# Panda cories...



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I was wondering if anyone has successfully had these little guys breed in their planted tank? I have 2 in one of my tanks and really like them. I was thinking of getting some more and seeing if nature might take her course.


----------



## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I had Corydoras oiapoquensis spawn in my tank when I first set it up with new Aquasoil. They are very similar to panda Cories. I would think that as long as your water is very soft you have a good chance of seeing some babies.

The guy I got mine from uses rainwater to breed all of his cories.


----------



## frugalfish (Apr 20, 2005)

Yep, I have just this year. I posted about it in the fish section a little while back. I wasn't trying to get them to breed, it just happened. There are three of them in my 30 tall, one female and two males. Came back from a vacation and while checking on my tanks noticed something tiny moving and low and behold there were 8 little tiny catfish. They may have been spawing before, but the young and eggs probably got eaten by tankmates. Now there are less fish and a ton of groundcover plants for them to hide among. ONly proble now is they are becoming a bit too prolofic. Must be three different aged young now. They are a cute fish, but especially so when they are under a 1/4 inch. Panda's have always been my favorite corydoras.


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

David - congratulations! I'm jealous. If you ever want to dispose of some of them, I know a tank which will be happy to accept them. 

Aaron - if softer water is needed for spawning, I am out of luck with my liquid semi-rock (kh10, gh12).


----------



## frugalfish (Apr 20, 2005)

Bert- I'm not sure if hard water would be a problem with Panda cories. My local water is over 300 ppm of hardness and the pH averages around 8. I know they have spawned in these conditions before (I've seen eggs), but my tanks are usually heavily stocked and fry of any kid just don't make it past all the hungry mouths. This tank is now lightly stocked and has many more areas (heavy plant cover) for fry to survive until they are large enough to evade predation. Pandas are almost always tank raised and with so many generation removed from the wild they may not require the normal soft conditions, but instead be able to adapt to other conditions. However....this tank has taken a turn recently. I have a ton of Pomacea bridgesii in this tank now and when I test the water the results are very different...showing softer water and lower kh which of course gives a lower pH. The Brigs seem to just suck the calcium and minerals out of the water for their shells at a heavy rate. Perhaps they could be the new water softening gizmo? I don't know if this has had a direct affect on the cories or not, but I must be honest about my tank conditions. Another reason they may be spawning so much is that I must do regular water changes to replenish the stuff that the snails take away. The water changes are a trigger with many catfish, especially when using cooler water as I do. And as for the fry, I do nothing special to raise them. They are on their own and must be finding what they need among the plants and gravel. Of course with this tank being very established there are tons of microorganisms (another plus the snails provide with their slime trails)to get them started and I'm sure they are finding leftover food as well. Heck my tank has had a horrible case of greenwater for the last two months so for sure there has been tons for them to eat.


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Well, David, you've given me cause for optimism, regarding the water params. Every Sunday, they get about 50% cooler water going into the tank. So I will get a few more and hope for nature to do the rest. The other tank inhabitants are guppies and shrimp, and the tank is heavily planted. So I'll keep my fingers crossed!


----------



## frugalfish (Apr 20, 2005)

Bert, thought of something else besides water changes that will help...live black worms. To get them conditioned for spawning no other food gets them as excited as live worms. If you can't get them in your area, raising grindals or white worms will do.


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Wow David, congrats on your success. I'm surprised that your snails don't chow down on the eggs. That's always been one of my biggest problems.

Another thing that I've found that really triggers spawning is doing a water change about the same time as a low pressure system is coming. It seems that the drop in the the barometer and fresh water sends them into a breeding frenzy.


----------



## frugalfish (Apr 20, 2005)

JanS said:


> Wow David, congrats on your success. I'm surprised that your snails don't chow down on the eggs. That's always been one of my biggest problems.


Thanks. That's why I was surprised too.

Recently I removed most of the snails, because I didn't want them in this tank anyways. The problem now is that a couple of Cherry shrimp found their way into this tank and have been breeding like crazy. Time to do some more netting out of thngs that don't belong. Here a re a few pics of the parents and offspring to inspire you out there...









That's a Tetramin tablet for size reference.









Three sizes. Cardinal tetra, Ember tetras, and juvenile shrimp.








The three parents with kids. Mom's in the middle.


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Aww, they're so cute....  Panda's are one of my favorite Corys.

I see the shrimp aren't scared of them in the slightest either.


----------

