Sand As Substrate?

[Winterlily]

Well, getting ready to set up those new 5.5 gallon tanks. I'd love to use sand as substrate, but I have read that sand isn't always a great idea for some fish because if they ingest it, they can become impacted. Is this true with bettas? I have not ever seen either of my guys rooting around at the bottom - so do you think sand is safe for a betta tank?

Secondly, do I lose bacterial colonization space using sand instead of gravel? I know they colonize gravel - not sure about sand?

Thanks!

 

[ellena]

My betta very rarely picks anything up from the bottom. Their mouths are upturned to breath from the surface, so they feed in the same way. Sometimes, if a bit of pea gets past him, he will kind of flick it up and then catch it as it falls. But never rooting in the sand.
If you have a filter, almost all the bacteria will be in there, so sand/gravel won't make any difference. Without a filter, there won't be nearly enough to process the waste, even if you had gravel.

 

[Cdarmychi]

every single one of my tanks has sand. personally, if my fish tend to root in substrate, i wouldnt want them digging into gravel. That being said, I have never seen my bettas actually dig into the sand. They do push marbles or bits of gravel around ontop of the sand, but they would have to be fairly vertical to get the actual sand, and they don't do that.


Edited because somehow half the post I had intended to write never made it onto the post....

 

[Honeythorn]

Sand is absolutely fine for bettas. You don't need to bother about bacterial colonisation of the substrate ( regardless of what it is ) since a 5 gallon can fit many brands and types of betta friendly filter. Filter media will hold FAR more bacteria than your substrate and surfaces ever will.

 

[Winterlily]

Okay great. Sand it is then for sure.

And yes, they absolutely have filters (AquaClears in the case of the various 5.5 gallon tanks). Good, glad to know that no potential bacteria surface area is lost by using sand! Thanks everyone!