Siluris THANX! it's H punctatum

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 04 Feb 2003, 19:09

Guess what came in the mail today....
Checking out the descriptions, esp taking a good look on small spots on the fins, and the narrow caudal peduncle, small size and unbranched fins in dorsal etc:
without a doubt; we've got Hoplosternum punctatum
still a quite unusual fish, me thinks

Big thumbs up HH!

Some of the fry of Batch #3 are still living; but it's a HELL of a job to make them eat (!)
Nest #4 is going to be taken from dad #2 (those eggs are now 4 days old),
hoping those young will eat at least something.
Most just lie on the bottom, waiting to die; they don't take babybrine or microworms; I'm out of my wits here, so any hints or tips from the Cory-breeders are welcome (no one posted a reply on my post about this, yet; c'mon people; it isn't like I'm rivalling the Sterbai market with these fish!

clothahump · Post by **clothahump** » 04 Feb 2003, 19:55

What temperature are you keeping them at? just wondering ifan increase in temp might make them more lively.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 04 Feb 2003, 20:24

T is 25'C
There's an airstone, a spongefilter and fist-sized nylon with carbon in it.
the waterlevel is about 20 cm
they just lie on the bottom; just spotted at least 6 dead ones today, already.
I change 1/3 of the water every two days (the second nest I wasted because I did it every day?)
They don't like waterchanges at all.
I use a teaspoon easylife, a tiny bit of salt and a few drops of aquasafe for conditioning on say; 15 liters of fresh water.
they don't move at all; just fed them with some microworms, but nothin' happenin'

depressing....

I got my first nest (wich are the parents now) raised solely on chopped tubifex, but you cannot buy it anymore anywhere. I had to feed them that for 6 weeks or so, before they took anything else (that was in '96 or so)

clothahump · Post by **clothahump** » 04 Feb 2003, 20:32

I have found that Corys that I have bred always seem to do better in well established tanks, they seem to get a far better start in life due to the microscopic life in the plants and algae, even feeding off the foam filters.
Perhaps a more natural tank set up would be more successful.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 04 Feb 2003, 22:23

That might be worth a try!
but how do you keep the eggs from fungusing in such a tank? because, man, do they fungus FAST! (24 hours is quite long enough)

clothahump · Post by **clothahump** » 04 Feb 2003, 22:34

1 drop of Methylene Blue for two gallons is usually enough.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 04 Feb 2003, 22:55

Thanx! just ripped a bit from work, thanks to my collegue wich teaches chemistry (those highschools are stacked up on anything

)
can you tell me the concentration of those drops? or is 'very blue' usually good enough? I got it as a powder....

And these tanks; do they have a substrate; sand or such, and plants?
And I assume, you filter that methylene blue out as soon as they hatch, or is it harmless for fry?

I have a strong assumption, I wasted another nest by using acriflavine; hence the question.
tanx!

clothahump · Post by **clothahump** » 04 Feb 2003, 23:00

At one drop per gallon it is a light blue in colour, powder I have never used so I am unable to advise you.
Tanks were sand substrate with plants.
The Meth Blue is gradually removed when performing water changes.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 04 Feb 2003, 23:07

thanx for all the lightning quick responses; I'll try it on the next batch; if this one goes.
Those Hops still have one fat eggfilled nest....

clothahump · Post by **clothahump** » 04 Feb 2003, 23:20

I must emphasise the tanks were well matured, good plant growth with a fair amount of detrius around their bases.