The Aeneus Corydoras was the first Cory cat that I have ever spawned. The first time that I spawned this fish was in 1967. This only happened because a fish store was opening in my town and I got to know the owner and was able to help clean and help get the store ready to open. A good friend and myself got to go over to his house and see what he had set up in his house and that did it. He was spawning many different kinds of fish. One of them was a Cory cat. He told me it was easy to do this and showed me what he did. If I wanted to raise Cory cats for him he would buy all of them from me. He would pay me 10 cents for each fish I would get to ½” long. That sounded good to me when he told me I would get 300-400 egg at each spawn. After all I carried a paper wrought for $5.00 a week. At this time I had to go home and explain to my parents what I wanted to do. This meant I would need more tanks. I was told I would need about three 10-gallon tanks and at least 2- 20-gallon long tanks. If I wanted to do it right at the start. My parents did not think this made any scents but they went along with it as long as I took care of them and I paid for the tanks with the money I was getting from helping clean and setting up this persons store. So that is how it all started for me. Now lets talk about the way it is done today. The Aeneus Cory is one of the best Cory’s to start with if you have never spawned Cory’s. The Aeneus Cory cat comes in many various colored forms including the Albino they are all the same fish. The place of discovery is a large region. There are at least 10 different places of discovery. So there is a lot of different green Cory’s out there so be care full to get the same type when you buy them they can be different. From what I have been told all Aeneus Cory cats will spawn in tanks if done this way.

Tank Information: I used a 10-gallon tank in the tank I have a sponge filter. The bottom of the tank is bare. The tank is not filled all the way. I fill the tank leaving about 2” from the top. The temperature is about 74° - 78° F. The pH is about 7.2 – 7.6. The water is tap water. Water changes are the key to getting them to spawn will talk about this later.

Prepping the fish to spawn: I place the males in 1 tank and the female in another tank for prepping to spawn. The food that I use is Freeze Dried Tubifex Worms. They receive 1 cube a day in a worm feeder. The worm feeder has been changed to make the cube sink to the bottom of the tank. It has holes cut in to allow the cats to get at the worms. That is the trick of feeding Freeze Dried Worms. They also receive live brineshrimp that I raise every other day. While you are feeding all this food to them you will be doing water changes every other day at least 20%. Once I can see that the female is full of eggs she gets placed in with the males. I have found that it is better to move the female than to move the males. They will spawn sooner this way. Keep feeding the same as you were before moving the fish. Now the fun starts water changes. When you do water changes now you will do a 50% - 75% water change. You will start this on the second day that the fish are put together. When you do these changes do them just before the lights go out in the fish room? Also have the water about 5° - 10° cooler then what you have in the tank. This is what happens in the wild when the floods come. Lots of new water and cooler temperatures. Keep repeating this every other day till they spawn.

Once the spawn comes: The size of the eggs is 1.3 mm. The size of the spawn will depend on the age of the fish and the number of the fish you are spawning. I spawn them with only 1 female to 2 males. This will still give you up to 400 eggs in a spawn.

Text Box: The fri in this photo are 2 days old have not been feed yet. As you can see they are quite small.

Now you have to determine how you want to raise the fri. I always take the eggs out of the tank and place them in about 2 ½” inches of water in a hang on container with an air stone. I also use one drop of Methyblu. The methyblu will prevent the eggs from getting a fungus on them. I will only put about 100 – 150 eggs in a container at one time. I have had problems when the eggs start to hatch. The water will foam, this cause the water to spoil fast. The eggs will start to hatch in about 3 – 4 days. After they hatch I will use a turkey baster to remove half of the water from the container. Be careful not to get the fri but try to remove the empty eggshells. Replace the water with clean water that is the same temp. This is important it must be the same temp. After the fri has hatched and they are 2 days old you should start to feed the fri. I use newly hatched brineshrimp. Twice a day they get feed. Do not over feed this can kill the fri because they do not now when to stop eating. You can also feed them micro worms when they first hatch but there can be a problem with them also. Some of your eggs may hatch on different days. So some of the fri may still have their egg sacks. Micro worms will eat the egg sack and that will kill the fri. Always feed once in the morning and once in the evening. That will keep enough food in front of their face to grow fast. Water in the containers must be changed ever day. I remove all but ½” of the water every day before I feed in the morning. Yes this water must be the same temp as before. As the fri grow I move them to 5 ½ gallon tanks this is in about 10 – 15 days after I start feeding them. Do not put these fri in a large tank use a 5-½ or 10 gallon tank at first if you go lager the fri will starve to death. They have to use too much of their energy to find food. Also do not place young Cory’s in a high tank till they are at least ½” long. I hope this will help you down the road!

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