Killer Cardinal Tetras??

[Rosey]

Oh, so you are not recommending mixing the species? I didn't realise that I thought 6 of mixed species - I will have to think again. That is the problem when having such a small tank I have to choose very carefully..

Answering your question re the soil I have the tub in the garage and will check the name tomorrow,

I can see me ending up with loads of different large tanks again!!!!

 

[Byron]

Oh, so you are not recommending mixing the species? I didn't realise that I thought 6 of mixed species - I will have to think again. That is the problem when having such a small tank I have to choose very carefully..

Answering your question re the soil I have the tub in the garage and will check the name tomorrow,

I can see me ending up with loads of different large tanks again!!!!

You can get by with species combinations better with the larger sized species when it comes to fewer of each. Some of my 50 are only one or two of the species because I bought what I found in a store, and I knew they would be happier with other cories. The "dwarf" species though are a bit more demanding. I would go with 7-8 of each species. You can then mix the two species if you like.

I keep forgetting this is only a 15g, but 7-8 cardinals and 14-15 "dwarf" cories is not a problem.

 

[Rosey]

I havn't got much info. on the aquatic soil except it is called Betta Choice Collection - not sure if you have heard of it - I will need to research it.

 

[Byron]

I havn't got much info. on the aquatic soil except it is called Betta Choice Collection - not sure if you have heard of it - I will need to research it.

I tried to track this down online but no luck. Found Betta Choice foods, but no substrates mentioned.

 

[Rosey]

This is all I could find:
Set-up & Start with a Quality Plant Substrate

Set up your aquarium and stand.

Use aquarium soil as the base, slope up towards the back of the tank. Soil must be Aquatic as other soil may contain fertilisers or other chemicals harmful to your fish.

Add a high quality, mineral-rich substrate on the top (this is the foundation for long-term success). This could be Tetra complete substrate aquarium fertiliser or Betta Choice aquatic soil. if you don’t like to see the layers of substrate this would be a good time to prevent that by leaving an inch or two of space between the substrate and the edges of the aquarium. Make sure you rinse plant substrate well before placing in aquarium.

This is a good time to position the decor e.g drift

 

[Byron]

This is all I could find:
Set-up & Start with a Quality Plant Substrate

Set up your aquarium and stand.

Use aquarium soil as the base, slope up towards the back of the tank. Soil must be Aquatic as other soil may contain fertilisers or other chemicals harmful to your fish.

Add a high quality, mineral-rich substrate on the top (this is the foundation for long-term success). This could be Tetra complete substrate aquarium fertiliser or Betta Choice aquatic soil. if you don’t like to see the layers of substrate this would be a good time to prevent that by leaving an inch or two of space between the substrate and the edges of the aquarium. Make sure you rinse plant substrate well before placing in aquarium.

This is a good time to position the decor e.g drift

I would be concerned here; cories like to dig into the substrate, and the top layer should be sand, must be sand if pygmies. Anything mineralized has the potential to affect parameters.

My one foray into so-called plant substrates was with Seachem's Flourite. I felt it in my hand and though it was OK, certainly less rough than Eco-Complete. But after it was done, I had to remove my cories; they lost barbels, and one even had a portio of its mouth torn off, and it was bloody. I put them over sand and they healed, the barbels even regrowing. The one panda with half a mouth looks comical, but has survived for four years since this happened so it can obviously eat. Side-line, the Flourite did nothing for the plants anyway; after two years I pulled it out and tossed it in the back garden and reset the tank with play sand.