Cory catfish are social beings and respond positively to new additions in the tank, especially when it’s their own spawn.
If you want to extend the fish school in your tank, breeding your corydoras is an easy way out. No worries if you don’t know the first thing about cory catfish eggs, we’ll try to acquaint you with the topic in our brief informational guide.
So, let’s get started!
Is My Cory Catfish Pregnant?
No, we don’t think your Cory catfish is pregnant because simply put, they are incapable of it. Only livebearers fish like guppies, platy, swordtail, molly, etc., can get pregnant, and corys are oviparous (egg layers).
Oviparous creatures breed by laying eggs as opposed to viviparous, who bear their offspring inside their womb. If your corydoras is in the breeding stage, you won’t miss it as it will drop the eggs everywhere in the aquarium, and you might even find them plastered on the glass.
How Often Do Cory Catfish Lay Eggs?
When kept in ideal conditions, provided the water is healthy and there are enough males, Cory catfish can be breeding machines that lay eggs every week. But unlike other fish that release hundreds of eggs, they suffice by laying only ten to fifteen.
The species places its eggs on the glass of the tank until they hatch. Again, this depends on the following few factors:
- The size of the aquarium
- Lighting in the tank
- Water temperature, pH, and KH
- The overall health of the Cory
- Vegetation in the tank
- Food quality
- The number and types of tank mates
Typically, Corydoras eggs are healthy and viable, and if you can’t see them on the glass, we suggest checking near a plant. The fish are smart and hide their eggs in a safe place to increase their chances of survival.
Cory Catfish Male Vs. Female
It’s difficult to differentiate a female Cory catfish from a male one during the early stages of their lives. In most cases, you need to wait for your fish to grow up to two inches before seeing the difference. Once they mature completely, you can demarcate the sexes by observing their size.
Female Corydoras are bigger and wider, with broad midsections, and swim higher in the aquarium than their male counterparts. In contrast, males are smaller and slimmer with less rounded bellies.
Additionally, males have pointed anal fins and large dorsal fins, as opposed to females. But if you want a more concrete difference, observe their behavior in the mating season. Males tend to chase female Corys during this period, allowing you to easily identify their sexes.
Females aren’t as diverse in color as male Cory fishes, so that is an obvious distinguishing feature as well. Another interesting fact: it is often assumed that albino males can’t mate with normal colored females, but that is just a misconception. However, they require a little extra oxygen supply and food, so you’ll have to be careful about that.
What Do Cory Catfish Eggs Look Like
Corydoras’ eggs are translucent and plain white if they are infertile, while eggs that produce baby fish are beige and have dark spots. They have a jelly-like consistency and are ball-shaped, clustered together in a callus mass.
How To Tell If Cory Catfish Eggs Are Fertilized
You can tell whether the eggs are fertilized or not simply by looking at them, but you do need to be a little observant and pay attention. Inseminated eggs are beige colored and bear dark spots, while unfertilized eggs are plain, translucent, and white.
However, you must note that not all fertilized eggs will lead to a healthy baby fish, so you can’t judge which egg to keep purely by visual inspection. There’s a good chance of the offspring being weak, no matter how healthy the parent fish are.
You’ll have to wait until hatching to know for sure whether or not you’ll get to keep the new fish.
How Long Does It Take For Cory Catfish Eggs To Hatch?
Cory catfish eggs don’t take much time to hatch, and the offspring come out in a period of three to six days. If that doesn’t happen, the eggs are sadly infertile, and you’ll have to dispose of them.
We also suggest moving the eggs to a separate tank to give them a good environment for development.
FAQs:
Do Cory Catfish Lay Unfertilized Eggs?
No, Corydoras do not lay unfertilized eggs. The females collect sperm in advance, and eggs are laid only after being fertilized. Let the eggs harden for an hour or so before moving them, and you’ll be good to go.
How Many Eggs Do Cory Catfish Lay?
The catfish have a very high possibility of laying viable eggs; that’s why they don’t need to produce a large number of eggs in one go. They usually drop ten to fifteen eggs at a go out of which most survive, given the tank conditions are favorable. There’s a good chance of overcrowding your tank, so you’ll have to decide what to do with the new spawn accordingly.
Do Corys Eat Their Own Eggs
Yes, Corys do eat their own eggs, and that’s why it’s advised that you move the eggs to a different tank as soon as possible. No hate for them because spawning fish have the tendency to eat their spawn out of survival means. Keeping the fry out of your Cory’s reach is a good way to ensure that offsprings get to live.
Final Thoughts
Since Corys are social creatures, populating your tank is an excellent idea. Just make sure that you increase your tank’s size accordingly and give them enough hiding spots to rest when they feel threatened. For example, you can increase the vegetation in the aquarium.
And we’ll sign off on that note. Hope we answered all your Corydoras’ breeding-related queries. See you next time! Take care.
1 thought on “How To Care For Cory Catfish Eggs? (A New Owner’s Guide)”
Cleaned our canister filter and found 8 live baby Cory’s in the canister. It’s a fluval 207.