Cory Advice

[Marjorie]

So, newbie here, both to the forum and to keeping tropical fish.

I have a 60 litre tank, well filtered, 4 live plants and driftwood. I do a 10 litre water change every week with a gravel syphon and am careful not to overfeed.

I have 4 neon tetras, 4 harlequin rasboras and two black mollies.
I would really like some cories but not sure how many I should get, or which type. I don't want to overcrowd my tank or do anything to jeopardise my present fish, who are all happy and healthy.

Would be grateful for advice.

 

[Akasha72]

what type of substrate do you have?

 

[Marjorie]

Hi Akasha. I have coarse gravel substrate.

 

[thereverendturtle]

If it has sharp edges the gravel will possibly cause injury to their barbels, leading to infection.

 

[Akasha72]

You will need to pick up a piece of your gravel and roll it between your fingers. Any rough or sharp edges and it's not suitable to keep cories on. As reverendturtle says it injures their barbels (the short whiskers around their mouths).

If you want to keep cories and your gravel isn't smooth then you will need to change it. Sand is best (you can get the childrens play sand from Argos. It's fine to use and is very cheap) but any gravel that is soft and smooth is also okay.

Cories like to root around for any bits of food that have fallen into the substrate. I've read of some members hiding food under the sand for the cories to dig out

 

[Marjorie]

Thanks for your replies. I'm so glad I asked because from what you've said my gravel will not be suitable at all. I don't want to change it at this time and upset the bacterial balance of the tank, so I'll wait a while.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

It probably wouldn't upset your bacteria to change the substrate, just sayin!

 

[Akasha72]

Thanks for your replies. I'm so glad I asked because from what you've said my gravel will not be suitable at all. I don't want to change it at this time and upset the bacterial balance of the tank, so I'll wait a while.

The only problem you might find when changing your gravel is a bacterial bloom. When I changed mine I got all my fish into a large storage box with their heater and filter and took the opportunity to give the tank a better clean out than it ever gets with gravel still in there.

The bacteria that supports your fish lives in your filter system mostly. If your filter is cycled to the fish you have changing the substrate shouldn't upset anything much.

Changing to sand could create some cloudiness of the water for a bit. I know others on the forum have posted about this issue.

Ultimately, if you want cories in the future the gravel will need to be changed so it is something to be thinking about for the time being.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Akasha