Sand for corys?

[doug z]

I'm confused..

It says in all the literature I've been reading online, in print, etc that sand is the prefered substrate for these guys because of their soft barbels..

But isn't sand (with it's many sharp-edged grains) inherently more abrasive than a smooth gravel like eco-complete?

[Drumachine09]

A good test to see if your gravel is too rough for corys is this:


Reach down and grab a handful of gravel. Squeeze that gravel hard in your hand. If you feel all sorts of painful pokes, it might harm your corys.


Sand is actually quite smooth if you think about it.

[doug z]

Well, they don't use gravel for sand-blasting, do they?

And I'd rather have gravel in my swim shorts than sand! LOL

I have 2 types of surface substrate available..

Eco complete, and Tahitian Moon Sand (I'll have plenty left over, after burying the cable heater)..

I'm thinking the smooth edges of the eco-complete gravel would be better than sand, but I'd like some second opinions..

[Tolley]

They dont jus need it for swimmin on top of they bury in it. Its easier to bury in sand than gravel

[blu]

I have my tank with half smooth gravel and half sand..the corys hardly ever go onto the grevel. They love burying themselves halfway in the sand. They are constantly sifting through it too if they do it in one spot a little hill of sand will build up next to their giils...they just seem to act more naturally in sand since that is the substrate they live on in the wild.

[doug z]

What kind of sand do you use? Are they all the same? Will the moon sand ok?

[slinky]

Eco complete has some rougher rocks but, for the most part, is very sandy and much smoother than gravel. After a day of hating the new gravel my cories seem to love it.

[gm72]

Really no problem with any of the substrates listed for corys. They are very adaptable. I mean, don't use shattered glass or anything stupid like that and you'll be fine!

[blu]

The moon sand should be fine and as far as I know it will not alter the levels of your tank and is made specifically for aquariums. I bought aquarium sand from petco but I think it was just general aquarium sand..nothing special just fine and white.
Be careful with the really fine grain sand(powdery..no real grit like sand should have) it can be hard to clean b/c some debris will be heavier than the sand and you will only suck up sand.

[doug z]

Another thought..

I was going to plant quite a bit of tennelus in the foreground..

But maybe I shouldn't do so much, so the catfish have some substrate to work with, rather than a heavily planted tank bottom..

Mind you, there should be some substrate around the base of the Echinodorus martii and Vallisneria americanus in the back to root around in..

Thoughts?

[shockshockshad]

I don't know if plants can root in sand. Some species can, but not others. Dont ask me which species- I don't know! lol. I just heard that some species can, and others cant.

I just bought sand today for my new tank. It looks very nice, and its very soft. I only needed 10 pounds, but I got 50 pounds of it for 3 bucks! its really cheap if you want it, instead of aquarium sand- thats more expensive. BTW all it is is playsand.

[doug z]

Well, I'd only be putting .5" on the top for the coys (if that's the best for them)

Below that, 3" of eco complete, .5" of laterite, below that, .5" of sand.