Any tips for breeding cories?

[RogueDiscus]

I have a dozen or so sterbais in my tanks, something I introduced this past year. They do a nice job cleaning and I think making waste more accessible by the sponge filter. I pretty sure I've got a couple fat females and wondered about breeding them. Suggestions welcome. I've read a couple online articles, one recommended bare bottom or sand and no plants like an amazon biotope, and of course, another said heavily planted was best. Your experience appreciated.
Steve

[Adam S]

This is how I like to do cories:

Stuff:
- bare 10 gallon
- sponge filter
- dried oak leaves (6-10, other leaves are fine too)
- heater (78F-84F)
- 2 males, 1 female (4/2 is fine, but a single large female will probably make more eggs than you need)

Sterbai aren't delicate cories and sometimes need a kick in the pants to start spawning. Pick your favorite female and two studs and move them to the 10 gal. Feed frozen/live at least once a day (they respond really well to worms: earth, black, white, etc.) and hit them with large, cool water changes as often as you can. A change of 10F or more is not excessive. Within a week, they should lay their eggs on the glass and you can return them to the main tank. The little guys hatch in a few days, and you can start feeding very little amounts of food after their yolk sacks get used up. The dried oak leaves do you a solid when the fry hatch, as they grow microorganisms like infusoria for the little guys to eat. Be aware though that cories are DUMB and are prone to overeating/exploding when tiny. BBS/microworms are best, but finely crushed dry foods can also be used. You can keep them in there for a month or so before they need bigger digs.