Is aragonite a good substrate for FW?

[bzbee]

I was attending a seminar and one of the breeders recommended the use of some aragonite to get his cories to spawn. I should have clarified if he actually used aragonite (basically calcium carbonate) as a substrate or just to induce spawning, since I', sure it raises pH over time. Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[SerLunchbox]

well, i have never heard of this before in all honesty. Aragonite is what most people use for SW tanks or even to raise the pH of your tank for African Cichlids.

 

[TankGirl]

Sand is good for cory cats, as it is easy on their barbels and makes keeping the tank clean easier, since you can spot the debris that needs to be suctioned. In a breeding setup pristine water conditions are important.

Aragonite sand will indeed buffer the water, though how much it does so depends on the the tap or tank water parameters to begin with. Maybe this particular breeder has extremely soft water that benefits from a bit of buffering.

 

[malkore]

I know many fish only spawn when water parameters are in certain ranges...so like TG mentions, maybe his tap water was just shy of that range, so he uses buffering substrate to make up the difference.

 

[bzbee]

That makes sense. My water here is already pretty hard (~pH 8 out of the tap, I don't have other test kits to measure other parameters), so I guess I'll only consider it if I ever keep cichlids. Thanks folks!