Bottom-dwellers that will do well with my rough gravel?

[annewaldron]

I have 4 trilineatus corys in my 30 gallon. I learned only after I got them that they're meant to live in environment with sand or at least smooth pebble. I have that rough lava-like EcoComplete gravel in there.

I'm keeping an eye on them, but if I start seeing evidence of eroding barbels, I'm going to have to rehome them. I understand that water quality can also play a part in "barbel health", and my water is pretty pristine (avg 0/0/10), but I think this rough gravel situation isn't going to be good for them.

I'm not ready to try to do a substrate change, as my tank is new (cycled in mid-May), moderately planted, and in good shape. I'm not ready to deal with mini-cycles & whatnot that go along with that undertaking.

Any ideas for other bottom-dwelling types that would do well in my setup?

 

[RobbieHadley]

You're facing the same problem with almost all bottom dwellers because they are scaleless, hence why they need a softer substrate, to prevent wounds on their undersides while looking for food. I do have Chinese algae eaters in my tank and they seem to do ok because their bodies kinda hover above the substrate most of the time, I also have an albino cory and hes done well too. I have ghost shrimp in my 10 gal nursery tank and they do a good job at keeping the tank clean as well. Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get open wounds and treat properly if they develop

 

[blert]

Eco-Complete is fine for Cories. No need to worry.

 

[LyndaB]

I think they'll be fine. I have a mixture of sand and eco-complete in my cory tank and they're happy little buggers.

 

[annewaldron]

I think they'll be fine. I have a mixture of sand and eco-complete in my cory tank and they're happy little buggers.

Lynda, tell me about your substrate- is it half sand/half gravel? Did you start out with it that way? How do plants do in that?

I always assumed if I tried to put sand on top of the gravel that it would just sift down through the gravel over time. I suppose I could still have a mini cycle if I dug out a bunch of the gravel and topped it with sand...

 

[Freakgecko91]

I changed out 100% of my gravel to sand and took out all my plastic plants and did not have a mini cycle. Your filter(s) contain the vast majority of your BB, and if you're worried, just add another filter a week or two before you do the switch so that it will accumulate some extra BB for the switch

 

[LyndaB]

I started off with just eco-complete. Then, I got cherry shrimp and the corys and assassins in there and decide to lay down some sand, too. It's pretty cool. It doesn't look layered. Some of the eco has come up through the sand as the critters shift it. My corys are happy and spawning.

On a personal note, I much prefer sand, it's so much easier to keep clean.

 

[annewaldron]

On a personal note, I much prefer sand, it's so much easier to keep clean.

Is there such thing as black aquarium sand? I kind of like the dark look I've got going in my tank.

 

[LyndaB]

Yes, I think it's called tahitian moon sand, something like that. I obviously don't have it myself.

 

[mikeISright]

Is there such thing as black aquarium sand? I kind of like the dark look I've got going in my tank.

Yes, there is black aquarium sand. I beleive your local petsmart or petco (LFS if your lucky) should carry it. One brand is called "CaribSea" and im pretty sure they have black sand.

 

[LyndaB]

Ah, I just googled it. Ironically, Caribsea makes the Tahitian Moon Sand.

 

[mikeISright]

There ya go! Im glad both replies led to one answer

 

[blert]

If you want to save some money you can also use black blasting sand. You can get it from "Tractor Supply".

 

[bud29]

Im glad I found this thread, as I want to get some albino cories but I just have gravel. So if I put sand on top of my gravel it would work? And I'm assuming there is special aquarium sand, you cant just dump some new playsand in there, right?

 

[mikeISright]

Im glad I found this thread, as I want to get some albino cories but I just have gravel. So if I put sand on top of my gravel it would work? And I'm assuming there is special aquarium sand, you cant just dump some new playsand in there, right?

Wrong! And yes you can put sand on top of your gravel but remember that little gravel peices will poke out of the sand when sifted by the cories. You can get certain brands of playsand but u have to wash them a ton. There are youtube videos that can explain that. Btw get black gravel or sand with those albinos because there color contrasts beautifully with black.

Heres my 30 gallon with playsand that i purchased for 4$ and still have 20 lbs leftover.

 

[bud29]

Wrong! And yes you can put sand on top of ur gravel but remember that little gravel peices will poke out of the sand when sifted by the cories. You can get certain brands of playsand but u have to wash them a ton. There are youtube videos that can explain that. Btw get black gravel or sand with those albinos because there color contrasts beautifully with black.

Heres my 30 gallon with playsand that i purchased for 4$ and still have 20 lbs leftover.

OK! This would look great in my 30 gallon and the cories will be a lot happier!

 

[mikeISright]

Glad i could help!

 

[annewaldron]

So I've heard stories that people have had to deal with mini-cycles when switching out substrate. A few questions:

- would it be smart to do this change in sections to avoid a mini-cycle? I'm thinking in total I would remove 1/2 to 2/3 of the gravel I have in there now (I've got a good 2-3 inches of gravel on the bottom) and top with sand. So maybe do it in 3 sections with a week in between?

- do I need to be worried about those poisonous gas pockets that I've heard can build under substrate? (I do pretty thorough vacuums and my tank is only a few months old, but again, my gravel is 2-3" deep)

 

[bud29]

So I've heard stories that people have had to deal with mini-cycles when switching out substrate. A few questions:

- would it be smart to do this change in sections to avoid a mini-cycle? I'm thinking in total I would remove 1/2 to 2/3 of the gravel I have in there now (I've got a good 2-3 inches of gravel on the bottom) and top with sand. So maybe do it in 3 sections with a week in between?

- do I need to be worried about those poisonous gas pockets that I've heard can build under substrate? (I do pretty thorough vacuums and my tank is only a few months old, but again, my gravel is 2-3" deep)

If I were You I would do that because even though the filter media is home to the majority of the bacteria, not the substrate, I wouldn't want to risk it. Also, if you stir up your sand about every month, you should be able to avoid the gas pockets. It is recommended though to stir it up only half at a time so not as much stuff gets thrown up into the water at a time. And also remember to turn off your filter when you do that because sand will kill it.

 

[mikeISright]

IME i have never experienced a giant build up of gas pockets because my cories sifted through the sand and my cichlids digging also stirred it up. If ur not going to have a lot of movement in ur substrate just be cautious about them. I changed my gravel out all at the same time and put sand in leaving a little water which carried some bacteria in it. I let my fish sit in a QT tank while i let it do a mini cycle for about 30 hours.