Substrate

[folyet]

So I have my tank and I have some Leopard Corys and some Green Emerald cats, as well as 4 khuli loaches
Now, I just have regular gravel at the bottom. It is not sharp. They are fairly small pebbles, and from what I see and feel, no sharp edges. Regular sized gravel

I have read that for Corys and Khulis the bottom should be sand, not gravel because it can harm their noses and barbs.
I have my tank so well established, and I do not want to change the bottom

Do any of you experienced Cory owners use gravel, or just sand bottoms

My corys, cats and khulis all seem happy and healthy

Just concerned

Any advise or feedback would be appreciated

 

[fluttermoth]

It is certainly possible to keep cories healthy on gravel, but personally I would only ever keep them on sand.

They love to dig into the substrate with their noses; it's part of their natural behaviour, and they just can't do that on gravel. One of the greatest joys in keeping cories is watching them root about in the sand. I particularly love geting the sand all smooth after a water change and seeing it covered in little dimples the next morning

Had you thought about putting in a patch of sand for them? Scoop, or syphon out with a wide bore pipe, some of the gravel and replace with well washed play sand. The more gravel you can take out the better, as the gravel and sand will mix over time, and the sand end up on the bottom, but it's a good compromise if you don't want to strip down the tank completely.

 

[folyet]

Actually I was thinking about doing something like that, but not sure if it was possible
My plan was to start in one area and slowly through time keep replacing the gravel with sand until eventually it was all replaced

Think that could work?

 

[Inchworm]

Think that could work?

I can't see it being worth the trouble. The sand will mix with the gravel and sink to the bottom. Then you have to sift it to get them apart. I suggest you do it all at once and get it over with.

Fine gravel is good too. Some of my cory tanks have play sand, some have #1 gravel, and others have #3 gravel. They do equally well on all of them.

Regular sized gravel

What I don't use is the large gravel with bits like pebbles. This is the stuff that causes trouble for corys when food and other debris filters down into it. If this is what you mean by "regular" gravel, it would be best to get rid of it and find something finer.