Sand?

[itiwhetu]

The idea that cory's can pick up a mouth full of gravel and then decide which bits are food and swallow them, doesn't seem to be right either. That is the equivalent of you taking a mouthful of gravel and peanuts and only swallowing the peanuts. Animals don't tend to behave like that as it is inefficient. What I have noticed is cory's use their barbels to flip of pieces of gravel exposing the little creatures underneath which they then eat.

 

[Rocky998]

I had never heard of the sand thing until I came on to this forum site. If Cory's can't be kept on hard surfaces, then it would go without reason that the young cory's shouldn't be raised in breeding boxes or bare bottomed tanks as their barbels would be damaged or worse would not form.

I think its ok for smooth surfaces but not jagged gravel edges or jagged rocks... Smooth river rocks are ok.

 

[itiwhetu]

I think its ok for smooth surfaces but not jagged gravel edges or jagged rocks... Smooth river rocks are ok.

So you are now saying smooth gravel is fine

 

[Rocky998]

The idea that cory's can pick up a mouth full of gravel and then decide which bits are food and swallow them, doesn't seem to be right either. That is the equivalent of you taking a mouthful of gravel and peanuts and only swallowing the peanuts. Animals don't tend to behave like that as it is inefficient. What I have noticed is cory's use their barbels to flip of pieces of gravel exposing the little creatures underneath which they then eat.

No, its sand filtering. Ive seen them do it in aquariums, and sometimes in wild videos. If they come across food, they pick it up and spit out the sand particles while leaving the food in their mouths

 

[Rocky998]

So you are now saying smooth gravel is fine

It depends, I wouldnt use an all gravel substrate, I'd most likely mix it. Mostly sand though and very little gravel.

 

[itiwhetu]

No, its sand filtering. Ive seen them do it in aquariums, and sometimes in wild videos. If they come across food, they pick it up and spit out the sand particles while leaving the food in their mouths

You have seen them with the food in their mouths, after spitting out the sand

 

[Rocky998]

You have seen them with the food in their mouths, after spitting out the sand

No, ive seen them actually pick up sand and sift it out of their mouths and then swallow the food. The WHOLE process not just the end result.

 

[Stan510]

I've seen Corys wear down barbels on rough aquarium gravels. The ones that are like pea gravel with epoxy on them. I also believe that bad water quality also can affect barbels. They really do prefer near silty substrates. I once had them in an aquarium of what I guess was a white silty sands. Almost like diatomaceous earth that my father brought home from his job. He thought it might look good in one of my aquariums. Those Corys were in heaven rooting tubifex worms out it..making tiny puffy clouds out the gills.
Its a wonder nobody on youtube has tried that. Must be local streams that do have that very fine silt.

 

[Byron]

I had never heard of the sand thing until I came on to this forum site. If Cory's can't be kept on hard surfaces, then it would go without reason that the young cory's shouldn't be raised in breeding boxes or bare bottomed tanks as their barbels would be damaged or worse would not form.

The barbels appear because they are part of the fish's genetic makeup. The substrate has nothing to do with this. But, it can have a lot to do with what happens as they feed/grow.

Bare bottom tanks and breeding boxes that are hard/smooth surfaces are unhealthy for cories. This is a bacterial issue; it is next to impossible to keep the bare substrate "clean." And barbel degeneration can occur from the bacteria in this case.

One of the major figures in this hobby is Heiko Bleher, who in his 60+ years of exploration has discovered more than 6,000 species of fish previously unknown. He educated me on the vital need for sand some 12 years ago. Given that every species of cory lives over a sand or sand-mixed substrate...well, Heiko should know if anyone does.

 

[Byron]

The idea that cory's can pick up a mouth full of gravel and then decide which bits are food and swallow them, doesn't seem to be right either. That is the equivalent of you taking a mouthful of gravel and peanuts and only swallowing the peanuts. Animals don't tend to behave like that as it is inefficient. What I have noticed is cory's use their barbels to flip of pieces of gravel exposing the little creatures underneath which they then eat.

Your inability to accept scientific fact does not negate the fact. Obviously cories cannot engage in their normal method of feeding (which is programmed into their genetic blueprint) with gravel, which is why sand is necessary. They clearly do this, there are dozens of videos showing it.

 

[Byron]

It has always been my belief that water quality is the main issue with barbels and whiskers on all catfish. Either Nitrate or pH or hardness. The idea that an animal can break off or wear out an appendage on something they encounter everyday just doesn't sit right with me.

I used Flourite substrate in one tank and within a week all the cories has stumps for barbels, and one panda had about 1/3 of its lower jaw missing. I moved them to another tank with play sand, and they all recovered their barbels; the panda never regrew his jaw, obviously, but he managed to eat and has lived another 8 years with the others so far. The sharpness of the Flourite was the cause.

 

[itiwhetu]

The barbels appear because they are part of the fish's genetic makeup. The substrate has nothing to do with this. But, it can have a lot to do with what happens as they feed/grow.

Bare bottom tanks and breeding boxes that are hard/smooth surfaces are unhealthy for cories. This is a bacterial issue; it is next to impossible to keep the bare substrate "clean." And barbel degeneration can occur from the bacteria in this case.

One of the major figures in this hobby is Heiko Bleher, who in his 60+ years of exploration has discovered more than 6,000 species of fish previously unknown. He educated me on the vital need for sand some 12 years ago. Given that every species of cory lives over a sand or sand-mixed substrate...well, Heiko should know if anyone does.

Why do you think cory's even have Barbels then, if they are just basically going to scope up mouthfuls of sand, surely the Barbels have no purpose.

 

[Byron]

Why do you think cory's even have Barbels then, if they are just basically going to scope up mouthfuls of sand, surely the Barbels have no purpose.

These sensory organs developed to aid the fish in finding food. In the case of all species in the Corydoradinae family, these external organs clearly allow the fish to dig into the substrate and locate food that is visually undetectable.

 

[Rocky998]

Why do you think cory's even have Barbels then, if they are just basically going to scope up mouthfuls of sand, surely the Barbels have no purpose.

Their not just floating above sand filtering sand 24/7, they have other things to help find food. The barbels help find food and then they suck up the food with sand and then filter out the sand

 

[Stan510]

There are many Cory species that aquarist have without knowing how long those barbels really are when the fish are kept over fine substrate. Trying to imitate the natural world sometimes takes a backseat to aquariums set up by hobbyists who WISH to think that's best for the fish. I've had Corys lose barbels and it wasn't hard to figure it was whatever gravel I had..when those fish were put in finer sands or rounded small gravels ( Monterey Sands) that are so smooth they remind of rocks out of a polisher they regrew their barbels and some got so long they even forked a little.