# Sterbai fry!



## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Hey everyone, I have Sterbai fry!!! They hatched on Tuesday and are the cutest little things. Anyone here have experience raising them? So far I am doing 50% daily water changes and have been taking the water from my main tank into theirs, a medium size plastic critter tank with a cover. Inside I have an air stone, a clay pot as their hiding place with moss attached and duckweed floating on top. I've been feeding them microworms since their second day. Any information would be appreciated! Thanks for viewing.


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

Congratulations. That's what I'm hoping to see soon. May I ask what you did to trigger the spawn? I've heard different opinions on water temperature with Sterbais. Some say they like to spawn at 82F.


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Usually a large water change with cool water and giving them live blackworms will put my guys in spawning the following morning. I have two females in my community tank with one male, and this happens to be the first batch we've actually been able to hatch and raise in a quarantine tank. Being that I used to have Angels, they would always get eaten before I could get to the eggs in time. It was luck really, that I got to them before my Rummynose tetras..I had just gotten back from buying some new plants and the quarantine tank...plopped the plants out of the bag and walked away to rinse the quarantine tank. I came back to my tank and saw the eggs, though not in the spots they would have normally laid them. They were smack there in the middle of the front of the tank stuck to the glass and some close to the newer plants. So...I had assumed that they had come in on the plants until I had remembered talking to my other half the night before about how fat the females had been looking. It was almost like they waited for me to lay them! Anyhow...I've managed to have 8 babies out of 14 eggs. Reading up on them on the net...it seems I may have gotten rid of some possible good eggs. I saw that they were really dark in color and started fuzzing a day after the eight had hatched so I assumed they were no good. Next time I will wait a day longer. Good luck with yours...try some blackworms and the cool water change and see what happens!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Congrats! I've also had good luck with a cooler water change and dropping barometric pressure together to get my Cory's to spawn.

EahInMass, it sounds like you're doing things right.
The only other things I'd suggest would be to get some BBS going, and maybe set up a 5 gallon tank to move them to as they grow. If they have to stay in smaller containers like a breeder net or something similar, it can stunt their growth in the long run.


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## Edward (May 25, 2004)

Congratulation!

Where do you get microworms from? 
I have 10 Sterbai in 125 gallon aquarium and they lay eggs all the time on plants and glass so I put them to a 10 gallon to get the action going and nothing. Nothing for weeks, they just don't like it. So I put them back to the 125 gallon and they continue laying eggs. Crazy little beauties. Temperature 24C / 75F, 120 - 300 uS TDS, 20 ppm Ca, 2 - 3 dGH, 0.1 ppm Mg, 15 ppm NO3, 0.1 ppm PO4, 1.5 - 3.0 dKH, moderate CO2, no water changes, 100% planted, 3 phase lighting of MH blast, Low light and Moon light. No live food, only Tetra dry and raw beef heart. 

Did you move just the eggs to the smaller aquarium or you had the fish there too?

Thank you
Edward


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks for the replies! I will check what size the critter container is and take your advice Jan, thanks. I was wondering about the baby brine shrimp as well, but my other half says they have no nutritional value? I did read on the net that that is suggested as well though, so I suppose it would be good to pick some up tomorrow. Any idea how long to keep feeding them the microworms? I was also wondering if you've raised your eggs Jan, and if so have you don't anything differently as far as the water changes and feeding? I get the microworms from a LFS in Providence, R.I. That is funny what you mentioned Edward, about your Sterbai's not wanting to spawn in their new home. How picky! 125 gallons with 10 of these guys sounds very nice, you should send us a pic! I will try taking more of mine and uploading soon!


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Edward said:


> Where do you get microworms from?


Don't mean to bud in but there are plenty of sellers on AquaBid who sell live foods: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?foodl .


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## Edward (May 25, 2004)

Raul-7 said:


> Don't mean to bud in but there are plenty of sellers on AquaBid who sell live foods: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?foodl .


 Thank you Raul-7


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

geez.........."wingless fruit flies"??? Where are you guys sending me?! Yikes!! LOL- thanks for the link Raul


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

I just got a microworm culture in the mail from "prettypaula" on aquabid. They're "brewing" in the fish room as I type.:heh:


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is so wonderful to hear and read about. I love it. 

Hatched Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Eggs = Nauplii have very good nutritional value 
as long as they are fed to the fry within the first 12 hours of hatching. 

