Can't Keep Cories Alive

[55gal]

I have a 55 gallon community fish tank filled with mainly tetra species as well as cherry barbs, a BN Pleco, and harlequin Rasboras. I really like cories and have tried several times to keep them in this tank but they never survive for more than a few months. They would always loose their barbels and then die a month or so later. So I did some reading regarding the loss of barbels and found that when they live in tanks with gravel this often happens. Is this also somehow responsible for their death? Do Cories need to live in a tank with sand?

Just curious, I don't think my dad would want to change substrate...he doesn't really like catfish himself.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Cories should be kept in tanks with sand as they like to burrow so having gravel will cause injuries and stress. So yeh that is why they are probably dying.

Change the substrate and you will have much better luck. Oh sand is much cleaner as you will find out if you change the substrate. Eeeewwwww

 

[Tizer]

They like to dig and forage in soft sands, typical to that of their normal environments. Sand is recommended, or a very find rounded gravel. Anything thats sharp will damage them and yes, they get infections and can die. Of course the other problem could be lack of food, you have lots of fish in there that are likely to grab eveything on its way down, so people with corys often feed them just after lights out to ensure a fair meal gets down to them.

 

[Randi]

Yes, cories can not find food without their barbels so even if they don't get an infection they will starve.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes rough gravel can damage cories barbels/whiskers leading to bacterial infection in them- if the infection eats all the barbel away the cory will either starve or die of internal bacterial infection/Septicemia caused by the barbel erosion. The same goes if they are kept on a dirty substrate.
Corys do best on a soft sand substrate, followed by a fine smooth rounded gravel substrate (though sand is definitely the best as it allows them to feed more naturally) . Sand is a much cleaner substrate too (doesn't trap waste in it like gravel does) and plants tend to grow better in it as well .

edit: Just make sure if you do go for sand, get proper freshwater sand rather than marine tank sand- marine sand contains lots of crushed coral & sea shells and so can dramatically alter the PH of the tank. The sand you buy will also need to be washed before being put in the tank as otherwise all the dust in it will make the water cloudy for days on end.

 

[Caprichoso]

I have a 55 gallon community fish tank filled with mainly tetra species as well as cherry barbs, a BN Pleco, and harlequin Rasboras. I really like cories and have tried several times to keep them in this tank but they never survive for more than a few months. They would always loose their barbels and then die a month or so later. So I did some reading regarding the loss of barbels and found that when they live in tanks with gravel this often happens. Is this also somehow responsible for their death? Do Cories need to live in a tank with sand?

Just curious, I don't think my dad would want to change substrate...he doesn't really like catfish himself.

They can definitely be kept with small, smooth gravel(3-5mm) but 3 things have to happen. You need to feed them with some kind of sinking pellet. You need to gravel vac weekly. You need to do water changes weekly(approx. 50%). So it's not really anything special as a person should be doing those things anyway (other than the sinking pellet part). The reason they will lose their barbels is because they aren't getting enough food so they are grinding their barbels down or because the gravel and/or water quality is poor and they can get bacterial infections which can harm the barbels.
Ideally, they prefer sand as it's easier to snuffle about in but can be kept with both.

 

[55gal]

Alright thanks for the info. I know they were getting food, I used a turkey baster to put it right in front of them and they'd eat. So I bet it was infection. I guess no more cories for us! I'd love to use sand, I use regular play sand in my frogs' tank and it is much cleaner and more natural looking, but I don't think my dad would like the idea of cleaning out the whole tank to change the substrate, so it'll have to stay how it is.

 

[Caprichoso]

Alright thanks for the info. I know they were getting food, I used a turkey baster to put it right in front of them and they'd eat. So I bet it was infection. I guess no more cories for us! I'd love to use sand, I use regular play sand in my frogs' tank and it is much cleaner and more natural looking, but I don't think my dad would like the idea of cleaning out the whole tank to change the substrate, so it'll have to stay how it is.

It's a bit of a job but I know several people have done it with the fish in the tank. There's a thread somewhere on here about how they did it.