cory making bubble nest??

[Kaga's Kritters]

One of my albino cories has been at the top of the water all day and looks to be making a bubble nest. I didn't know they did this. Is this normal and if so why is he doing it?

[Drumachine09]

All or most corys are labyrinth fish. Like other Labyrinth fish (Bettas, Gouramis, etc), I would guess that thats what they are doing.

[Kaga's Kritters]

ok so he is making a bubble nest like my betta does at times.....but why do they do it?

[Drumachine09]

I believe that making bubble nests are signs of the fish being happy, and well cared for.

Looks like you are doing your job!

[gm72]

I have never known corys to build bubble nests. Mine never do and they just got done spawning. Interesting.

[cocoa_pleco]

same, i used to mass breed albinos and they never did that, they just layed eggs on java fern

[gm72]

Kaga, can we get a picture of what you see?

[Fishalicious]

If cory's are low on oxygen they will usually shoot up and take a gulp of air... sometimes a cory will hang out at the surface and take little haps of air which produce some bubbles as they do so... I reckon there were only 3-4 bubbles right? and then he swam back down?

They certainly do not build bubblenests for spawning - they are free layers and will spread their eggs on the glass or among the plants

[Dave66]

ok so he is making a bubble nest like my betta does at times.....but why do they do it?

They don't Kaga. No Corydoras species makes bubble nests, not one. There are members of Callicthyidae that do, but none in the Corydoras Genus. Not a single one. Its likely there's a oily film on the water, and their natural race to the top for a gulp of air thing is making bubbles in it. Lots of fish foods are made with fish oil, and that ends up on top of the water, as oil and water don't mix. You'll have to look at the top of the water at different angels to see the oil. It can be removed by running a clean piece of paper over the surface of the water to remove it. Newspaper works better in larger tanks.

Dave

[Kaga's Kritters]

he was up ther at the surface for at least an hour or more. their was a big area of bubbles, like the size of myabe 2 quarters streched out. i do not see an oily film on the water. i feed omega one fish food.

[Dave66]

he was up ther at the surface for at least an hour or more. their was a big area of bubbles, like the size of myabe 2 quarters streched out. i do not see an oily film on the water. i feed omega one fish food.

That's indicative of a problem, Kaga. A cory hanging at the top of the tank for an hour and expelling that much air (which they store in their intestines) means he was VERY uncomfortable. Corydoras species lay their eggs on solid surfaces like stones, plants and aquarium glasses as they are adhesive. Bubble nest makers lay unadhesive eggs. They only stay in the nest by sticking to the interface between the water and the interface with the bubble. Catfish like Hoplosternum sp. and Callichthys callichthys DO make bubble nests. They too are in the Callicthydae family which the genus Corydoras belongs to, however, they and their close relatives Aspidoras DO lay adhesive eggs on solid surfaces. Trust me on this one.

Dave

[gm72]

I agree with Dave that there is likely a problem. I have multiple tanks with breeding pairs of corys and have never, ever seen this behavior. Something is amiss, I think.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

this sounds very fascinating, do u have a pic? im very interested in seeing what he's doing exactly

[Kaga's Kritters]

he's not doing it anymore. if he starts doing it again i will try to get a pic. i will also keep an eye on him to make sure he doesnt start showing other signs of being sick.

[NickFish]

Maybe your tank has little oxygen and the cory needs to breath the air.
Or maybe he is just sick or is disorientated. No cories build bubble nests the just lay their eggs on rocks and leaves. Maybe some pictures would help