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Tank mates:
These fish are great community fish, they can be kept with Tetras ,small cichlids
and L numbers/Pleco. So basically any small to medium fish as a tank mate is
acceptable.
These fish are a schooling fish so a group of 5 as a minimum is recommended.
Tank size:
50 litres can hold a maximum of 6 fish.
Sexing:
Females, when well fed and conditioned, are very rounded from head to tail.
Males tend to be a lot slimmer from head to tail than the females.
They can also be sexed from their anal fins. Females have round anal fins,
which are used to carry eggs while Males tend to have pointy anal fins.
Breeding:
Spawning:
These fish are generally easy to breed. A good ratio of sexes is 1 female to 3
males. First, both sexes must be fed on high protein foods such as blood worms
and brine shrimp. This can be the feeding regime for 1-2 weeks. The tank should
contain big leaved plants such as Java Fern or moss like plants like Java Moss
(Java Moss seems to be the most liked egg laying site)
The tank's water should be slightly acidic and soft. These fish will just spawn
readily if the tank conditions are to their liking. A nice cool 30% water change
(making the temperature drop by 2 Degrees Celsius will be sufficient) most likely
will trigger spawning if not doing so readily.
If fish do not spawn in the next 3 days, feed them for 2 days on high protein food
and try the water change again.
(note: be careful not to overfeed them with high protein foods)
While fish are spawning, the males will chase females around, attempting to put
there pectoral fins on to the females barbels. The male will then trap the females
barbels with his pectoral fins and spawning will occur. This is known as the Cory
"T" spawning position. Not much is known how eggs are fertilised during the
process. After the male lets go, the female lays her eggs into her anal fins and
carry them around looking for potential spawning sites. People have found Corys
to put lay their eggs into Java Moss. I have found that my Corys like to put their
eggs on or near filters near good flow.