Corys - Substrate - Gravel?

[fish4phil]

I'm interested in purchasing either Bronze Corys or African Dwarf Frogs, or both, for the bottom of my 36G freshwater aquarium. I have gravel I bought from LFS (see attached). Is this ok for Corys?

Also, are Corys considered catfish?

 

[Old Scales]

Yes Corys are a species of catfish from South America. they are primarily bottom foragers. You blue gravel will be fine for Corys. The best for them is sand as they love to sift through it but they will sift between your gravel chunks also. Warning. You will fall in love with the happy, active, lovable little Cory. OS.

 

[mrvincent]

I'll say get rid of your light blue/blue sand mix, I had this before and it's ugly...

Just make a mix of sand and very small natural looking gravel, and it will look awesome and corys will look better. Corys like to dig and shake the substrate with their mouth, so lighter the substrate is, the better it's for corys.

 

[pip walters]

Sand is usually best for corys in my opinion. If you use gravel, make sure it is small and rounded and keep it very clean. Their barbules can get damaged by coarser materials and bacteria can then set in.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

See fish plant profiles, Corydoradinae.
Emphasis on C.paleatus, all are same family of armoured catfish.

 

[fish4phil]

Yes Corys are a species of catfish from South America. they are primarily bottom foragers. You blue gravel will be fine for Corys. The best for them is sand as they love to sift through it but they will sift between your gravel chunks also. Warning. You will fall in love with the happy, active, lovable little Cory. OS.

I appreciate your reply on my specific gravel I posted. I want to make sure I don't hurt any Corys

I'll say get rid of your light blue/blue sand mix, I had this before and it's ugly...

Just make a mix of sand and very small natural looking gravel, and it will look awesome and corys will look better. Corys like to dig and shake the substrate with their mouth, so lighter the substrate is, the better it's for corys.

It would be easy for my reply to include why ugly is perception, not what I asked, and for some tanks the sand/natural gravel look is "ugly", to me. But, that would be straying even farther from my original question.

Old Scales hit the nail on the head - thank you. Does anyone agree or disagree that my gravel (pic posted above) isn't BAD for Corys? i.e. damage their Barbels? As I haven't owned any Corys in the past, I've read some gravel is "too sharp", which I don't know if my gravel falls in that category.

 

[mrvincent]

Barbels are very fragile.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

See fish plant profiles, corydoras paleatus breeding Corydoradinae.

All the answers you will need are there.

My first substrate was blue, I loved it. Evidence can be found on you tube 4tanks2day, fish tank stills video.

Turns out fish see in colour, so I adopted the more natural vibe.

 

[Masha]

I think this is the link J McPeak is referring too:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/corydoras-paleatus-breeding-corydoradinae-284980.html

 

[J.Mcpeak]

I think this is the link J McPeak is referring too:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/corydoras-paleatus-breeding-corydoradinae-284980.html

That's clever! I'm computer illiterate. Have a gold star!
iPad won't or I don't know how? Thank you.

 

[Masha]

That's clever! I'm computer illiterate. Have a gold star!
iPad won't or I don't know how? Thank you.

Yay! Now I have a gold star

 

[fish4phil]

Thanks for the link. So it seems you're saying no gravel what-so-ever, though others are saying gravel is fine. Mixed emotions :/ Basically I'm trying to find a fun tropical community bottom feeder, everyone recommends Corys.

 

[Masha]

I've had corys for a while - love them. I've had them in a tank with gravel very like yours (not blue though! ) - possibly even a little bit rougher, as well as in a tank with very rounded, smooth gravel & sand mix.

I have kept a close eye on their barbels, and have not noticed any wearing, so I think the gravel probably has to be pretty sharp for that to happen.

I do think they are happier with gravel with very small pebbles or sand as they like to dig down, and larger pebbles probably makes that difficult.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

I've kept them for 8 years, now I'm on 4th generation from a pair.

They are excellent fish. Post I mention is the result of my experience with these fish.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Yay! Now I have a gold star

Don't lose it! They are valuable!