sand

[jmaster]

hi all

is it ok for betta and apple snails to have sand instead of gravel

thanx

 

[Eve]

Mine do and both seem fine with it. In fact my betta will often 'rest' along the sand

 

[jmaster]

ok thanx eve

do u think black sand will b ok for a red betta and apple snails???

thanx

 

[Eve]

*grins*

I have black and gold in my tanks. I dont think the colour matters really. You will however get 'smears' of sand on your glass on occasion from the snail, but its easy to wipe off when doing a water change.

 

[shrimpster97]

i want sand in my tank but i dont want to go through the trouble to take out all the water and taske out all the fish. but i will probably do that for my next tank. which i hope will be soon.

 

[Teelie]

You don't have to take all the water out, or the fish though the fish it's usually a good idea your first time to remove them. I've always added sand with water already in the tank with no problems. As to the original question, I have a few dozen snails and a Betta in my 30 gallon Cory sand tank and none of them have any problems with it and I never get sand stuck to the glass either, though occasionally my snails do slime it.

 

[FishDan]

There will be no problem with sand with most all fish kept in our hobby. The fact is that in many cases, sand, mud or very fine "gravel" is the natural substrate in most fish habitats. Rivers are largly either large boulders or more fine sand, caused by the river's currents. Using sand for any fish we keep is an appropriate option, at least I can't think of a fish that snd would be bad for. Also, many fish could care less what the substrate is as they rarely, if ever, dwell at or near the bottom of the tank.

Feel free to use sand! Personally, I feel it looks more natural and/or better than gravel in most every instance I have seen. And it will be perfectly okay for your fish.

\Dan

 

[Nauplii]

hey! you reckon sand would be good for my 10gal woth mollies and sharks in? it has a bristlenose and a khuli n catfish too

 

[jmaster]

hi all

thanx for all the replys

would i hav to empty the tank completely to add the sand???

thanx

 

[Teelie]

hey! you reckon sand would be good for my 10gal woth mollies and sharks in? it has a bristlenose and a khuli n catfish too

The Khuli and catfish would prefer sand.

 

[FishDan]

hi all

thanx for all the replys

would i hav to empty the tank completely to add the sand???

thanx

As Teelie mentioned earlier, you would not have to empty all the water and fish to replace your gravel with sand, but IMO it is the best and safest way. You can remove about half the water and then slowly and carefully remove your gravel, and then slowly and carefully add your sand once this is done. I've performed the switch in a couple tanks and felt it was better for my fish, in terms of stress, to remove them and do the work with them out of the tank vs leaving them in and moving cupfuls of gravel and then sand and then redecorating all while they were in the tank.

\Dan

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

i also agree with taking everything out of the tank before adding sand. when i changed i even took the tank outside and hosed it down before putting the sand in. it helps to get every last bit of gravel and dirt out.