barbels of corys?

[kenneth_kpe]

i recently added a few patches of fine sand into my tank for my cories because i had gravel before and er.... my corys got shaved.... how long before their barbels grow back again ? they look clean cut and i dont think thats healthy but they still eat and swim around

 

[Inchworm]

Hi kenneth_kpe

You're right; having no barbels is not a healthy condition for corys. Barbels are sensory organs that help them find their food. Without them, your fish are at a serious disadvantage in this area. Please make an extra effort to be sure they are finding their food and actually eating it.

Are you sure they lost their barbels due to your gravel? Does it have sharp edges that could injure other fish too? I am asking because perhaps a more common way for a cory to lose their barbels is because of bacterial infection.

If this is what happened, you will want keep a close eye on them in the future to prevent or stop a recurrence. It is easy for bacteria to feed on uneaten food that has become lodged between coarse gravel and it is often the cause of this problem. Regular bottom cleanings and water changes will go a long way toward preventing this.

Are they enjoying the new sand? Do you plan to replace all the gravel with sand?

 

[Morrgan]

Are you sure they lost their barbels due to your gravel? Does it have sharp edges that could injure other fish too? I am asking because perhaps a more common way for a cory to lose their barbels is because of bacterial infection.

To clarify a little, sharp gravel and bacterial infections are usually connected. Sharp gravel alone will not completely destroy the barbels, but it will cause little cuts on them which are susceptible to infections.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

ic, yup i am making sure that they are eating their food ( i premix a couple of sinking wafers, a few sinking pellets and sometimes bloodworms place them in a cup of water and then after around 2 hours use my gravel vac to kinda place it on top of the sand and i can see em nibbling on the wafers and the pellets especially the bloodworms ( like spaghetti )..... hmm i change my water every week but i cant vaccum the gravel really well because my tank is heavily planted....


and yes they are enjoying the new sand i think since all of em except one panda cory always stay in the sand but at night they all stay in the sandy area and kinda dip their noses in looking for food.

i dont think im gonna change to pure fine sand because the tanks kinda balanced now and i dont wanna screw it up big time and ive been reading around that fine sand tends to pack down and isnt really good for the roots of the plants..... il have a pic of the sand set up later when i get home...

what do i have to watch out for regarding my cories ?

 

[Morrgan]

i dont think im gonna change to pure fine sand because the tanks kinda balanced now and i dont wanna screw it up big time and ive been reading around that fine sand tends to pack down and isnt really good for the roots of the plants...

As a side note on fine sand, I have sand in two tanks that's about 0.1-0.6 mm in diameter (which is about as fine as it gets) and I haven't had a problem so far. The plants are doing great, better than with gravel. I do have Malaysian Trumpet Snails digging in the sand to keep it from clogging up and need to place the filters so that no sand is sucked into them by accident. Of course, the cories and the kuhli loaches help keep it in good shape by digging too, and they love it.

But yeah, no need to change it all into sand if you don't want to. A matter of taste and preference, as long as there's some sand for the cories to enjoy. But, if the gravel really is so sharp it hurts the barbels, I would change that to round gravel. The cories will probably explore the gravel areas as well, and I wouldn't want to take the risk of more injuries.

 

[gale]

Kenneth do you have a picture of your tank? I've never seen part sand/part gravel and I'm curious.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

oic... thanks for the advice... im gonna try and get better gravel but i think thats gonna be a big headache because of tha sand

gale here are pix of my tank
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=68059&st=0&

sorry for the pic quality i didnt have a camera ready