Sand Or Gravel Tropical Aquarium

[horatio]

Hi

new to tropical fish keeping.

i have a 65 litre fluval uno - i wanted to have some guppy and tetras and a couple of bottom feeders and a siamese fighting fish.

\every aquarium shop i go to for help in setting up the tank i get different versions. i wanted a gravel and said tank with live plants i have now been told i cant have tetras with sand only gravel - can someome help with what is the best environent for mainly guppy and tetras

thank you

 

[anwhyte]

Hi

new to tropical fish keeping.

i have a 65 litre fluval uno - i wanted to have some guppy and tetras and a couple of bottom feeders and a siamese fighting fish.

\every aquarium shop i go to for help in setting up the tank i get different versions. i wanted a gravel and said tank with live plants i have now been told i cant have tetras with sand only gravel - can someome help with what is the best environent for mainly guppy and tetras

thank you

it's personal choice really, i prefer the look of sand & many bottom feeders prefer it as they can sift through it easier than gravel, just make sure it's aquarium-safe & you clean it first. gravel is easier to clean.

 

[CrystalClear16]

Gravel is easier to clean and maintain so you might want to start with that if your totally new to fishkeeping. You can always switch once your more experienced.

Have a read of this thread, it is very infomative - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71597

Guppies and tetras should be fine with sand, I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't be.

 

[OpalineAqua]

The bottomfeeders would like the sand because it would be soft for them and wouldn't damage their barbels or anything. But sand makes the tank kind of cloudy when you first put it in and is harder to clean so really you could do either.

 

[erk628]

Sands only harder to clean at firsh just because you'll more then likely gonna suck some up fist couple time. What I do is use a gravel vac take the tube off and just use the plastic hose over over the sand and food and waste will come right up. Using just the hose will create a stronger suction then the tube so you won't have to make swirlying motions. The hardest part is finding the right distance from the sand to hover over so you don't suck any sand up. What I do is once I'm done stir the sand up with your hand to bring anything up that has shifted down from the surface then suck that up. If your gonna have bottom feeders same would be in there best interest.

 

[flyhawk]

i like sand, its pretty, and the waste doesnt sink down into it like with larger gravel
also i have rummynoses and bleeding hearts, so whoever told you tetras cant be with sand, well, tell them to join the forum