Ok good but since mine is a female I think it should be fine.
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Corydoras substrate?
- Thread starter Meg0000
- Start date
No, most assuredly not. None of the "plant" substrates are suitable for Corydoras or loaches. Substrate for Corydoras must be sand that is not rough. Loaches are best with sand, but fine gravel (not rough) can work, depending upon the species.
Aside from not being suitable for Corydoras at all...it would take years to tumble rough gravel/sand before it is non-rough.
This is not going to work. First, the minnows require cooler teemperatures, room temperature is a s warm as it should be for them. The Paradise Fish is an anabantid and they need warmer water. Also, minnows are shoaling fish so a group is required, and with this species if it were OK it would be six or more minimum.
just to correct one thing, paradise fish don't live in warm water at all the best temperature for them is from 18-22° celcius anyway I changed my plan I will do the Idea of another person in one of my thread. Also white clouds mountain minnow can live in warmer water even if it is not optimal, in fact they are so hardy that they are sometimes illegal in certain places. I am pretty sure that ADA substrate and fluval stratum that are plant substrate are good for corys also.
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FallenPepper
Fish Crazy
Bryon have you ever done the bucket trick before? Clay is a softer stone and chips quickly it can take a day but tumbling it and swirling it to smooth it out is an actual thing. Just because you haven't tried something doesn't mean it doesn't work. The hobbies about experimenting and learning new things isn't that why we are in this? Also the substrate really isn't that rough to the point of scratching the corys. The minnows though your right about but for the wrong reasons and this thread goes into another thread for more details
Yes, correct on the Paradise Fish...I really must stop relying on my memory and check my files on these things! Thank you. The range for Macropodus opercularis 10-22 C (50-72 F).
White Cloud Mountain Minnows do need cooler water, meaning room temperature, and no warmer. This from Seriously Fish:
Temperature: This species is subject to seasonal temperature fluctuations in nature and is most comfortable between 14 – 22 °C.
Permanent exposure to warmer conditions is likely to result in a shortened lifespan and in many countries or well-insulated homes it’s best-maintained without artificial heating year-round.
In tests the wild fish from Hainan Island showed a reduced tolerance to cooler temperatures compared with tank-bred specimens, presumably due to their more southerly, i.e., tropical, distribution.
On the substrate, no. No "plant" substrate is good for cories, no gravel is good for cories, no industrial sands are good for cories. Only mud (not very practical) or smooth sand. Corydoras are filter feeders; watch the many videos of these fish poking their snouts into the sand and filtering it out via the gills. This is not possible with larger or rough materials. And I would hope that none of us wants to provide less than expected conditions and the best conditions for our fish just to experiment for plants. Thriving not surviving.
The hobby is not about experimenting, we are providing suitable life-long "homes" for the fish we select, and they deserve better or we are in the wrong hobby.
Scratching the cories is not the only issue, as I explained in my response above. Damaging the gills of fish is not or should not be a goal. Provide what they "expect" or don't have them. If you want to argue about Corydoras substrate, go talk with those who know, like Heiko Bleher or Ian Fuller.
And yes, the minnow issue is more involved, this is a shoaling fish that likes to swim and such fish should not be combined with sedate fish./
oops we both made a mistake on the temperature but anyway I dont want to argue too much it is just my opinion on ADA substrate for corys. It is a smooth substrate without sharp edges so I dont see the problem. Also as I said I wont put white cloud mountain minnow in my 10 gallon tank, I will do something else.Yes, correct on the Paradise Fish...I really must stop relying on my memory and check my files on these things! Thank you. The range for Macropodus opercularis 10-22 C (50-72 F).
White Cloud Mountain Minnows do need cooler water, meaning room temperature, and no warmer. This from Seriously Fish:
Temperature: This species is subject to seasonal temperature fluctuations in nature and is most comfortable between 14 – 22 °C.Permanent exposure to warmer conditions is likely to result in a shortened lifespan and in many countries or well-insulated homes it’s best-maintained without artificial heating year-round.In tests the wild fish from Hainan Island showed a reduced tolerance to cooler temperatures compared with tank-bred specimens, presumably due to their more southerly, i.e., tropical, distribution.
On the substrate, no. No "plant" substrate is good for cories, no gravel is good for cories, no industrial sands are good for cories. Only mud (not very practical) or smooth sand. Corydoras are filter feeders; watch the many videos of these fish poking their snouts into the sand and filtering it out via the gills. This is not possible with larger or rough materials. And I would hope that none of us wants to provide less than expected conditions and the best conditions for our fish just to experiment for plants. Thriving not surviving.
