Sand Substrate Tips, Please.

[vanalisa]

So I have Pygmy corydoras and I got sand for them. I absolutely hate it.

Don't get me wrong I love how it looks. I love how the rocks sit on top of it, austere way it looks when the shadows fall upon the smooth surface. the satisfying way it holds the twigs firmly.

Yet, maybe it's just my ego, actually it is just my but I seem to have so much uncertainty about it. So many nagging questions and concerns.

For starters, I just really don't know if I'm cleaning it right. I know that that must be a better way to maintain it.

The problem is everything just sits on top so I'm really paranoid about just what it is my precious babies are resting on.

I go after it with a baster but everything starts falling out of the baster by the time I get it out of the tank water line. Then I feel like I've just taken all the gunk off the surface of the sand and distributed it throughout the tank.

Someone suggested some little puff puff method but I'm not really sure what that is and every time I puff with the baster my fish look really irritated.

I've tried a traditional gravel vacuum trying to wave it gently on top of the sand hovering over it just small bit...and I seem to not be able to hover at the right distance consistently because I'll suck up great blobs of sand one minute and then another minute I won't be seeing anything going up the tube.

I'm constantly having to rework the plants I've about given up on the plants they kind of just float now. I'm not really sure about what plants are supposed to be in sand also since I've never had it before.

I'm just laying it all out here kind of worried whether or not the fish are eating sand with their food. I don't know what is leftover food. I don't know what would be fish poop I've never seen them poop.

All I know is a thought of them sitting on their poop makes me get out the baster yet again.

Speaking of poop... How do I know they're eating? I mean I put the food in and they scurry about and they appear to be eating...
Maybe if there was some non-toxic Nyan died of some sort I could die the food I could then see whether or not the food was disappearing. Because as it stands right now everything just looks like sand.

And what about these anaerobic air pockets? In attempting to make sure there are none am I not somehow creating some?
Oh yeah that messes with the plants, too.

I just feel, literally, out of my element.

You know those little sand granules, can they get in their eyes?

I mean say I disturb some of the sand while I was trying to maintain the sand and it kind of swirled around the tank can they close their eyes with a blink reflex and protect themselves?
I know their eyes work because when I look them dead on they will sometimes avert their gaze.
Or they just give a stare that says "why me human why me"?

I imagine I hear little fishy cuss words bubbling in my ears. It keeps me up at night. I imagine just what it is they think about me. "Oh no here she comes again run hide run and hide!"

As I and this post I will return and continue to pondner and worry... restlessly ruminating, trying desperately not to grab for the turkey baster, while certainly they are eagerly scanning above the waterline, earnestly and with hope that someday a house will fall out of the sky and crush me, and a better more capable and experienced sand substrate maintaining good witch steals my shoes.

At which time all will scurry, all scurryingly the will commence in rejoicing as they all exclaim "Ding dong Ding dong the witch, the ignorant of sand maintaining witch is dead!"

 

[itiwhetu]

I hate sand and everything to do with it. Look at my new tank with a fine gravel base. Look at the plant growth, and the way that it looks. I don't understand the sand craze, and will never understand why people who keep freshwater fish would think that is the best base medium

 

[vanalisa]

I hate sand and everything to do with it. Look at my new tank with a fine gravel base. Look at the plant growth, and the way that it looks. I don't understand the sand craze, and will never understand why people who keep freshwater fish would think that is the best base medium

Well I'm not sure either...
Everybody just says that my fish need sand. I understand why except for that mine are so small, Pygmy corydoras.
I don't know if they really filter as much stuff through there mouth and gills as some of the bigger bottom feeders.
I definitely can't see them feeding properly in some types of gravel though, either.

I guess I'm just out of my comfort zone.

I want to protect their feeding apparatus, obviously.
I think in some circumstances sand is aesthetically pleasing.

I think what I'm going to have to do is just some more research about where they come from and exactly what their habitat is and do they, I mean the Pygmy, really have to have sand.

Honestly when I first got them and I quarantined them, I put them in a tank with a very very shallow layer of substrate designed specifically for shrimp.
It looks like little tiny clay beebees. Well I mean that's what it is.
I sensed that it was good for them because it allowed them to rummage and burrow little bit but the surface was round so they couldn't really injure themselves on anything.
Obviously in nature there is no underwater landscape made up of little black clay beebees to be found.

I just feel like until this can be solved I won't be able to properly bond with these fish because I will always feel inadequate.

There I said it.

 

[itiwhetu]

I am about to put pygmy cory's into my new tank, gravel base. Will they investigate it, yes. Will they flick the gravel over yes. Will they be happy in this tank and breed, I hope so and I say yes.

 

[StandbySetting]

Pygmy Corydoras are a little different to normal Corydoras in that they tend to spend more time away from the substrate. Personally I would always advocate using sand in an aquarium where Cory's are present, not only are their benefits to their health in terms of preventing potential barbel erosion and infection, but there is nothing more satisfying than watching a Corydora pass the sand over their gills to collect food akin to how they would in their natural environment.

I understand what you're saying about sand being poor at keeping plants anchored, as time goes on the sand will settle and become more compact allowing a better rooting medium for plants, you just need to be patient, use plant weights if necessary for the interim.

The most effective method of cleaning sand I have found is to use a gravel vac and a baster in tandem, use the baster to agitate dirt and detritus and then suck it up afterwards, less likely to suck up sand that way.

