A Couple Of Quick Questions

[Akasha72]

Hey all,

I got a couple of things I've been wondering about all day so I thought I'd put my thoughts out there for opinions.

1: As you can see by my signature I now have 3 cory's in my tank. Had them since Wednesday and they are getting alone just fine. I've been reading lots on here about cory's prefering sand as a substrate but my tank has gravel. They are spending time digging around in the gravel - as is their nature I understand. Could the gravel be hurting their barbels (have I got that right?)
I was wondering about changing to a finer gravel as I really don't want to go to the trouble of changing to sand. I've seen some finer black gravel at P@H and was thinking about adding a layer of this on top of the rougher gravel. Would this help my cory's or is it a waste of cash I don't really have right now?
Thoughts anyone ...


2: I'm lost in a stinking cold and I'm really not feeling like doing my usual weekly water change this weekend. If I check my levels for Ammonia and Nitrite tomorrow and both are still at zero do you think a water change can wait a week until I'm feeling better?
The last thing I want to do is make the fish ill aswell as myself lol

Thanks all - Akasha

 

[mike455555]

i cant see why not. iv left my tank for about 5 weeks without a change before (low tech planted) , still 0 ammonia / nitrites

 

[Baccus]

I used to have cory's in nice smooth gravel and most of them did fine on it, but sand is definantly the way to go for some of the less hardy/ smaller species. If you go for a finer gravel make sure it's not sharp but nice and smooth. If you can rub the gravel you want in your fingers and if it feels sharp to you than don't use it for the cory's. It's not good news when cory's wear away their barbels and that is when most infections set in for them.

 

[soybean]

So you got some in the end! What kind have you gone for?

Did you check your gravel first like was suggested, rubbing it between your fingers? If it feels smooth and rounded to you, it will be ok. If it is sharp or scratchy in the slightest, it's no good for corys. If it affects their barbels, that's how they find food. If it damages their undersides, it can get infected.

Get someone to take a bucket out and put a bucket in? Only takes few minutes.

 

[Akasha72]

Hi Soybean, yes I got 3. The lady at my lfs suggested 2 with my tank size but I could go for 3 at a push so long as I was prepared to keep an eye on my water (which was why I'm worried about not feeling up to changing water this weekend - I've no-one to do it for me either)
I have 2 bronze (cos they had just 2 left) and one peppered (cos he was the last one and it made sense)I've named them Bubble, Squeak and Pepperpot! lol
They had a choice of striped, albino, peppered or bronze. There were none of the dwarf ones that was suggested here and there were no panda cory's either. I will only buy my fish from this lfs so my choices were a bit limited.
I came home with extra anyway as the staff member there was the one that gave me the stinking cold!

I'll get my arm in tomorrow and see how smooth this gravel is.

Thanks guys

 

[soybean]

Akasha I don't mean this to sound negative but do you read all of the replies to your post asking about corys?

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to say check your gravel first, that they live in groups, and you can't mix and match individuals to make a group.

You don't have a group of three - you have two bronze and one peppered.

I would suggest returning the peppered and getting another bronze.

Three is still a small group but is better than a 2 and a 1.

Did you ask if they could order pandas?

 

[Akasha72]

hi, no I didn't see those replies ... oh #41####. I asked them about taking the neons back and they wouldn't so I'm guessing they won't take the cory back either.

I'll look at getting this gravel seen to asap and keep a close eye on these cory's . Thanks Soybean

 

[soybean]

Maybe try another shop. Worth calling first. "I have two neons and a young peppered cory, can I swap them for a bronze cory?" - it must be a very mean shop to refuse that! Do you have a Maidenhead near you?

Also the woman advising you really should've known better. They may have healthy stock, but really, cory numbers is pretty basic advice to know.

 

[Akasha72]

Found the thread and read the replies I'd missed. By what I'm reading I'd be okay with the footprint of my tank to get another peppered? That would take it up to 4 cory's in total. (I can always take out a couple of ornaments to create a larger footprint)

I'm really cross with myself for missing those replies there's no way I'd have got that peppered cory if I'd known it didn't complete my group.

Heading over to the tank right now to roll a piece of gravel between my finger and thumb and then I can act this coming week if it's too sharp.

Thanks again

 

[Akasha72]

Maidenhead? Never heard of it so that would make it a no.

The gravel is a little rough so I'll get that sorted tomorrow. The tank needs it's weekly clean and I'm hoping to be feeling better by tomorrow so it would make sense to get some softer gravel and strip the tank all in one day.

Nobody has answered my question fully though. Can I put a thick layer of softer gravel over the top of my existing gravel? It's not deep enough for my plants anyway

 

[soybean]

I would really suggest 3 or 4 of the same species. Honestly, they live in such large groups in the wild, to keep it with one other of its kind isn't really natural.

They'll be alright for now but try to find sonewhere to swap the peppered.

Bronzes get pretty chunky so I would stick with three for now and see how that goes. They won't stay little for long.

P.S. the keywords to use with a new shop is "[Rival Shop] won't help me so I'm hoping you can!"

 

[Akasha72]

okay, I'll do the rounds tomorrow and see if I can do some swapping, whether it's swapping 2 of the bronze for 2 more peppered or swapping the peppered for another bronze.

I'll also see what I can do about this gravel.

I did think about sending you a pm regarding the cory's Soybean. I wish I had now

 

[soybean]

Maidenhead Aquatics is a large chain - you're never too far away from one. I have three near me - one twenty minutes, one thirty minutes, one 45 minutes drive, all hidden in a garden centre. Two of them are prepared to swap fish with me if I phone and discuss it first. Google them.

You can put gravel over but it will probably mix in time. Plus you don't need a thick layer of substrate, it takes up room and just hoardes more mess.

It's a hassle, but swap it all. You'll only need about half an inch.

If you're feeling up to lots of rinsing in buckets before putting it in, I'd suggest sand. Much better for corys, they love it.

 

[Akasha72]

It's the rinsing of the sand that's putting me off. I've been reading various topics on sand on here and it sounds like a big job and something that needs to be done from the start to get it right. I'm not really up to that if I'm being honest.

Anyway, I'll see what I can come up with tomorrow. Thanks again for all your help and advice Soybean

 

[Akasha72]

Update:

I've been to the pet shop in Otley today (it's the cheapest in my area) and got some lovely black smooth small pebbled gravel. I just got 2 small bags as it was all I could carry back to the car and I wanted to see what it looked like and how smooth it was first.

I've taken all the old rough gravel from the front out and replaced it. I've pushed all the rest of the old rough stuff up to the back and put my big rocks back in to 'hide' the gap. The plan now is to go back next week and get a large bag (just 9.99!!. The small 2kg bags were only 2.99!!!) and take out the rest of the rough stuff with my next water change.

If anyone in my area would like around 10-12kg of rough black/white (pets@home Dalmation) for a small fee please pm me.

Akasha