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Hello all,

I recently made a thread about my sterbai.

They must be happy, because they are spawning! The have placed eggs in quite the random places, near the surface, on the magnetic scrubber, on Vallisneria leaves, on wood, the Anubias attached to the wood, etc. Strangely enough, not on the 3D background though!

I have noticed the females take quite a bit of time deliberating where to place the eggs; is this normal?
Or,
I has thinking maybe I should change the layout a bit or add some Amazon swords / more wood maybe? Do sterbai have preferred spawing sites / ones they utilize more? I would like to reduce stress on the females...but maybe they are naturally fussy?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Quokka,

Congratulations! My sterbai used to lay eggs all over the glass and in a spawning mop. So plants will be helpful.

Cheers, Eric

I would offer one more suggestion. They may eat the eggs, so for maximum survival purposes you may want consider pulling the eggs to a hatching tank or container.

bekateen wrote: ↑03 Feb 2019, 15:57 Hi Quokka,

Congratulations! My sterbai used to lay eggs all over the glass and in a spawning mop. So plants will be helpful.

Cheers, Eric

Thanks! I guess plants with long, thick leaves like larger Anubias will fit the bill? I have trouble keeping plants alive but the Java fern I have seem to be doing rather well....I will get more of those!
On I side note they are still spawning....were they this easy to spawn? I am considering getting more adults to mix the genes even more!

TwoTankAmin wrote: ↑03 Feb 2019, 19:20 I would offer one more suggestion. They may eat the eggs, so for maximum survival purposes you may want consider pulling the eggs to a hatching tank or container.

They place the eggs quite high so I am not sure they will find them again...but just in case! And for ease of feeding fry I have a 7 gallon low tank currently stabilizing for their arrival! How should I move them? Do I use a turkey baster directly or should I gently nudge the eggs off and then pick them up with it?

Anubias would be fine, but java moss might work too.

Yes, they are easy to spawn once they get started.

Cheers, Eric

bekateen wrote: ↑04 Feb 2019, 14:53 Anubias would be fine, but java moss might work too.

Java moss is also basically bomb-proof, so if your Anubias is staying alive Java moss will stay alive, too. I see you're outside the US, so in case the names are different here's the Wikipedia article with the several scientific names Java moss has been described under, as well as a photo.

Cory eggs are sticky and by an hour after laid they can be handled gently. The trick is unsticking them from whatever to which they are stuck. Years ago an accomplished breeder said he would gently pry them off the glass with a razor or similar edged object into his fingers. When I tried that I just made free floating eggs. So I resorted to using airline tubing to just suck them off and directly into a 2.5 gal tank with a few inches of water in it.

The only thing to be aware of is that if you suck off too many eggs too fast they can get stuck in a bunch inside the tubing. Once you have the eggs and accompanying water in the hatching tank, fill it with water and add a heater and air powered sponge or air stone. You can add some methylene blue to the water to prevent fungus but this should be removed via water changes and carbon once you have wigglers.

I would add an moss covered rock shortly before they absorb their yolk sac to provide infusoria for the first few days before starting the feed BBS.

There are some very good cory breeders here and hopefully they will add anything I missed or correct anything they think I have wrong. I have not worked with corys for quite a few years now. I mostly have them in community tanks.

Appreciate the information, I've been trying to get my sterbai to spawn. Patience hasn't worked. I've moved them to the tank below on the rack. That bottom row is darker and a little cooler. I also added sand to the tank and gave them a spawning mop. I'll add some Java Moss too.

As far as sterbai daily temps, I was spawning mine at about 83F. That said, my water changes were about 70F.

Good luck Lisa.

Cheers, Eric

Great! I'll bump up their heat. Thanks so much Eric!

Thanks for all the replies! I actually have trouble keeping Anubias alive but Java fern and moss are both doing fine so I will add more of both! Hopefully they keep spawning and I can raise some of their babies!
Good luck Lisa!! Mine are spawning at about 28C.

Thanks Quokka! Good luck with your fry.