That means you do not understand the fish's requirements and habits. And I am not being rude, just honest. I have studied fish physiology, and I learn from those who know. Twenty years ago I saw nothing wrong with Flourite, or fine gravel. Now I know better because people like Ian Fuller have pointed out my erroneous thinking.
FallenPepper
Fish Crazy
I wouldn't say corys are filter feeder but more of a scavenger. Most fish can "filter" sand when they eat it it just passes through them like nothing. In organics can't be processed so the body naturally gets rid of it. My puffers can do it but they're not filter feeders either. Shrimp, clams and whales are filter feeders though. Cory's are just smaller catfish that vaccum food up.
Corydoras are filter feeders. Go to CorydorasWorld and discuss it with Ian Fuller who has for several decades collected Corydoradinae species, spawned them, and studied them. Or any other catfish authority. Or watch videos of the fish feeding; that is filter feeding. And I do not mean when they are feeding from a tablet on the surface, I mean during the majority of their active time when they are filter feeding and digging into the substrate.
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Smooth gravels are fine for Corys. It's a tough a call since even sand can act like "sandpaper" on Cory whiskers. Maybe avoid sands used for sandblasting that are popular since they are a good grade and colors for plant tanks. Those come in black or white silica's.
The Corys will soon show if the substrate is too rough for them.
The Corys will soon show if the substrate is too rough for them.
FallenPepper
Fish Crazy
As I'm looking at videos of corys eating I'm seeing lots of gravel/stone. I get that they process sand and what not but a broken down fish food that is waterlogged is easy to digest for the fish and it can suck up the particles from the substrate. I will agree it keeps sand clean which is fantastic because it's a nightmare to gravel vac which is why I always mix it with other substrates.
Anyone can post videos, that does not make it correct. This is from Ian Fuller:
Smooth sand which been created over millions of years by the constant tumbling action of moving water, whether it be the oceans tidal and wave actions or the constant varying flow of rivers. The more the flow and tumbling action the finer the sand becomes.
In some areas the sand found can be fairly course, and grains could be as large as one millimetre, or as fine as caster sugar, the one thing that will be common is that the grains will be smooth and not sharp and gritty like quarried sand as use in the building industry.
Over many years I have spent many hours watching, and filming Cory’s feeding, in some cases it is quite comical, especially with the larger straight (Lineage 8) and curved (Lineage 1) snouted species who tend to bury the deepest, Some almost completely burying themselves when they dive right in searching out the food they sense is there. I have taken video clips of the feeding actions of several species from different lineages. And all, even the smallest species will mouth the sand.
Many people argue and state that “Their Cory’s are perfectly happy living over gravel”. But I find it very difficult to see how they can determine the happiness of a fish. They may be surviving and because they are actively scurrying around in their constant hunt for food are seen as being happy.
I have seen video’s on face book showing the presenter displaying a rough irregular gravel they discovered at a particular location and stating that Cory’s are happy living amongst it. However, I know and have collected in that very location many times and the gravel compound that the person in the video is showing is actually part of the aggregate that was used during the construction of the relatively new nearby road bridge.
There are places where there are gravel, pebble and rock rivers and streams, but when taking a good look at some of these places the streams and riverbeds are sand. The natural habitat of C. weitzmani is one such place. I have never seen deep layers of a single sizes gravel; it is always a range of many variable sizes and usually it appears as a widespread scattering.
The biggest problem with using any type of gravel in an aquarium is that food particles will fall between the particles and decompose, and if the aquarium is not maintained and or filtered adequately the water quality will deteriorate very quickly. The other danger as far as keeping Cory’s over gravel is the fact that they cannot easily move gravel to access the particles of food within it, and if the gravel is of anything other than smooth and rounded particles they can and often do damage their delicate barbels and mouths parts.
As I hinted at earlier, different forms and sizes of Cory will feed at different levels in the substrate, from dwarf species working the surface, medium round snouted species delving five or six millimetres into it, and the larger straight and saddle snouted species often burying themselves.
Long established aquariums with smooth gravels,smaller grades like 'Monterey Sands' will work because in old tanks..mulm and detritus has filled the spaces and Corys enjoy filtering that out at feeding time. I've seen habitat vids of Corys feeding and it was ALWAYS a fine silt..the finer the better. But,that sort of jibes with aquariums because in a tank all that is constantly stirred up. Even if you don't mind..the filter will remove that super fine material.
I remember in the 70 or 80's my father brought home from work some kind of pure white sand..powdery..and cory's loved that..they could easily bury snouts to hunt for Tubifex worms at feeding time. Never found a source or even what it was since.
I remember in the 70 or 80's my father brought home from work some kind of pure white sand..powdery..and cory's loved that..they could easily bury snouts to hunt for Tubifex worms at feeding time. Never found a source or even what it was since.
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