Trying To Breed My Cories

[This Old Spouse]

Ah, but can they do this??

 

[Harlequins]

Girl boy girl

Get that argos sand in that tank girl!!

Ah, but can they do this??

- my albinos do that also, mad has hatters

 

[Akasha72]

hahahahhaa that's funny

Just out of interest ... how much sand would I need for a 3ft tank and what about my plants? Will they be okay in sand?

Not saying I'm going to do it .... yet

 

[FishFanatic04]

lol Oh man I need some albinos again! You would love sand Akasha, just save up for a bit and get it! you could toss in a 1/4 of your pebbles if you like the look of them.

I used 3 20lb bags in my 46g which is 3 ft but wider then a standard. Its also 4 inches deep in places. Maybe 2 bags and some of your pebbles would do nicely.

 

[Akasha72]

ahh just seen your reply Harlequins about the sex. So I do have a male bronze amongst them then. Right, so when she's wriggling on a leaf why arn't there any eggs left behind? I'm confused.com

I could understand it whilst I thought they were all girls but now I just don't get it

 

[Akasha72]

so the 15kg bag in the shed won't do it then .... I think I need to consider it properly before leaping.

I'd have to catch all the fish (nightmare!!), remove all my plants, scrub the tank so I don't tempt a bacterial bloom to come creeping, make it look good then put everything back and catch all the fish again ... it's not a job that I relish the thought of if I'm being honest.

It may be something for the future. I've not had the tank more than 6 months so it's certainly not ready for a deep clean yet...

 

[FishFanatic04]

Your cories are happy and breeding. I wouldn't think you would need to rush it anyway. More time to collect pennies {or whatever your lowest money is called}

 

[Harlequins]

Changing to sand isn't that hard

I didnt remove any of my fish for the change over, i prewashed the argos sand over and over so the water runs clear,best to do this a bit at a time,i put sand in a bucket around quarter full,then just keep churning it over,tipping the water out and replacing...the cleaner you get the sand the better it will be in your tank with no cloudiness.

Anyhows i removed decor from half the tank, then using a wide hose (from the gravel vac) sucked out the gravel into a bucket,you could scoop it out,but its surprising how much gunk traps in gravel... Then i put some sand into a jug,carefully lowered the jug into the water,if you let the water go carefully into the jug, you can lower it to the bottom of the tank,then pour it out slowly, this way has long as your sand is clean you will get little bloom if any.

Then do the other half of the tank the same, put the decor, plants back in, my fish stayed up one end whilst i worked at the other

I used nearly 2 bags of argos sand in my 55 gals, so in theory i would've thought a bag would be enough for yours,you could always get a spare bag for future top ups

Just remember to turn off your filter whilst you do it, has long has you've washed well,you can put the filter straight back on after.

 

[Akasha72]

okay ... thanks. It may be something I'll do in the coming weeks/months. I love my cories and I want the very best for them and in all honesty I am getting sick of the gunk that collects in gravel

Not found any new eggs yet so I'm guessing they're having a break or I'm just being impatient - one or the other

 

[Akasha72]

Your cories are happy and breeding. I wouldn't think you would need to rush it anyway. More time to collect pennies {or whatever your lowest money is called}

pennies is correct. It used to be half pennies but we've not had them for years

the play sand over here (at a company called argos, they sell just about everything you can think off and are country wide) is really really cheap. I've no idea what it equates to in dollars but it's about the price of a loaf of bread and a pint of milk (£3)
Alternatively the aquarium sand will cost around £15 a bag and you would need to buy a lot of bags. The argos play sand is in a 15kg bag where as the aquarium sand is in probably 7 and a half kilo bag. For £15 I could buy a new pair of jeans so you can see why I'm delaying my decision a bit. If I want black sand it could cost me around £50 to do the whole tank. I'd really like black sand but at that kind of money (about a weekly food shop for me) it's a long term goal

 

[FishFanatic04]

That's why I only have black sand in one tank. It was very expensive in the end. I have playsand in my other tank and it is nice. You do get your moneys worth out of the aquarium sand but it is hard to justify it when the play sand is $3 and cories won't care either way.

 

[coldcazzie]

I have B&Q play sand in my tank and it's great. About £4 for a 25k bag and it did the whole tank. It's not quite so light and yellowy as the Argos playsand. Took a lot of washing though

 

[Akasha72]

I just can't make up my mind so for now I think I'll leave it alone. Mind you, if I did change the black for play sand and I hated it at least I've only wasted a fiver or so. Maybe black sand is something to work up to at a later date.


Fishies are having bloodworms for tea tonight ... and they've had a bucket of cold water chucked in this aft ...

 

[Staxx]

where can i get decent but cheapish black sand from?

 

[Akasha72]

where can i get decent but cheapish black sand from?

No idea I'm afraid. It seems to be a standard £15+ in price which isn't cheap, especially when that's for a medium sized bag