I strongly recommend the Tropical Fish Hobbyist issue from 1 or 2 months back and the article by Mike Helleg and Gary Lange. Excellent article that brought me to what for me was the next level in this hobby. 
I am now trying to raise my Endler Fry with these. 

I would love to hear about what others are feeding their fry for live foods. Anyone feeding Daphnia? 

Let us know what works for you. You must be so proud and excited!

Jimbo205


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks so much for that information on the nutritional value of BBS. So how do I go about caring for these little critters? Do I hatch enough for a days worth of feeding? Sorry I am so clueless about this but this is the first batch I am raising! I also noticed one of the "kids" seem to be swimming slightly confused...turning all over himself like he can't gain his balance. Is this because of a bad swim bladder you think or because he needs a bit more practice? lol. I also haven't seen this guys side fins, whereas all the others you can see moving them a mile a minute when resting. I will have to look closer...


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Once you learn how to hatch brine shrimp eggs, it is fairly quick and easy to do. Most people feel that they are primarily for fish fry. Opinions may vary on that. I am fairly new to it. I use a 1/2 liter water/soda bottle and fill it up with 350 mL of water. I then add 1/4 tsp of baking soda, 1/4 tsp of Epsoms Salt, 1/4 tsp of Brine Shrimp Eggs, 1 & 1/2 tablespoon of rock salt. The soda bottle has the cap screwed on it and is upside down. The bottom is cut out of it. I have an air pump with flexible air tubing with a rigid piece of tubing that sticks into the upside down bottle. I let it bubble for 24 hours roughly. I let it sit in a 'bath' of warm water at 80-84 degrees. When done I siphon the bottom of the bottle for the nauplii (orange colored, very tiny and they move) the darker brown stuff floating on top of the water are the shells. You don't want those. Siphon orange creatures into a Brine Shrimp Net which is white and finer than regular fish netting. Rinse the orange creatures with tap water and feed to fish fry. Supposedly nauplii help fish fry grow very quickly and stimulate breeding in adults. I cannot verify that yet. I am still learning. 

Set up new batch for tomorrow. I highly recommend the article. It had more information that I gave. The authors Mike Helleg and Gary Lange are breeders with a lot of experience. The magazine is very much worth the price at the store. After purchasing the 3rd issue, the subscription is a very good deal. 

I am just a hobbyist. 

Not to be cruel, but if one of your fry does not appear healthy you may want to use him as a feeder fish to a larger fish. Does not sound good. If the rest are healthy, focus on them. Others with more experience with livebearers may have different advice. You may also find that using fish flakes and reducing them to a powder may work well also. 

I wish you the best with your batch. How far from Albany are you? 

Jimbo205


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks again for the reply, Jimbo. Wow, it does sound somewhat complicated but will give it a try tomorrow. Has anyone used frozen BBS before? Would that be a good idea to use in the meantime? You're going to consider me a wicked tree hugger but I don't have the heart to feed this guy to my community tank! I figure if he can eat and strive then he is worth saving, lol. Poor thing. I was planning on saving at least two for my community tank when they reach of age so as long as I see no further problems with him and don't feel he's suffering, he's a keeper! I just recently had to freeze my Apisto Gramma Inca after about three months of living on the bottom of the tank...he continued eating and suprisingly didn't get picked on once he came down with the problem where he was no longer able to swim. One day I saw that he was suffering and decided it was time to put him to sleep. So sad! Anyhow...I'm probably a couple hours from Albany. I live near the Fall River, Massachusetts area, just past Providence, R.I.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Frozen is always good. Just remember to pull up a chair and spend time time enjoying the show! They will go nuts for it! It is just a blast to watch them go after the stuff. Also if you have a local fish store nearby, it might be worth the treat purchasing some live food. It should not cost very much at all for a small batch. Well worth the price for the fun you will have watching them. 

Enjoy. 

Yeah, save the research for later. For now just enjoy your little ones. :smile:


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Yeah, I normally buy live blackworms for the adults, as well as the other members of the community tank...but I was told that live baby brine shrimp were not sold in pet stores as live food, only eggs or frozen. I looked at them all tonight as I was changing the water in the fry tank and it looks as though they all have their side fins which I was unsure of on that little guy in particular who seems to be swimming different than the others. I have not seen any strange swimming today but will have to deffinately keep an eye out. They look like they are growing up so quickly! There is one that is too cute...he's the plumpest of them all! They are absolutely adorable, I really hope they all make it!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Sounds like they will. 

When it comes to live brine shrimp, daphnia, etc it really all depends on the local fish stores nearby you. 
If you are talking about Petsmart or Petco, the answer would probably be no. 

