Snail Spirals

Just a quick break from the all-carder-all-the-time postings which you may expect over the next little while, to share a cool discovery from when I cleaned my fish tank over the weekend.



A couple background updates since the last installment of The Panda Cory Show:

• I stopped collecting eggs and raising fry from the cories a bit over a year ago.
• The three oldest cories disappeared from the tank, and I'm assuming that they died natural deaths, given that they were 4+ years old.
  
• When we moved last October, I consolidated the 7-gallon tank and the 14-gallon tanks. Taking care of two tanks was too much work, plus there isn't a good place for the second tank in the new house.
• The 14-gallon tank fits perfectly on the counter between the kitchen and dining room, and I really like it there because you can see both sides of the tank.
  
• All the fish (5 glowlight tetras, 2 black neon tetras, 5 panda corydoras catfish, 1 otocinclus catfish) have been doing great since the move, and the plants are growing well and providing lots of cover. This is good because both sides are exposed and they can't go hide in the back anymore, though I did put a pothos plant trailing across counter on the dining room side to screen it a bit.
  
• Since the move, the glowlight tetras and panda cories have spawned at least five times each, and the rest of the fish have thoroughly enjoyed the caviar.
  
• I got 4 more otocinclus catfish last weekend, because they like to be in schools, and the singleton I had was lonely.

Then, early this week, after the new otos had had a chance to adjust to the new tank, I did a routine 30% water change and cleaned the filter. Luckily, I dumped all the water from the filter into a bucket and not straight into the sink, because when I went to empty the bucket, I saw this:



A little baby cory that has been living in the filter! I'm guessing he's about 6 or 7 weeks old, based on the amount of pigmentation on his head, dorsal fin and tail. He was about 3/4" long, give or take. I released him into the main tank, and hopefully he's thriving and enjoying the extra room.

Panda cories are tough little fish.

It's a pretty aquarium, and always provides something interesting to look at when I walk past. I enjoy it.