# Pygmy Cory,  new arrival !



## dino21 (20 Jun 2020)

Just giving the fish their supper in our community tank  when I noticed something moving on the fine sand in a quiet corner of the tank, to our surprise it was a baby Cory, just over 10mm long.

We added six of them over a year ago and they have seemed quiet happy if a litte elusive, but glad to see conditions good enough for them to breed.   

Wonder if there are more around ...?


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## jaypeecee (20 Jun 2020)

Hi @dino21 

That's wonderful! Isn't it great when things like this happen? If it's C. pygmaeus and already 10mm long, it's almost half way to adult size!

JPC


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## dw1305 (20 Jun 2020)

Hi all,





jaypeecee said:


> If it's C. pygmaeus and already 10mm long,


Looks like _Corydoras habrosus_ , which is a bit bigger than _C. pygmaeus._

cheers Darrel


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## jaypeecee (20 Jun 2020)

Hi @dw1305


dw1305 said:


> Looks like _Corydoras habrosus_ , which is a bit bigger than _C. pygmaeus._



You may well be right, Darrel. I have kept both species but one is easily mistaken for the other and vice versa.

JPC


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## dino21 (20 Jun 2020)

Hi,

If we remember correctly it was  _Corydoras habrosus_ , some of the adults now quiet big at a good 30mm long, making this little arrival look very small.


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## dino21 (21 Jun 2020)

Now seen two, so wonder how many more there may be !  

Not sure why the Sand coloured very fine sand , shows up  like  little white rocks of ice?  pic taken with  a mobile phone.


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## jaypeecee (21 Jun 2020)

Hi @dino21


dino21 said:


> Not sure why the Sand coloured very fine sand , shows up like little white rocks of ice? pic taken with a mobile phone.



I was wondering about this myself. But, of course, I didn't know what the actual colour of the substrate was. I thought you were perhaps training your Cory babies to be ice skaters!

JPC


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## dino21 (25 Jun 2020)

Hi,

Well seems the Corys have been very busy, not sure if these are hatchings from the same brood or different females.

As well as the two shown above, this pic shows one of them and behind, two even smaller ones,  one head on, one at the back,  side on.

Did see another in some dense plant growth, so small it was virtually clear, so looks like they are still hatching as doubt it was more than a day or two old.

Picture of the actual sand used in the front  of the tank to show how fine it is, must be the glass causing the white effect.


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## dino21 (21 Dec 2020)

Doing a water change today and always check in the buckets  for snails that have got sucked up with the syphon, when I spotted this little fella, down at the twenty-five to position.
Seems the Dwarf Corys have been doing it again,  so will have to do some close up tank watching to see if there are any more.
Have a fair fbit of Java Moss in  the tank so hopefully they will hide in there and avoid the Tetras.

Also in the glass are  quiet a few very small specs, like at the ten to postion,  what I thought was just mulm etc, but then saw them darting around, so clearly something alive, but way too small to be fry ?
I only surface skim the gravel and sand with the syphon , don't dig  down ito it.
Will have to get hold of  good microscope  and see whats lurking around


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## jaypeecee (22 Dec 2020)

dino21 said:


> Will have to get hold of good microscope and see whats lurking around


Hi @dino21

It may be worth considering a USB microscope, which plugs into a PC or mobile phone. I have one and it's half-decent. Cost me about £20. They are readily available.

BTW, congratulations on the Pygmy Cory. That's wonderful.

JPC


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## AverageWhiteBloke (22 Dec 2020)

Jealous


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## AverageWhiteBloke (23 Dec 2020)

I've had 4 Cory Sterbai in a tank that I've had as a conservative estimate about 5 years. Started out with 6, they've been with me through all carnations of my aquascaping career from low tech to high then back to low. Provided them with supposedly the right conditions and nothing to bother them but shrimp and Ottos. Nothing!

