Sand And Corys

[sic0198]

Is putting sand in a tank with Corys harmful to them?

 

[Amunet]

I think that might be the prefered substrate actually.
I'm still learning about corys myself, but it seems as though alot of cory enthusiasts keep their corys in sand tanks

 

[sic0198]

I heard somewhere they are filter feeders.

 

[MojoDex]

cories love sand so long as its nothing sharp not coral or sharp sand stick to silica and the like and they will thank u for it

 

[richchappy]

corys do very well in sand and it is great fun watching them play in it and searching for burried food

 

[Bignose]

cories love sand so long as its nothing sharp not coral or sharp sand stick to silica and the like and they will thank u for it

You have to be careful with descriptors like "sharp." Take a look at some of the sand grains under a microscope -- they will look pretty sharp like regular rocks -- which is what sand really is... small rocks. This bit of "internet lore" has been around for a long time; that "sharp rocks will cut corys barbels off". But, the evidence for this is sketchy as best. In fact, I read about a really interesting experiment where a guy set up a tank with crushed glass substrate and a bare bottom tank. With the crushed glass, which would be definately classified as sharp, he did large frequent water changes. WIth the bare bottom tank, he let the organics build up by doing infreqent water changes. In which tank did the corys lose thier barbels? In the bare bottom high organic tank. It is not just the sharpness of the substrate that leads to barbel erosion, but the organic matter in the tank plays a big part as well. The biggest refutation of the sharp substrate myth is to take a look at some of the corys natural habitat -- many come from small streams with lots of sharp rocks and they live just fine in the wild.

 

[Killi]

I have sand with my cory's and they love digging in it. its quite cute actually
I'm sure they pick sand up with their mouths and chuck it out through their gills. Either that or I need my eyesight checking

 

[lordotterby]

I have pea gravel in my tank, and my bronze cories love it and are in great health and have all their barbs

 

[sic0198]

I thought about buying same sand from my LFS. I think she said it was like beach sand. Any certain color, I'm thinking Black or would white be best? What color do you use? Will plants grow in the sand?

I have other fish in there too, like a molly a sword tail and some glass fish, so sand would be ok for these too? It's for a 10 gallon.

Anything else I need to know? Is it easier or about the same to maintain?

 

[Amunet]

From wht I understand about sand... plants do not grow well in it. You could still get java fern or an anubias plant and tie one up to a piece of bog wood or rock.. or let it float or something.
AS for maintenance... I think I heard that you have to stir the sand once a week to get our some sort of bad gas bubbles?

I'm sure someone that actually has sand tanks will be able to help ya more heh.

 

[fishboy619]

my plants grow very well in sand, and my cories love the sand, its natural and IMO better for them.
my color is natural, but i think white would look good,
just to add, what cories are you thinking of adding?10g is small and with a swordtail (IMO belongs in a 15g)molly and some glasscatfish, its almost if not already fully stocked.
pygmy cories will do well in there, keep up with water changes and everything should go well.

 

[MojoDex]

cories love sand so long as its nothing sharp not coral or sharp sand stick to silica and the like and they will thank u for it

You have to be careful with descriptors like "sharp." Take a look at some of the sand grains under a microscope -- they will look pretty sharp like regular rocks -- which is what sand really is... small rocks. This bit of "internet lore" has been around for a long time; that "sharp rocks will cut corys barbels off". But, the evidence for this is sketchy as best. In fact, I read about a really interesting experiment where a guy set up a tank with crushed glass substrate and a bare bottom tank. With the crushed glass, which would be definately classified as sharp, he did large frequent water changes. WIth the bare bottom tank, he let the organics build up by doing infreqent water changes. In which tank did the corys lose thier barbels? In the bare bottom high organic tank. It is not just the sharpness of the substrate that leads to barbel erosion, but the organic matter in the tank plays a big part as well. The biggest refutation of the sharp substrate myth is to take a look at some of the corys natural habitat -- many come from small streams with lots of sharp rocks and they live just fine in the wild.

well your more than welcome to take chances like this with your fish but i will never take that chance with mine

 

[Bignose]

Mojo, it's not a "chance" that was the point of my post. Corys come from streams and tributaries and bodies of water that range from sandy bottoms to muddy bottoms to rocky brooks. Their barbels will not be cut off from rocks. What does happen is if the organics, nitrates in particular, are high the barbels are more easily infected, exactly like fishrot on other fishes. It is not a "chance" with the rocks, if you keep the nitrate level low with love plants or frequent water changes, the catfish's barbels will be fine.