Panda Cory's!

[lotlot]

I am interested in getting a group of panda cory's (3/4) for my 20 gallon tank in the future.

At the moment i have 3 guppies and 3 platys. Ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and nitrate is at about 5. The problem that i have is that i have gravel substrate, would this be a problem?

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Hi lotlot,

Does your gravel have any sharp edges? Generally, if you have fine/rounded gravel then Corys would be happy in your 20 gallon. Sand is definately the best substrate to use, but rounded, fine gravel is extremely unlikely to damage barbels, and many members on TFF use it in their Cory tanks and have no problems.

 

[lotlot]

Yes it's smooth, but quite large pieces?! Would this cause any problems?

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Hi lotlot,

If it's larger, your problem with lie with build-up of harmful bacteria in your gravel.. how often do you do a thorough gravel vacuum? I would recommend if you gets Corys to do one at least twice a month. Other may say even more frequently than this, but that's what I did when I initially used gravel as a substrate in my Cory tank.

Of course however, it would be better in the long run if you just converted from gravel to sand. You can just get play sand which is inexpensive, and as long as you thoroughly clean the sand before adding it to your tank, it really is a simple and straight forward procedure.

 

[ant0]

get a group of 5 or more, they do best in larger numbers. plus with a 20 gallon tank you've def got the space with the fosh you've got at the moment

 

[Barracuda518]

Yes it's smooth, but quite large pieces?! Would this cause any problems?

Large gravel can also damage a cories barbels. Cories like to push and dig around in the substrate. If the gravel is too large, then they can damage their barbels trying to move it around.