Filling out schools.

[Mr.Albiman]

It's 24"long 12"wide (front to back) and 12"high.

 

[absolutangel04]

Those are great dimensions! You will be fine with your selected stock. I keep a community with embers and a betta, and they look really nice together. The embers look especially bright the more plants you have.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Really? That's great news!

i was worried that the embers wouldn't have enough swimming space or that they'd get eaten by the Betta because they're so tiny. :3 great to hear someone else who has tried it successfully

 

[absolutangel04]

Really? That's great news!

i was worried that the embers wouldn't have enough swimming space or that they'd get eaten by the Betta because they're so tiny. :3 great to hear someone else who has tried it successfully

Yeah, IME that combo works fine. They are pretty tiny fish and really fun to watch. That tank has good horizontal swimming room, so you should be fine. I have 6 in my 10g, and they do great. I will probably add a few more when my baby silver tip tetras who live with them are big enough to go into my bigger community.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Oh good o! Does any one know any brands of sand in the UK that are 'Cory safe'? I heard Tahitian Black Moon Sand will damage their barbels? Do i prewash the sand (a LOT from what I've read) and swap it with all the gravel in one go?

Bump... :3

 

[absolutangel04]

Bump... :3

I cannot answer for the UK, but I know that normal small gravel is fine. I, and many others on here, keep corys with this sort of gravel and its fine. I have never had a barbel injury or a belly scratch on any of them.
As far as sand goes, pool filter sand or play sand (the kind that goes into a child's sandbox) both are good options. I have heard that black pfs is available, but I have never seen it myself, and I don't know about UK availability.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Thank you for that. I'm pretty sure of a place that will sell play sand. Are you sure it will be okay? Won't it have dyes or something in it that might poison the fish? Is there any label or logo saying it's safe?

 

[tarpon]

If you have home depot they sell it there. Also probably in pool stores or pool supply stores

 

[Mr.Albiman]

I don't have either of those places near me, and the place i thought would sell it, doesn't how affective do you think natural coloured sand would look? I'll post a link to the site I'm looking at in a minute.

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Sand Mix Aquarium Gravel 8kg by Pets at Home | Pets at Home

Is 8kg enough for my tank? :/

 

[tarpon]

What the heck is a kilogram?

 

[tarpon]

Haha i really cant tell without the conversion. Stupid customary measurements i was brought up on. But you want around a 2 inch sandbed....so 4 centimeters

 

[absolutangel04]

Thank you for that. I'm pretty sure of a place that will sell play sand. Are you sure it will be okay? Won't it have dyes or something in it that might poison the fish? Is there any label or logo saying it's safe?

Play sand won't have dyes or anything in it. It has to be safe for a sandbox for babies out it in their mouths, so it will be safe for fish.

You can read the labels to see if anything has been added to it, but it has to be safe for kids, so that shouldn't be an issue.

The general thought is about 1 pound of substrate per gallon water, but its really up to you and your personal preference. Sorry, I can't remember the conversion off the top of my head...

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Haha, i don't know the conversion either! Lol. I'll Google it in a sec and let you know

 

[Mr.Albiman]

8Kg is 17 pounds so it should be enough right? Would i have to stir up the sand or will the Cories do that?

 

[Ducky14523]

I just did the playsand and found it took a while to rinse, but trail and error taught me if you pour it into a cleaning bucket from at least a foot hight(30 centimeters) the wind will carry alot of the small stuff away, and cleaning takes less time. I think it led to a "brown" algae outbreak at first but if you allow it to dry after cleaning that doesnt happen( i used the quickcrete brand playsand). I beleive if you only go with half and inch(1cm) the movement of the fish will keep it aerated. Sand is cool in that its harder for debri to get in it, junk stays on top so filters and syphoning works. If your going heavy planted i would go with fluval stratum, its pretty matural looking and will be soft for the cories. Either way id buy a whisper sponge and cut a hole in it and slip it over your filter intake, not only will you have extra biological space it will also keep sand out of the filter which could damage your impeller. Wish i was setting up a new tank haha

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Haha thanks for the advice! The only sand i have access to is the natural coloured sand in the link i previously posted so I'm gonna go with that. I'll do what you did when cleaning it though, thanks. If i have the sand about an inch and a half thick will the Cories keep it stirred up by digging or shall i try and get some Malaysian Trumpet Snails?

 

[tarpon]

My cories dont stir my sand at all

 

[Mr.Albiman]

I think I'll have to enquire about MTS at the LFS. I'm thinking about getting an apple snail too. Thoughts anyone? And some RCS. I know about the Betta eating them so I'll just get a few to start to see if she'll be friendly. Haha. Is 1 and a half inches a good depth for sand?

 

[Mr.Albiman]

Another question... If my LFS Doesnt have C. Pygmaeus will i be able to have 8 C. Habrosus or C. Hastatus? Thanks.