Thanks everyone! I just love watching these little guys develop.
Becca, I got the panda parents (2 males, 1 female) when they were young, too. They were .75" when I got them; now that they're full-grown, they're about 1.75-2". The female is the largest. It took a year from the time I got them until definite, confirmed breeding, with eggs. A couple times before that they exhibited some of the behaviors, but I never saw eggs. I'd say just be patient, and when they get a bit bigger you can tell if you have both sexes. I just happened to get lucky and got a 2:1 ratio.
The eggs are 1/16" in diameter, start off clearish, and quickly turn tan if they have been fertilized. The eggs are fertilized and laid singly, in a dense clump of lace java fern on driftwood. A few hours after they are laid, they get hard enough that I can pick them off the leaves with my fingers to put in the fry tank. They hatch in about six days, in my tank.
From what I've read, pandas aren't as prolific as some other cory species. I typically get about 5-12 eggs per spawning event. I've read that a temperature drop can initiate mating for some cories, and from what I've observed with my pandas, it's true. Especially when I do a water change right before a storm, so the pressure is dropping.
Obviously, this all relates to C. panda, not C. julii, but you get the idea.
