Easy to spawn and widely captive bred: condition a group (at least two males per female) on live/frozen food, then do a large water change about 5 °C cooler, repeated over several days if needed.
Keep a group with more males than females; condition with live and frozen foods. Males chase females in a 'T-position' before spawning.
40 L tank with a sponge filter, fine sand and java moss or spawning mops; a cool water change is often what sets them off.
A large cool (3-5 C) water change, lower barometric pressure feel, and heavy feeding of live foods.
The female carries 2-4 eggs at a time in her pelvic fins and sticks them to glass or plants, about 100 per spawning (several hundred when several pairs spawn together); eggs hatch in about 3 days.
Move eggs to a hatching tub with an air stone and a pinch of methylene blue or alder cone. Feed microworms and newly hatched brine shrimp; keep water spotless.
One breeding tank for the peppered cory, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 22–26 °C · pH 6–7 · sand bottom
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 7 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.
A 120 cm rack for breeding the peppered cory in numbers.
In total: 4 tanks, about 240 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.
Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.
Females grow considerably bigger and are much rounder than males, especially when in breeding condition; easiest to see from above.
Typical for egg scatterers
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.
Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.
Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.
Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.
Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.
Most small fish reach about 2 cm in 2–3 months and can join the main tank.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.