Corys Substrate?

[williamc]

could I use pebbles like riverrock or rounded rock for corys or would it hurt them?

 

[StrontiumDog]

As long as the substrate you put in arn't sharp, you'll be ok.

Sand and small pea gravel i've found best. They love to bury there heads in the sand looking for food.

 

[puppyjess123]

Yeah i got a new tank and got the sand for the corys as they lvoe rooting around in it.

 

[williamc]

what kind of sand did you use because I put sand in my 20 gallon and It is still cloudy after alot of water changes and I was wondering if anyone has had this problem with the lights of the tank making the water look cloudy

 

[Cory_Dad]

Hi williamc

Did you wash the sand thoroughly before you put it into the tank? I can take upwards of 10 or more water changes when rinsing the sand in a bucket, depending how much and how dirty it is.

If you have fine filter material, it should remove the cloudiness. Barring [EDIT] that, you can add water clarifier which will cause the fine particles to clump together. You can then vacuum the clumps at the bottom of the tank. You will also need to clean your filter media as well.

Cheers.

 

[StrontiumDog]

what kind of sand did you use because I put sand in my 20 gallon and It is still cloudy after alot of water changes and I was wondering if anyone has had this problem with the lights of the tank making the water look cloudy

As Cory_Dad, has explained sand needs a lot of cleaning before you put it in a tank you can wash it 10 times and , it's still cloudy when you and water to your tank. Depending on the filter you have, will determine how long it will take to clear.

One good way off cleaning sand is. Not to try and clean a 1.5 kg bag at a time. Put less in the container(bucket) your cleaning it in, say 0.5kg it may take you a bit longer this way but it give you better results when you add it to the tank.

 

[Jaymz]

I hear putting the sand in a spare pillowcase and rinsing the daylights out of it with a hose or if need be under the tap works just as well, just have to keep churning it up to make sure you get it all cleaned. Make sure you allow for dechlorination afterwards before you allow it near your fish.

As people have said, no sharp substrate as it hurts the Cory's barbels, sand is great as they never stop rooting over it, and large rocks/stones are fine so long as they're smooth.