Sometimes I see a very small shrimp that hasn't coloured up yet on the glass and get all excited until I get the magnifying glass out. How Ungrateful!


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## dino21 (23 Dec 2020)

jaypeecee said:


> Hi @dino21
> 
> It may be worth considering a USB microscope, which plugs into a PC or mobile phone. I have one and it's half-decent. Cost me about £20. They are readily available.
> 
> ...



A friend has just dropped of a Jiusion USB microscope, he got it last summer for checking insects/bugs on his outdoor/greenhouse plants.
Seems to work  ok,  though will have to wait until the next water change to have a look at whats in there  - not allowed to mess around with all the ongoing xmas preparations etc !! 





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> I've had 4 Cory Sterbai in a tank that I've had as a conservative estimate about 5 years. Started out with 6, they've been with me through all carnations of my aquascaping career from low tech to high then back to low. Provided them with supposedly the right conditions and nothing to bother them but shrimp and Ottos. Nothing!
> 
> Sometimes I see a very small shrimp that hasn't coloured up yet on the glass and get all excited until I get the magnifying glass out. How Ungrateful!



Well its not something I had tried to do,  just by chance noticed those fry back in March this year.
They were purchased as very young ones  in October 2018 so seems they needed about 18 months to reach breeding maturity.
The Ph is around 7 and the planting is more a jungle happening  than a designed layout.

Had thought about trying to capture and place the fry in a small tank as suspect the neon tetras may have eaten them but think that may not have worked as such a tank would be quiet sterileand not have enough small food for the fry ?

Could all your Corys be the same sex ?  Would adding a couple of new ones just make that difference ?


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## AverageWhiteBloke (23 Dec 2020)

dino21 said:


> Could all your Corys be the same sex ? Would adding a couple of new ones just make that difference ?


Probably are all same sex mate, to be honest these ones here are only in a small tank, they really could do with being in something bigger so I won't be adding any. They are in my office at work and were only supposedly going to be a temporary holding tank while I was doing some work at home and my bigger tank was stripped down. I never did get that tank put back together so they just live at work with me like old friends of the family. If I was going to set back up a tank at home it would be probably a small low tech affair, I just can't find the time these days which is a shame because I have an ADA setup with all the co2 equipment and lighting currently gathering dust in my garage....Maybe one day.


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## jaypeecee (23 Dec 2020)

dino21 said:


> A friend has just dropped of a Jiusion USB microscope, he got it last summer for checking insects/bugs on his outdoor/greenhouse plants.
> Seems to work ok, though will have to wait until the next water change to have a look at whats in there - not allowed to mess around with all the ongoing xmas preparations etc !!


Hi @dino21 

That's great! Please let us know what you find. There are a few microscopy sites on the Internet, which should help with identification of these fascinating creatures. Otherwise, post them for us to see on UKAPS. I have a book _Small Freshwater Creatures_ (Oxford University Press), which I find helpful.

JPC


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## AverageWhiteBloke (23 Dec 2020)

Good Looking Fish Though!


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## dino21 (28 Dec 2020)

Did a water change today and chance to use the little usb microscope on the waste water debris and turns out the little darting things  are Copepods.
Not masses of them , so does not look like anythings out of balance,  but also not sure if they would be suitable food for the dwarf corys fry?
Assume they came in with some bags of live food I may have used before, though not used any in 2020.

Also noticed a good few of these little non moving spheres,  as there were so many of a similar shape assume they must be some form of life, possibly plant ??

Shots not that clear as still getting used to using this usb scope,  and those pods move so fast.
 Can see why my fiiend bought it, would be perfect for spotting the early signs of bugs on the greenhouse/indoor plants, like the minute red spider mites etc.


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## dw1305 (28 Dec 2020)

Hi all,


dino21 said:


> but also not sure if they would be suitable food for the dwarf corys fry?


They are, but when the <"fry get a bit bigger">. That one is the famous _Cyclops, _you can see its single eye.

cheers Darrel


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