Corydoras substrate?

[utahfish]

I think with the cory substrate debate its also important to mention that in the wild in their natural habitat coreys dont eat commercialized sinking pellets frozen shrimp or freeze dried foods. They sift through the sand looking for little living organisms. How many people in the hobby have a tank with a substrate full if little organisms found in coreys natural habitat. This thought that if one cant create the exact habitat a fish lives in they shouldnt be in the hobby is farcical, i keep live fish in a glass box of 20 gallons of water in my basement, im never going to be able to recreate an environment exactly like the fishs natural environment. Even when one goes to a huge city aquarium of thousands of gallons its not the same as their natural habitat. I do the best i can as do most with the resources they have available. No one is going to put mud in their fish tanks for their corys, it would probably do more harm than good store bought river sand is expensive and its not a good idea to go down to the river and find some sand and unless one is pulling it from the amazon its not part of corys natural habitat.hopefully people do their best with the resources available to them and if not comes down to ignorance or negligence. If one is ignorant no problem get educated if one is purposefully negligent then yeah i agree the fish hobby or any pet care management probably isnt a good fit. I appreciate the knowledge byron and other posters have and i try to gleen what i can from that info and at the same time not everything works the same in this hobby for everyone else, the hobby us ever changing and evolving sometimes devolving but hey we live and learn sometimes sadly at the peril of our water inhabitant friends. Do the best with what you got peeps!

 

[utahfish]

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.

Cocaine maybe?

 

[Stan510]

Lots,LOTS of people put mud aka dirt into their tanks. It just depends on you. The corys love the finest silt like you do finest wines. But,can people put up with all the brown water until the filters and time clear it? IF i were back into multi tanks fishroom,I would try fine silt on the substrate for Corys and Botias and other small fish that like to sift, and put the plants in pots of gravel to see how it all goes. Would be fun.

 

[utahfish]

Lots,LOTS of people put mud aka dirt into their tanks. It just depends on you. The corys love the finest silt like you do finest wines. But,can people put up with all the brown water until the filters and time clear it? IF i were back into multi tanks fishroom,I would try fine silt on the substrate for Corys and Botias and other small fish that like to sift, and put the plants in pots of gravel to see how it all goes. Would be fun.

Ive done a dirted tank before, and one needs to cap it with something to keep all the organics from getting stirred up and causing havoc. I imagine without a cap and just " mud" that ones water would constantly be cloudy especially with fish rooting through it plus straight mud is going to compact as well causing gas pockets, just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. We can try as as much as we want to create a fish natural habitat and try as we may its not achievable. While " mud" or silt might be closer to their natural habitat mud or silt in their natural has constant new water running over it carrying nutrients disposing of waste, it has other organism in the soil and water ways including plant life that play a role in the specific eco system coreys have evolved to live in. Would coreys do better on mud instead of say an inert sand in a enclosed glass box? i dont know, lots of things can and do go wrong in glass boxes filled with water and life forms.

 

[Stan510]

I don't think mud or dirt makes a better aquarium..never did. But in pots I've done that for decades. But,if somebody did use fine silts from a stream and added some of that white powdery sand I've seen at dollar store for looks,since all grey silt is not attractive to the eye , it might look decent.
That whole dirt thing is just another form of hydroponic fertilizer..its temporary and after a few weeks and water changes..its pretty much inert. What people think is long lasting? Is just the aquarium water ageing with fish excretions from the various foods.
I've learned,Iron gluconate is just wonderful stuff. The daily feedings and IG are all you need once an aquarium is broken in. Plus its a positive thing that its short acting and not constantly in the water column helping algae. Plants suck it in..algae go hungry with IG.
Now,dirt for Corys is for fun..for making something that LOOKS more natural.
Maybe summer I will do it for fun. Corys and maybe White Clouds I have with an old 50 gallon.

 

[Byron]

Corydoradinae are filter feeders because that is how evolution/nature made them. It does not matter if they are tank raised, or maintained in an aquarium, they are still and will continue to be filter feeders naturally. You cannot change what is programmed into a fish's DNA just because you don't want to provide them what they need--and expect.

This video is typical; this is how all Corydoras species should be able to live, if healthy fish are the goal.

 

[FallenPepper]

And they can eat just fine without sand

 

[Byron]

And they can eat just fine without sand

Why should we be inhumane and deny them what they "expect." ? The point is not how they eat, but rather it is their natural and normal behaviours.

 

[FallenPepper]

Domestication and captivity of an animal naturally changes a few things. Do you let your dog hunt for its food?

 

[Byron]

Domestication and captivity of an animal naturally changes a few things. Do you let your dog hunt for its food?

You seem to have some form of problem that prevents you from grasping the actual issue. Anyone who owns a dog and understands its natural instincts knows that we do provide for these in different ways. The inherent traits of any animal are not going to disappear just because we ignore them.

And it comes back to the initial issue of researching to learn the inherent needs of a species of fish and then providing what the fish "expects" in some form. If you or anyone else is not prepared to do this, then you should not be keeping fish. As it says in the green citation in my signature, it is inhumane to do otherwise.

 

[AquaBarb]

I had very fine gravel in one of my tanks with my cory's before i changed to sand and the difference in their Natural behaviour was massive with sand. I was shocked just how much of a change it made. I will never have cory with anything else again.

 

[FallenPepper]

Dont insult my intellect and say I have a problem my point is that it isn't neccessary to completely make a fishes home exactly like it's natural habitat. Though if that's the case maybe you should look into ponds for all your fish? That is the best was to replicate it I feel no?

 

[Byron]

Dont insult my intellect and say I have a problem my point is that it isn't neccessary to completely make a fishes home exactly like it's natural habitat. Though if that's the case maybe you should look into ponds for all your fish? That is the best was to replicate it I feel no?

This is an attempt to sidetrack the issue again. We can easily provide the environmental factors that a fish requires, which involves the appropriate number (of shoaling species), water parameters that suit the species, habitat substances they need to be safe, and appropriately sized tanks. Decor does not have to be authentic, but it must provide what the fish "expect" and need. Example, if a fish species needs caves, we can make these naturally with rock or wood, or we can use PVC pipe/tubes, or ceramic imitations, or similar. But the point is that one of these must be provided, or the fish will suffer stress.

It is easy enough to research the habitat of a species and learn what you need before you acquire the fish. If you can provide it, fine; if not, find another fish species.

Absolutely no one can argue against sand for all Corydoradinae. The evidence is overwhelming (there are in nature no exceptions aside from the mud which applies to a very few species and any ichthyologist will tell us that sand is a good substitute because it fulfills the exact same need), and there are aquarium sands readily available, as readily as there are gravel. So it becomes a case of the "aquarist" either wanting to provide a good home for the fish, or not.

 

[FallenPepper]

Honestly my point from the beginning was gravels good and your just going on this crusade now and its lost it's fun. So I'll keep this very simple so maybe you'll finally get what I'm saying. SAND GOOD GRAVEL OK

 

[FallenPepper]

Please dm me for further explanation