Do not worry about anaerobic pockets either, they are beneficial in aquaria as they provide the ideal home for nitrogen fixing bacteria. The myths of hydrogen sulphide poisoning your fish are ridiculous, as on contact with oxygen/water hydrogen sulphide becomes one of three compounds: water, sulfuric acid or sulphur dioxide, all are relatively harmless at concentrations found in our aquariums. In the wild however where the sandy/silt beds are a couple of feet deep anaerobic pockets are a concern as they can deplete oxygen rapidly.

In terms of sand In their eyes, fish have a protective lens, think of it as a set of goggles so to speak, don't worry too much about them getting sand in their eyes the same way you would a human or other mammal.

 

[FishHobby99]

I bought a secondhand betta setup 7/21 that came with a large bag of Black Diamond blasting sand. I continue to use it for the betta, & used the same substate for some small albino corycats. It’s inexpensive. I remove much during routine vacuums & replace as needed. I’m not trying to remove that much, but it’s difficult to avoid. It goes over the backyard deck vs the toilet as I understand sand can clog the plumbing.

I purchased black aquarium sand for the first axie tank. It makes these pale pink guys pop. I have playground sand in the second axie tank, as it was around. ($5 for 50 pds). I use this same sand in my big cichlid/ catfish tank. These guys are excavators & it’s the recommended substrate & was used by the previous owner.

All in all, I’m no longer a black sand fan. I prefer playground sand for the animals that are said to need sand vs gravel.

I’m sorry for not having more useful comments for you.

 

[imw]

Hi,

I have a group of 10 Albino's in mine and use the old fashioned method to syphon out the rubbish on the top on top of the sand. Some tubing and create a syphon using using the suck method. This way I can guide the tubing just over the sand and get most of the crud out. I then use my Python to do a water change. I have play sand as a substrate.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey there. I think you might be obsessing a little bit. If your fish are acting healthy, rest assured they're eating. The gunk on the bottom is called mulm, and as long as your water parameters are good, it doesn't hurt anything. It doesn't look great, but it doesn't hurt anything. Don't worry about your fish getting sand in their eyes or ingesting it. If you're worried about leftover food, feed sparingly. Remember, these fish have survived in the wild for a very long time, and they are equipped to deal with such things.

 

[Byron]

I agree with @WhistlingBadger, there is really no issue here to worry about. Non-rough sand such as quality play sand or similar aquarium non-inert sands are without question the best overall substrates, with a very few exceptions [the exceptions are the few fish that may need a gravel, or occur in habitats that have gravel, such as livebearers in Mexico or some of the south asian loaches]. Plants will grow fine in sand, after all, in their habitats they grow in sand/mud mixes, not gravel. Some plants will only grow well in sand. Most fish are good over sand (even the earlier exceptions noted) and some absolutely must have it--like the Corydoradinae species.

 

[Naughts]

I swirl the siphon above the sand to clean. At times I have used an airline tube just above the surface to clean better.
I bought a large turkey baster as people here seemed to like them, but I have not found it useful in the tank, apart from collecting brine shrimp from the hatchery. I have never raked the tanks - as you say it is probably counter productive.

 

[itiwhetu]

I agree with @WhistlingBadger, there is really no issue here to worry about. Non-rough sand such as quality play sand or similar aquarium non-inert sands are without question the best overall substrates, with a very few exceptions [the exceptions are the few fish that may need a gravel, or occur in habitats that have gravel, such as livebearers in Mexico or some of the south asian loaches]. Plants will grow fine in sand, after all, in their habitats they grow in sand/mud mixes, not gravel. Some plants will only grow well in sand. Most fish are good over sand (even the earlier exceptions noted) and some absolutely must have it--like the Corydoradinae species.

Which plants only grow well in sand?

 

[FishNturt808]

I have sand in 5 outta 6 tanks. The other one being fluval stratum, the ‘tiny clay bee bees’ the op mentioned. All of them are planted. Your basic vals, swords, crypts, etc. They all seem to be doing good. The roots and runners spread well thru the sand, and I have to trim back every few water changes. Vacuuming it is the same as vacuuming gravel, you just don’t hold the vacuum down as long and pinch the hose if you get a little over zealous and pull sand too far. Getting near the base of the plants just be a little careful and you’ll be fine.

Personally I think the argument between sand and gravel just comes down to your preference of how it looks. Plants seem to grow just as well in either. Fish seem to be fine and adaptable to either. In nature you very rarely (if ever) see a body of water that has strictly one or the other.

 

[itiwhetu]

I only ever use fine gravel and I have never vacuumed a tank. Once the base is in place, I leave it alone.

 

[FishNturt808]

I only ever use fine gravel and I have never vacuumed a tank. Once the base is in place, I leave it alone.

I’ve read that you aren’t supposed to vacuum planted tanks. I haven’t fully committed to the method. I just feel like there gets to be too much poop on the bottom to leave it to its own devices.

 

[itiwhetu]

I’ve read that you aren’t supposed to vacuum planted tanks. I haven’t fully committed to the method. I just feel like there gets to be too much poop on the bottom to leave it to its own devices.

The poop is what feeds the plants. So, by leaving it there you are allowing the cycle to complete, if you siphon that out then you end up having to add ferts. otherwise, your plants will be starved for nutrients. I believe vacuuming tanks as an idea, was introduced by the manufacturers of fertilizers and everyone bought into it.