stages. I've just found out that @ 2 months, they'll start to acquire the coloration of the parents. Mine are not quite 2 months yet so they are just starting to look like their parents.

Tried taking some pix, but these little buggers just won't settle down so it's really hard to take clearer shots. Here's 1 just taken today.

 

Hi!

My little catfish are always sitting around playing dead... I'm getting black sand for them soon, and adding way more plant cover so hopefully they'll start to come out soon.

 

HachetHaven & FL, they are actually just starting to get their distinctive "Sterbai" markings. They are actually getting more of a SterbaI looks now than a week ago as their peppery looks are getting more bolder spots as they get older. I'll try to post a "week after" photo of them later when I get a clear pix.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't have any peppered cories. At least I am 100% sure it's definitely a sterbai.

Ah ha ! Tricky little boogers they are! Thanks for the education.

 

Hi!







My little catfish are always sitting around playing dead... I'm getting black sand for them soon, and adding way more plant cover so hopefully they'll start to come out soon.

How many do you have? I find that they are more comfortable in large groups.

Ah ha ! Tricky little boogers they are! Thanks for the education.

No problem.

It's interesting to watch them grow though, from wigglers to an almost invisible fry to juveniles.