You will learn with time what you can get from which local fish stores, etc. 

Let us know how they are doing.


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

I have the TFH issue Jimbo is talking about, and he is right. That is an excellent article-a must have for anyone interested in BBS. I'm not sure what the nutritional value is between BBS and microworms. I fed my Darios some microworms today, and they tore them apart. They were starting to get skinny! The dominant male and female started demonstrating spawning behavior soon after eating the microworms. I would say give both things a try, and see which works best for you. I may still try BBS, but the microworms are working splendidly right now. Good luck with the fry. I would love to see some pics of their development


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Hi guys, thanks as always for the replies. I have been feeding both the microworms and the frozen baby brine shrimp. Unfortunately, I had my first death on Wednesday, and then another today. I'm not sure what is going on..though like I had posted before, one was acting as though he might not make it. The other one threw me as a surprise, so it's kind of saddened me that I don't know what happened. Right before I was about to come on here though, I had been walking by the tank to get to my kitchen when I glanced over and noticed one of the female adults in my community tank on her side and panicked. I took a closer look and realized she was laying more eggs! Whew! So...after much waiting for her and the male to finish thier courting, I managed to scrape a total of 22 eggs out of the tank. We'll see how they do! I've got my fingers crossed because I really do have no clue at what I'm doing here. I'll be trying to take some more pics of the lil guys later on to post an update. Deepdiver, any idea on how to keep the microworm culture going? Also, what's on the cover of that particular magazine with the article you guys are mentioning? I have a gazzilion from as far back as the 90's! lol


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

I think the issue is April '07. The fish on the cover is a pinkish Betta with irredescent blue finnage. 

For the microworm culture you just start it in another container with new oatmeal. Just a pinch of yeast too, but I guess sometimes you don't need it. I've read the cultures last around a month, but I'm also on my first batch so I can't say for sure.

Good luck with your babies. It sounds to me like you are a very happy fishkeeper now!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Forget the photos. (Why do you 'scrape off the eggs' and what do you do with them?) 
Tell us more. Sounds great!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks....I'll have to look for that magazine with the Betta..I am sure that I have it. Jimbo, I had to scrape the eggs off the tank glass with a razor blade because one of the females seem to prefer laying them there than on the Crypts. I ran to Walmart to pick up a mini heater, as I have not had one in the small critter tank I am keeping the fry in and am thinking with the temperature dropping suddenly the last two days (that's New England for ya), that that may have been what caused the death of the last one. Well...while I was buying the heater, I guess the other female started laying eggs as well because hun said he added about 61 that he pulled out of the community tank....totalling about 83 now in the critter tank. Sheesh...guess I'll be buying another tank soon....


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

A 10 Gallon tank costs $10 which is the cheapest thing you can invest in at either Wal*Mart or the local fish store. If you are going to invest in a heater, you may as well get one that can be used in either a 10 Gallon or one much bigger. For whatever reason, they all cost pretty much the same. 

It bugs me out when I see Nano Tanks (less than 10 Gallons) sold for as much if not more than a 10 Gallon Tank. Finding a heater for a Nano is even harder. Funny thing is I find much nicer 'little tanks' when I am NOT in the aquarium section of the stores. It's amazing the cool things that are made of glass (just make sure the glass is thick enough). 

Let us know what you found and if you like it. The important thing right now is the little eggs and the fry. Must be cool being a 'Mommy' to the little ones. Again congratulations.


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks again Jimbo. I ended up finding a mini heater for around $7 at Walmart. It's made for 2 to 5 gallons which is what I needed since the critter tank I have the fry in is about 2 gallons. Anyhow...so far so good. I ended up finding that magazine last night (thanks again guys), and the article is very detailed! I am going to have to give it a try seeing as though I am going to have lots of mouths to feed (fingers crossed)!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Here are some updated photos of the babies waiting for their snack and daily water change. The tank never seems to get clean enough and I always wound up with small bits of oatmeal from feeding them their microworms. Right now I am doing the water changes mostly with a turkey baster to gather up the bits of oatmeal and uneaten food. I have a few snails in there to help out as well. Figured I might as well put those pains in the butt to work seeing as though I have so darn much of them! You will notice some eggs in the first picture (top right, slightly yellow in color). The towel under the tank is comparison as to how small these guys really are. Not easy for an amatuer to photograph! I decided to include a pic of the proud mother as well, though she remains in the community tank.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Awww, they are so cute.  Congrats on the good work!


