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Just completed the big water change and gravel vac. And guess what?

First, there were 9 eggs on the side glass next to the Java Moss growing off the bogwood "boot", which means my Pandas have spawned again!

But second ... as I was fiddling about with my Heath Robinson 50p gravel vac, a baby Panda showed up! From the fact that he is already beginning to show signs of adult colours, and is already 10mm long, I'd say he's around 6 weeks old or so.

Heh heh, just when I thought they were taking a break ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Awsome!Pics?

When the little guy decides to show himself again I'll try, but you try photographing a fast moving 10mm fish in the underwater rainforest that is the Panda Fun Palace


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

congrats again....cal....i still cant breed mine...they r just too timid.

Tankie, a thought has occurred to me.

I know that what I'm about to say was first documented with respect to Mbuna (Malawian Cichlids), but it's possible that this might apply to Corys too - reasons to be given shortly!

Back in the late 1970s, Warren E. Burgess, who is known for his Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (I have the Mini-Atlas version) and who has been part of TFH Publications for years, mentioned that numerous Rift Lake Cichlid species changed their behaviour when the aquarium siting was changed. If the aquarium was close to the floor, then the Cichlids became nervous and easily spooked. House the fishes in an aquarium that is a decent height from the floor, however, and they become much bolder.

My own experience seems to suggest that the same applies to Corys. I have two aquaria of interest that provided the ideal 'test bed' for this - the main aquarium (the infamous Panda Fun Palace) and the nursery aquarium. The main aquarium is over three feet off the floor on its stand, while the nursery aquarium sits on the bottom tier of the stand, just 4 inches off the floor.

Now, when the Pandas are in the main aquarium, they're quite bold. They bustle about and only dart for cover if they detect heavy footsteps or see sudden movements. Otherwise, once I'm settled before the aquarium in a viewing position, they start emerging from their hidey holes and begin behaving in typical madcap Panda Cory style, sometimes even spawning before my eyes.

Put the Pandas in the nursery aquarium for the purpose of breeding and saving eggs (hopefully to maximise fry counts) and they become noticeably less bold. The effect isn't as ounced as it is with the Rift Lake Cichlids mentioned in Burgess' 1970s TFH article (I can transcribe that to a Word document or PDF file if you like) but the effect is still noticeable.

The reason, in the case of the Pandas (and this probably has some input into the reason for Mbunas being spooked easily in low-sited aquaria) is this. Pandas live in rivers and streams in which the vegetation cover probably affords them some protection from aquatic predators (and in any case their armour assists in this too) but one group of predators that the typical Corydoras and many other riverine fish live in fear of are fish eating birds. Large herons and egrets in particular will be a considerable source of attrition to fishes in these habitats, and so, for such fishes, an important maxim to learn early on is this - death comes from above. It also applies to numerous Central American Cichlid species - I have a magazine article by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas which uses those very words, "death comes from above" - and so, if your Pandas are in an aquarium that's relatively close to the floor, they could be more timid for that reason.

In the case of Mbuna, they have practically no higher plant live affording cover in many of their habitats (the plant life is all in the form of Aufwuchs algae) and so they are at particular risk of attack by diving birds such as Kingfishers in the wild. Burgess carried out experiments with two populations of otherwise identical Mbunas, one in a low aquarium, one in a high aquarium, then to check whether or not the aquarium siting was a factor, reversed the populations, transferring the high-aquarium population to the low aquarium and vice versa. When he did this, the fishes in the high-sited aquarium were always much bolder than those close to the floor - in the case of Mbuna, this difference is extremely marked. Though the effect is less ounced in Corys, I have noticed my Pandas prefer being high up too. The instinct drilled into them over millions of years (and thanks to the discovery of Corydoras revelatus, an Eocene-era fossil, we know that Corydoras as a Genus has been on Planet Earth for over 50 million years!) that 'death comes from above' will probably influence the behaviour of quite a few other fishes as well if the aquarium is close to the floor.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Cali... don't you have Panda spawns like every other day??? LOL... You just have that magic touch! Congratulations.

As a matter of fact, I think my Pandas were gearing up for a spawning last night, thugh I haven't seen any eggs that resulted from the madcap charging around that they were indulging in at 3am earlier this morning. Just lately they've taken to laying at least one or two eggs on the glass next to the giant sized clump of Java Moss that's taking over the bogwood 'boot' (despite being cut back during the last water change - it's growing like stink in the heatwave we're having over here at the moment). So, unless the Pandas have chosen to hide all their eggs in the Java Moss this time around, and I find some more babies when the next water change and gravel vac takes place, I think they were just frolicking about for the sheer fun of it last night. Which of course is something else that Pandas do!

Mind you, I still have one that's taken to sniffing at the surface for food, presumably because it's having a temporary identity crisis and thinks it's one of the Cardinals


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Panda cories are soooo cute I had a few a couple of yrs ago...did some changes to my tank, and slowy they died off. sad and I decide to leave them out of my tank.

For the few months I had them they were very timid and hid alot.. just had no luck with the little guys.

2 yrs of hobby fish and I concider myself still a beginner,we learn the hard way..
Sounds like you all know what your doing if you get them to breed
excellent this site has been a hugh help

Sue

If you want my Panda Cory maintenance and breeding article (in limbo on this site until Adam resurrects the articles section) I can supply it via E-Mail as a Word document or a PDF. Also ... you might like to browse my various Panda Cory photos ... you'll find a fair number of my photos here]http://community.webshots.com/album/336378434drjCgS[/link] including a brace of other fishes as well as the Pandas, and also, in my MSN album, if you start with [link=this photo and work forwards, you'll find lots of pics including my spawning and fry pics.

Enjoy!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Once while cleaning my canister filter (Eheim 2028) I found an albino cory (about 1/4 inch) in the space between the bottom of filter and the first media basket!!

Recently I found 2 black mollies about 3/4" to 1"

From now on I'm gonna sift all the gunk every time i clean the filter