Small/pygmy Or Sterbai Corys And Gravel

[ADW1988]

I have a 60L tank close to finishing fishless cycle. and thinking about fish..
 
The usual 6 neon Tetras, but I would like maybe  3/4/5 Pygmy/Hasbrosas Cory..
 
However, I have changed the bottom from a horrible artificial black sand that turned grey and left an oil looking substance on surface of water, to a more natural gravel substrate...
 
Thing is, it's quite thick/big gravel pieces.. will they be ok or are they a no no!
 
I like Sterbai Cory too but with limited space I was thinking the Habrosas/Pygmy would be better...
 
Thanks

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Cories like to have a good root around in the substrate so the finer the better really. How big is your gravel?

 

[KittyKat]

I like Sterbai Cory too but with limited space I was thinking the Habrosas/Pygmy would be better...

 
C. sterbai are much too big for your tank, 6-10 Corys of one of the dwarf species would be much better
 
When I first started keeping Corys, I put them in a graveled tank and then slowly started adding sand to top up the substrate for plants. As you can imagine, the gravel and sand eventually got mixed, but there were still patching of both. Eventually the Corys bred and the fry grew up, so I ended up with rather a lot of them in the tank but throughout the whole time, the Corys stuck to the sandier patches and their food was "lost" in the gravel if it ever made it that far.
 
In short, I very strongly recommend play sand if you want to keep Corys. It's cheap, works and generally shows off their colour best.

 

[ADW1988]

Thanks Lunar & Kitty
 
When I say th gravel is big I don't mean really big.. Just your run of the mill natural gravel from Pets at Home (UK)... I did think that bout the Sterbai's
 
When I move I'm purchasing a 450l Jewel Vision but for now the 60l is my start..
 
I think I will go with the pygmy/hasbrosas...
 
Kitty thanks for the idea re sand and gravel.. Will give that a try.. I tried to upload a photo but it was too big and am now at work.
 
Would the gravel be bad for them though, as wouldnt want to keep them if conditions aren't natural

 

[the_lock_man]

If the gravel is sharp, it can wear away their barbels.

 

[tmoney7]

Yeah what i did for my pygmys and gravel was i just took a hand full of the gravel and rubbed it around in my hand.  If it doesn't hurt you and seems relatively soft then it should be fine.