Albino Cory

[weezebegs]

Hi, just bought 2 cory's today...unexpectedly when I went to my LFS.

Already in love with them, so thought I would have a read here for some advice, and have noticed most cory photo's have sand.....I have gravel is this a problem !!

 

[Tizer]

Depends how rough/sharp it is, corys like to dig around in the substrate and if the gravel is rough, they can damage themselves leaving them prone to infection.

Sandy is the prefered substrate for these guys.

 

[weezebegs]

Depends how rough/sharp it is, corys like to dig around in the substrate and if the gravel is rough, they can damage themselves leaving them prone to infection.

Sandy is the prefered substrate for these guys.

This make be a strange question but can i mix coloured sand in with gravel to break it up a bit...has anybody tried this

 

[Tizer]

Of course you can, sand and gravel mix at some point in nature

The problem is cleaning, as you dig around with your gravel cleaner you will disrupt the sand a hell of a lot and a lot of it will get sucked out.

Not a fan of anything coloured myself, i like to look at natural colours. I can only imagine a fish trying to find food at the bottom only to be blinded with a bright pink/blue/green gravel and thinking "aaaarghhh, cant see"

Oh, if you got a spare £5 you might want to add a bit of bogwood to the tank with java moss attached. Corys love the stuff.

 

[weezebegs]

Of course you can, sand and gravel mix at some point in nature

The problem is cleaning, as you dig around with your gravel cleaner you will disrupt the sand a hell of a lot and a lot of it will get sucked out.

Not a fan of anything coloured myself, i like to look at natural colours. I can only imagine a fish trying to find food at the bottom only to be blinded with a bright pink/blue/green gravel and thinking "aaaarghhh, cant see"

Oh, if you got a spare £5 you might want to add a bit of bogwood to the tank with java moss attached. Corys love the stuff.

I was thinking about bogwood...how easy is that to keep...

also I have bought some live plants that come in those pots, do people leave them in those forever or do you replant them .....

 

[Tizer]

I was thinking about bogwood...how easy is that to keep...

also I have bought some live plants that come in those pots, do people leave them in those forever or do you replant them .....

A lot of bogwood is presoaked, ask your fish shop if it is. If not it can release tannins into the water, which i actually think look quite nice and natural. If its presoaked just soak it a few hours and give it a scrub with an old brush. It wont need any feeding Bogwood that hasnt been presoaked will release a lot of tannins into the water thus needs presoaking for months.

Take off the pots and the cottom/foam the roots are in and plant them in your substrate. If you like the mess around a lot and cant make your mind up where they should go, just leave them buried in the pots until you can decide.

 

[weezebegs]

I was thinking about bogwood...how easy is that to keep...

also I have bought some live plants that come in those pots, do people leave them in those forever or do you replant them .....

A lot of bogwood is presoaked, ask your fish shop if it is. If not it can release tannins into the water, which i actually think look quite nice and natural. If its presoaked just soak it a few hours and give it a scrub with an old brush. It wont need any feeding Bogwood that hasnt been presoaked will release a lot of tannins into the water thus needs presoaking for months.

Take off the pots and the cottom/foam the roots are in and plant them in your substrate. If you like the mess around a lot and cant make your mind up where they should go, just leave them buried in the pots until you can decide.

well that's tomorrow sorted out then....plant my plants...

 

[weezebegs]

I was thinking about bogwood...how easy is that to keep...

also I have bought some live plants that come in those pots, do people leave them in those forever or do you replant them .....

A lot of bogwood is presoaked, ask your fish shop if it is. If not it can release tannins into the water, which i actually think look quite nice and natural. If its presoaked just soak it a few hours and give it a scrub with an old brush. It wont need any feeding Bogwood that hasnt been presoaked will release a lot of tannins into the water thus needs presoaking for months.

Take off the pots and the cottom/foam the roots are in and plant them in your substrate. If you like the mess around a lot and cant make your mind up where they should go, just leave them buried in the pots until you can decide.

well that's tomorrow sorted out then....plant my plants...

further update.....have now ordered online some bogwood....

If I put some sand in how do you do a gravel clean !!!!!

 

[Tizer]

yes, exactly.

 

[weezebegs]

yes, exactly.

do you think if i designated a sand corner in my tank that might work.

I have ordered some bogwood so I thought about sitting that on some sand and having the rest gravel or does that sound like too much hard work

 

[Tizer]

More hastle than its worth, it will just mix eventually. With a bit of effort you could scoop out the gravel with a dustpan and replace it with washed sand quite easily. Thats what i would do