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

Great pics! I love this thread-please keep us updated!


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## panaque (Jan 21, 2004)

you seem to be having such good luck with your current feeding regimen that i feel silly to suggest something different but if you wish to try hikari makes frozen daphnia as well as rotifers in cube packs. my fish love them and it might be a good change-up in the diet for the little guys. they are very small and should be easily consumable to even the smallest fry. they also make a sinking wafer specialy designed for corys. i highly recommend hikari to anyone for food and i have seen fish that will only eat live foods weaned onto frozen with their products. so anyways thats my 2 cents. great job on the fry!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Cool looking Mommy fish!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks so much guys! And thanks panaque, I haven't tried that yet! I do have the sinking wafers you were talking about for the adults but will have to wait till the babies get a little bigger to try those out on them. And please don't feel silly suggesting anything, I really appreciate the replies and am learning a lot from trial and error!
As of tonight, I weaned out about 4-5 eggs that had fungus and then noticed that I have one lil' guy already poking his tail through one of the remaining eggs! I tried to recount the remaining "good eggs" (I know I know...don't count your sterbai'bies until they hatch)...but with all those leaves floating on the tank that many of the eggs are still clung to I kept losing count! So..I shall wait till they hatch, lol. It is just so tempting! I did take some pictures of the lil' guy with the tail emerging but am afraid they didn't come out, as it seems I cannot get close enough with my camera! Ugh, how frustrating! I really wish you all could see these adorable little things the way I am!! And so, I am going to see what I can do about posting some more pics...


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Here you will notice the egg on the upper left with the tail sticking out. If you look really close (hopefully the image size will allow it to be clear enough), you will see the eyes of future hatchers within the other eggs! I think that is so amazing! The other pic is of them hanging out in the clay pot, lol...what they do most of the time. I do have one or two that do happen to come out and hang around the tank during the day, but the others tend to stay inside and that is where they usually eat as well. Of course, I have to kick them out when it comes time to clean as we all know that if you live and eat inside...you do your business in there too! LOL


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

There were a few more eggs that ended up turning bad. Unfortunately, when I had done my 1/3 water change this morning I had noticed the one that had started wiggling it's tail free last night (see pic), has also turned bad. So sad how he didn't even make it out of the egg completely. I left him in there for a few more hours thinking that maybe he was just asleep...though the remainder of his egg has turned white and fuzzy....so several hours later with still no movement I am going to say he is no longer sleeping  While I still have plenty of healthy looking eggs and we are coming even closer to their due time to hatch, it's still sad to see so many turning white with fungus. I know they make something to add to the tank to control fungus but I prefer not to. We shall see how many successful hatchers we will get soon!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

So I was watching the eggs last night while they floated around the tank atop the leaves....and I could actually SEE two of them tossing and turning inside their eggs! Talk about amazing!! So, of course...I started photographing. And then...all of a sudden one is hatched! <click>! Here are the pics....
The egg at the top of the picture is one that had already hatched, as you can see the others are darker in color. And then pop! pop! pop! We've got more Sterbai-bies!!!!!! Woohoo! Soooo cute!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Keep the replies coming people! I'm starting to think you're getting bored with my posts, lol.


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## panaque (Jan 21, 2004)

Wow, i am really enjoying your success with your fry. So have you raised corys before? Its always neat to see your fish breeding. My pencilfish seem to like my tank, ive had several batches of babies. I would really like to be able to breed some c. julii. Although sterbai are my next favorite. I am glad to see them breeding in captivity. I hope more fishkeepers will breed more types of fish so captive bred fish are more available. So you going to start a cory ranch? Ill take a few! Oh, and about feeding stunted cory fry to the community tank, I wouldnt recommend it. Corys have those poisonous little spines you know...


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Yay I got a reply! LOL - I've been wondering if this thread was even working or if I should stop the postings! This is my first try at raising any fry, and to be raising the fry of my absolute favorite freshwater fish is truly a treat! My hun has raised fry for years, though he has never raised Sterbai's before. His last batch of fry were Apisto Gramma Inca's and Apisto Kacatoides (I know I spelled that wrong!). I really liked the Inca's but realized they just didn't go well with my community tank as they are very territorial. They were originally in thier own 20 gallon tank but I made hun tear it down before he started his saltwater tank, which eventually turned into two saltwater tanks....and so now we have a 40 gallon fresh, and a 30 AND 65 gallon salt - all in our living room. LOL - I love fish and all, but our landlord jokes everytime he comes up that he is walking into an aquarium! He has not seen the fry in our bedroom -LOL. So anyhow, hun picked up a 10 gallon tank last night for us to transfer the fry into. There have been a few more deaths, as to be expected....though the bottom of the tank is still full with fry. I haven't been able to count them yet because it seems everytime I get to about 5, one swims in a frenzy and knocks into another...causing about 3 of them to take off, getting the rest of them swimming! It's like a domino effect...lol. It truly is cute to watch them though. The older batch look so grown up already!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

How cool that you got to see some hatching!

