Pleco And Corry Tank Substrate

[whambamtymam]

Hey guys i just received my order of a new tank for my pleco and corries.
The thing is they are currently housed in a tank with fine gravel. about 1-2mm in diameter.
This time im thinking of filling the new tank with sand as substrate. will there be any problems if the pleco or corries "inhale" the sand in?tank size is roughly a 4x2x2

 

[Bozza]

Corys would prefer the sand rather then the gravel. Since they are filter feeders. Cant really comment on pleco sorry

 

[whambamtymam]

alright thanks for the reply!

should i do an inch of gravel and top it up with sand or purely sand?

 

[xingumike]

whichever you prefer, i think both will be suitable.

 

[LisaLQ]

No point using gravel and topping with sand - as the sand will just fall through and you'll just have gravel on the top after a while - I know, been there done that in one of my old tanks lol.

Either substrate will be fine as long as the gravel is rounded (pea gravel) and not that sharp gritty stuff (like the horrible coloured stuff - and not just because it's hideous and completely tasteless lol).

You'll find that plec mess "shows up" more on sand so it'll mean more cleaning. Also sand is a b*gger to vaccuum, so expect to keep having to replace sand in the long run too (as some will come out every time you gravel vac).

Still, cories do apparently prefer it (although my hubby's didn't), and I am changing to sand at some point despite having lots of plecs to clean up after lol.

 

[whambamtymam]

No point using gravel and topping with sand - as the sand will just fall through and you'll just have gravel on the top after a while - I know, been there done that in one of my old tanks lol.

Either substrate will be fine as long as the gravel is rounded (pea gravel) and not that sharp gritty stuff (like the horrible coloured stuff - and not just because it's hideous and completely tasteless lol).

You'll find that plec mess "shows up" more on sand so it'll mean more cleaning. Also sand is a b*gger to vaccuum, so expect to keep having to replace sand in the long run too (as some will come out every time you gravel vac).

Still, cories do apparently prefer it (although my hubby's didn't), and I am changing to sand at some point despite having lots of plecs to clean up after lol.

So if im just keen on keeping one pleco it will be fine to use sand?

hmm ill post pics of my tank journal along the way. thanks for the help

 

[smithrc]

plecs also love sand - be warned though they may very well dig in it

 

[LisaLQ]

Any amount of plecs would be fine on sand - it's just the more plecs you have, the more waste you have, and the more waste shows up

But yep, apparently plecs love sand - one of the reasons I want to change, was just explaining there are down sides to using sand too (awkward gravel cleaning, sand getting in your filter, mess showing up). But I'm sure with only one plec, the benefits will vastly outweigh the down sides

 

[ghent_3rd]

Trust me, my cats love the sand!! I changed over from gravel and I think the tank looks so much brighter with the sand. The corys look so cool sifting through the sand at dinner-time.

 

[whambamtymam]

Trust me, my cats love the sand!! I changed over from gravel and I think the tank looks so much brighter with the sand. The corys look so cool sifting through the sand at dinner-time.

hmmm what colour light do you guys think would be a good contrast to some natural coloured sand. i was kinda thinking along the lines of a bright white one