Cory Eggs 2/24/04 <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 African Dwarf Frogs, 3 Black Skirt Tetras, 1 Scissorfin, 4 Corys and 3 shrimps. The tank is doing beautifully!!! So well that my Corys decided to spawn and have laid about 50 - 60 eggs in the tank. I adopted these Corys about 4 months ago and apparently they like their new digs very much. I love keeping a tank but I was not prepared for spawning and don't exactly know what to do now. I've read that they may eat the eggs and I understand that I only have about 5 days to decide before they hatch. Should I just leave them and take a chance on having live young, remove them or dispose of them? What do people do with the new fish? Sorry to be so naive about this...it's probably just a matter of me making a decision. <What I did, was scrape the eggs off the glass & put them in a breeder net, inside the tank. Not all the eggs hatched, but I did have many fry that I raised to adulthood. Try hooking the net across the output of your filter, so they will get fresh water. ~PP>

Are my fish pregnant? Hi my name is Catt Roden, I was just wondering if you could help me, my catfish keeps trying to bury itself at the bottom of the tank. I have had my two catfish for 6 months and do not know much about them, so I was wondering if it may be pregnant.  If so what should I do with the tank and how can I help my two fish?  If not could you tell me why it is doing that? Thank you, Catt Roden <Catt... what type of catfish are these? If you know part of their name, try plugging this in to Fishbase.org and learn more re their life habits... Many catfishes DO dig in the substrate... some live a good part of the time under it in the wild. I doubt if your fish are actually pregnant... Study my friend... learn the scientific name of your fish, their husbandry... Bob Fenner>

Loricariid fry Hi Bob, or whoever is in, <Don jumping at this one!> My Ancistrus catfish are breeding all the time. Usually the male is looking after the fry for 1 to 3 weeks until they are all gone. Mostly probably eaten by the other inhabitants of the community tank (different rainbows and bitterling). Every here and than I will find a young one weeks later. About 5 months ago I disturbed him just shortly after the eggs hatched and I took them out to raise them in a little tank on my kitchen bench. By now they are developed into 2 different sizes: ~3cm and ~3.5cm. From the size difference and the behaviour I think the bigger ones are the males although I can't see the bristles jet. Am I right? I noticed that the female is already pregnant again even though the male just let go of the others. It is amazing, they are like a breeding machine and each time it seems there are more eggs. What would be the best time to remove the eggs/ fry to raise them in a different tank? I would like to give some of the off-spring to a friend. <Wow, great timing on this one! My albino Bristlenose just spawned for the first time a few days ago. Still waiting for my first hatch. Mine are alone in a 10 gallon so no need to move. But in your case I would move them a day before they hatch. Let the father do his thing fanning them as long as possible. A day or two after they hatch would work, but do it before they leave the cave. Easier to move the eggs, IMO. Not sure if the size difference has to do with sex. Mine were pretty much all the same until they were twice as large as yours. Some may be feeding a little more aggressively than the others. The bristles will not appear until they are 6 to 8 months old. Hard to sex until then, but females may appear thicker when viewed from above>          As with the other inhabitants in the tank they are breeding as well. Well, they try. I notice the courting and sometimes I find all the fishies very busy in one small area and having, what looks like, a nice meal in between. I don't take them out to breed them, so I just enjoy watching their courtship. Thanks for your help Silvia <That your fish are breeding this often is a sign of your fine care. It is no problem at all that the fish are eating the eggs. Very natural and healthy food. But I'd find it hard not to set up a breeder for the Rainbows. Don>

Pregnant Albino Catfish Could you please tell me how long it will take my Pregnant Albino Catfish to have it's fry? <Mmm, is this (likely) a Corydoras (genus) catfish? Please see here for identification and information on reproduction: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/callichthyids.htm> Thanks Ryan Ferguson <Good luck, life. Bob Fenner>