Of course we want you to keep posting the progress.  I've been watching intently, but have been a little short on posting time lately.

That's also cool that you and your spouse both enjoy the same hobby.


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

That's awesome. The little one looks so cool. Keep posting-we'll be waiting


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Well guys, there have been ridiculous amounts of tragedies. My apartment had been at 90 degrees for a couple of days because my landlord refuses to believe that the central air conditioning isn't working. Needless to say, all of my fish tanks have been way too hot. I had also tried that chemical remedy for the fungus as I had been having a lot of fry die off and turn fuzzy. I had also been only doing once daily water changes, and I think that may be another place I had gone wrong. I am now kicking it up to two a day in hopes what little I have left can be saved, and I have also stopped using the chemical (though I do not think the chemical had any wrongdoing). As it stands I have all the remaining larger fry, the original 6 from the 8 eggs. From the 82 eggs....I have 4. I have to say, this is very discouraging. I have even thought of throwing in the towel a few times. I did lose a lot of eggs from the second batch before they even hatched, and it was an inexperienced fish.....a lot I had to scrape off the glass and could have been damaged that way....but it just doesn't make up for the fact that I had a bunch of newly hatched fry swarming the bottom of my tank and now have 4 that remain. I had also accidently injured one with the air stone and felt so absolutely horrible that hun had to put it out of its misery. Needless to say, things aren't going anywhere near as well as they had been...
Here are pics I managed to take last night. The older batch seem to be doing really well, and their markings are becoming more prominent. I hope you enjoy them. I'll be making a new thread soon as these pics finish the amount of attachments I'm allotted for this thread.


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

Don't get discouraged-it's your first time raising fry. Just remember you are experiencing something all cory lovers would love to experience.


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks deepdiver.


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## panaque (Jan 21, 2004)

I am so sorry to hear of your frustrations. It is amazing that we as fishkeepers still cant replicate what nature does so effortlessly. Go figure, a fish from the tropics being affected by too much heat. I hope you wont let this discourage you. I would love to see you be able to raise these guys eventually and be able to provide a few hobbiests (me) with a great alternative to wild caught fish. Its great to see people doing their part to make the hobby more sustainable. So i was thinking that maybe the addition of a UV sterilizer might help with the fungus problem. As for the problem with getting the eggs off the glass, does the female usually deposit her eggs around the same place on the glass? Maybe you could fool her into putting them on a removable piece of acryllic that was in the same place. It should be basicaly invisible in the tank and you could then remove and replace with another. Then you could place the piece directly into the hatch tank without needing to scrape them. And, you might think that 4 out of 82 fry is unacceptable odds. We would like to see 100% success rates but that isnt how nature works unfortunately. So be proud of your trials and keep trying to improve and I am sure you will figure it out. Good luck!


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## EahInMass (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks Panaque. It turns out that all of the fry from that hatch have died. The surviving six from the first eight are still going strong and are getting cuter by the minute! They just got their first feeding of live bbs tonight and were esctatic over them! It's upsetting to see how many tragedies from the second batch I've tried to raise, but I am begining to wonder if maybe it was because only one of my sterbai's had been laying eggs on a regular basis, and perhaps this last batch was from the other female, meaning it would have been her first. I am not sure, but it was certainly discouraging when I had started the first batch with eight and managed to successfully raise six so far, and then go from eighty-two to zero on the second. Anyhow, I have picked up a ten gallon that the six will be transfered to soon. I'm going to continue to try raising the fry this season to see what happens, but in the future will most likely have the batches seperate. It gets a little hectic dodging so many wigglers when cleaning a small two gallon!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

I don't like this myself, but both my boys get excited to see (in store tanks) fish eat 'feeder fish'. 

This does not appeal to me, but I understand that breeders either do this or euthanize the 'unhealthy fish or fry'. 

Again, this is not something that I personally do. 

I am very sorry to hear that some did not do well. I wish you and your little guys better success.


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