Cant Get My Weitzmani's To Spawn

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » 08 Mar 2007, 18:17

hey guys.

about 5 months ago i bought some weitzmani's, they we're a sub-adult and a little to young to spawn but now all fully grown iv noticed at least 1 or 2 of my fish are very very fat, and generally bigger than my others (these are the females i assum) and iv been trying to get them to spawn. iv tried doing cold water change which gets the temp down to about 65 from 76 ish, often after a water change they explore the tank and hunt food like they are supposed but then they just settle down and hide....

i have also tried feeding heavily with live blood worms ect as i heard live food sometimes helps but to no avail... iv even tried a cold water change and live food... lol

if anyone can offer me any adivce plz do!

thanks guys,

andrew.

p.s i dont think the presence of 2 L316 pleco's and some rasbora could be the problem could they be putting them off?

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 09 Mar 2007, 01:20

Hi Andrew,
I just received ten adult Corydoras weitzmanni within the past week so I haven't had them spawn.
I do breed Corydoras on a small commercial scale.
This season about 1000 Corydoras sterbai.

I can think of several reasons why they haven't spawned.
Wild Corydoras and even some tank raised species as C. sterbai tend to spawn more readily going into the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This corresponds to the rainy season in Peru when most Corys spawn.

They sound a little young to have ripened at the best time to try to spawn them this season.

They are much less likely to spawn in the presence of the other fish.

Even if they have or do spawn, the chances of finding any eggs are remote in the presence of caviar loving Hypancistrus species.

Give them their own set up, lots of live worms, all the recommended triggers and maybe you will be blessed with a spawn.

Even though my Cory. sterbai are several generations removed from the wild I have not had any spawns from May until October nor has my best friend in town.

I am not going to say they cannot be breed out of season. I am only sharing what we have experenced at approximately the 47TH parallel North in the PNW of the USA.

sakanaotoko · Post by **sakanaotoko** » 09 Mar 2007, 02:57

Try feeding them black worms. I hear they go nuts over them and could help with getting them to breed.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 09 Mar 2007, 03:05

I ship in one to two pounds of live blackworms every week year around. That does not help me breed sterbai in the summer.
I only can breed paleatus and albino aeneus anytime I want but I don't raise them anymore because that do sell for much.
If it is expensive there is always a catch.

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » 09 Mar 2007, 13:45

i live in the uk, i cannot find black worms anywhere?!

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 09 Mar 2007, 14:35

Blackworms are not necessary but worms are definitely a big help.

Fortunately, both white worms and Gridal worms are easy to culture at home and they will make your catfish spawn,when they are ready to spawn.

I am sure that someone here on planetcatfish can point you in the right direction to obtain starter cultures at a low cost. $5.00 to $10.00 US should be enough to get started with both kinds of worms. They can be raised in plastic shoe boxes. Once you learn how to do it they are easy to raise and very rich foods. Probably more so than blackworms and they are perfect in size.
Grindal worms are small enough for very young Corys but large enough the adults will go crazy for them. They do well at room temperatures. They are generally 1/4 to 1/2 inch long

White worms are very similar but get about 1 inch long on average. They prefer a cooler temperature range of 65 to 70dF.
All tropical fish love them except for the monster sized big predator fish.

Both can be minced into bite sized peices for the very youngest Cory fry.

These worms not only help bring fish into spawning condition but also make your fy grow faster. They would always be part of a balanced diet just as I feed other foods and blackworms.

joern · Post by **joern** » 12 Mar 2007, 12:02

andrewcoxon wrote:p.s i dont think the presence of 2 L316 pl*co's and some rasbora could be the problem could they be putting them off?

Hi Andrew,

i believe C.weitzmani is easier to breed, if you will keep them alone in a tank. When to many inhabits in a tank, they remain shy....

My set up:
tank size 50x45x25cm, about 23-24°C, a group of 3/2, some plants, weekly water change, living food as Daphnia, blood worms or even frozen, also frozen Artemia. Only little light, some plants (cryptocoryne wendtii Sagittaria pulsilla, little Java Moos).
They accept mops ! Nearly 95% of all eggs were placed in mops, the others on plants or glasse (but only single eggs).

Cant Get My Weitzmani's To Spawn

Cant Get My Weitzmani's To Spawn

Re: Cant Get My Weitzmani's To Spawn