Would My Fish Tank Be Appropriate For Corys?

[lillykinloo]

Hi everyone! I'm a new fish keeper, and wasn't sure if this question should go on the Beginner board or the Cory board, so please feel free to move this thread if it would be more appropriate somewhere else. I have a 37 gallon Eclipse "show tank." It is currently in the process of cycling, but eventually, my plan is to have 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2 female), 5 Diamond Tetras, and possibly 5-6 Corys. My tank is set up with a piece of driftwood, a fake log with caves and holes for hiding places, and several fake plants (it's pretty heavily "planted" because I read that the Gouramis like lots of plants). The substrate is a gravel substrate. It's a black gravel substrate that I purchased at the local PetSmart. I've read on some other threads that Corys can get injured on inappropriate substrate, and I don't want to put them in my tank if it is unsafe. Looking at the gravel, it doesn't look particularly sharp, but I'm a beginner, so I could be totally wrong. It's definitely not all small, round balls. Can anyone tell me if my tank would be safe for Corys?

 

[qoftheq]

Sounds ok to me once its cycled. The idea with the gravel is that corys, while rooting around on the ground as they spend most of their time doing, could wear down or cut their delicate barbels. Corys find food with their barbels, so they're pretty important. However, there is some controversy as to whether gravel does cause corys to loose their barbels, as there is some evidence that it is high nitrate levels and not inappropriate substrate that can cause barbel loss. In my experience, corys kept in well-maintained tanks with a gravel substrate do just fine. If I were you I'd just keep a watch on the barbels, and rehome the corys or replace the substrate if they start to loose them. If you do get corys, make sure to get 5-6 of the same species, as the different species don't always school together and can get lonely. Good luck, corys are certainly fun fish to keep