Changing to sand from gravel for corys

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mkatts

Aquarium Advice Regular
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I think my gravel is hunting my albino corys. One sort looks like a whisker is torn. I could be being oversensitive though since he is acting odd. But I do see them trying to nose around in the gravel with not much luck.
I was at petsmart today and came across this black sand but it had an almost crushed glass feel. Caribsea Super Natural Aquarium sand. Says for all freshwater fish but I want options for you fine people. Store Employee said it'd be fine of course.
Anyone use it? or Is there a better one I should look for elsewhere?
It's $20 for a 20 lbs bag.
But I'm concerned that if it has sharp edged smaller sand grain size bits that it could cut them too. Don't want to make it worse trying to make it better for them.
I was hoping for black sand as the main substrate with a small amount of pink rocks mixed in.
Thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks. Really want black but also going to look at dark brown.
 
I bought black sandblasting sand for my aquarium at Menards. Took a decent amount of rinsing, it's very very fine. Looks great! Was less than $10 for a large bag. (don't remember the weight)
 
Don't use blasting sand, it's meant to be sharp and can hurt your bottom feeders. Petco has a original brand of black sand, much safer if you need black is also 20$ for 20 pounds.
 
Thanks. In ur case after discussion with my wife and walking thru LFS, i decided to go with natural color sand and we are going to add some live plants. LFS had several display tanks and I found that I like the "natural" look like a snap shot of a small river or something.
I put water from my tank into a 10G tank with the old filter and bio wheel in the 10G, then drained as much water out as I could from the 29G.
Replaced the gravel with sand and refilled. The sand came with this "bio-magnet" packet to help clear up the cloudy water. Could put fish back in, 20 min after adding this packet.
Fish were back in withing 2 hours. I was worried about loosing to much BB, but I have tested every day after the swap, I'm still at 0, 0, and 5PPM on my levels. The water took 3-4 days to completely clear up. The Cory loves rooting around in the sand. I lost the one that was acting odd. I am going to buy a couple more this weekend so I will have 3 in the tank.
 
Here is the finished result of the sand I posted a link to. My Cory loves it. It may not be black but I think it looks nice and natural. I would also stay away from the blasting sand, it can harm the underside of your Cories.

P.S. Notice my tank isn't shrimp only yet, I couldn't wait to change the substrate. I am working on a 29 gallon for the fish and will be using the same sand for it too.

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Your Substrate

I think my gravel is hunting my albino corys. One sort looks like a whisker is torn. I could be being oversensitive though since he is acting odd. But I do see them trying to nose around in the gravel with not much luck.
I was at petsmart today and came across this black sand but it had an almost crushed glass feel. Caribsea Super Natural Aquarium sand. Says for all freshwater fish but I want options for you fine people. Store Employee said it'd be fine of course.
Anyone use it? or Is there a better one I should look for elsewhere?
It's $20 for a 20 lbs bag.
But I'm concerned that if it has sharp edged smaller sand grain size bits that it could cut them too. Don't want to make it worse trying to make it better for them.
I was hoping for black sand as the main substrate with a small amount of pink rocks mixed in.
Thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hello mk...

Before you go to the effort and cost of replacing your gravel, take a minute to examine some of the pieces. Pea-sized, polished rock is fine for Corydoras. I've used it for years in my Cory tanks and their barbels are fine. Barbels regrow if slightly injured in some way. Corys are crazy little swimmers and sometimes hurt themselves. So, unless your substrate is large and very rough or has sharp, jagged edges, you really don't need to replace it.

B
 
Hello mk... Before you go to the effort and cost of replacing your gravel, take a minute to examine some of the pieces. Pea-sized, polished rock is fine for Corydoras. I've used it for years in my Cory tanks and their barbels are fine. Barbels regrow if slightly injured in some way. Corys are crazy little swimmers and sometimes hurt themselves. So, unless your substrate is large and very rough or has sharp, jagged edges, you really don't need to replace it. B
come on B, it seems lately you're not even reading these threads, op alreadyyyy replaced substrate, most likely it was not round because it seemed to be wearing down the barbels of the Cory's. You seem to be a wealth of fishy wisdom but with no patience to read threads it's not really helping.
 
Substrate Question

come on B, it seems lately you're not even reading these threads, op alreadyyyy replaced substrate, most likely it was not round because it seemed to be wearing down the barbels of the Cory's. You seem to be a wealth of fishy wisdom but with no patience to read threads it's not really helping.

Hello Brook...

Don't typically read all the posted answers, just providing an answer to the original question. The poster appears to have a Cory with a barbel problem and the person thought it might be due to the substrate. I thought my suggestion to examine the gravel carefully first before taking the tank apart might be a good idea.

Just one reporter's opinion, though. The poster is welcomed to do whatever they feel is best.

B
 
Yea, I already replaced it! The original gravel did have "some" sharp edges. I am not positive that there was a direct connection between the gravel and the Cory's behavior, but i didn't want to take a chance for $20 or so worth of substrate and a few hours of work.
In the end, I like it better. Much brighter tank. Easier to see the fish that the black gravel I had before.
 
I was advised, either here or a different fish forum, to use this blasting sand. It is NOT sharp, even a little bit. It is nearly powdered; very fine grain. It creates a firm sand base, with very little air pockets. I have natural colored pea gravel in another tank, and almost like the looks of that better. One tank is all black (sand, background, tank stand and edging) the other is natural/wood tones. The dark sand does show all the pleco's...droppings. And isn't as easy to vacuum up. But each tank/substrate has it's perks.
 
In some Cory forums, Barbel damage is sometimes thought to be due to poor water conditions or dirty substrate. One experienced person thinks in some cases it might be Flukes.
Secondary infections and injuries are also a thought.

Corydoras in the wild live with all kinds of substrate. I prefer sand so my Cories can dig their faces in, which they seem to love !
 
Mine plays in the sand alot. Watched them try in the gravel and not get far.
 
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