# substrate for cory cats?



## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i'm working on the plans for a 29 gallon sorority and along with the betta girls, i want corys. what is the best substrate for these cute catfish? :3


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

djembekah said:


> i'm working on the plans for a 29 gallon sorority and along with the betta girls, i want corys. what is the best substrate for these cute catfish? :3


Sand, they can damage themselves on gravel as the root through it.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

are river rocks a bad idea? i like the look of them


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

As long as your substrate is smooth they should be ok.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

great ^-^ thank you!


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Get a group of at least 5 or 6 of the same type. They are shoaling fish and do best with buddies. I have 10 in my 75 gallon and love to watch the army come out at feeding time 

Enjoy.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

They do best with sand. My concern with the river rock is it may be hard for them to get to their food if it falls between the rocks. I used to have cories in one of my tanks with a smooth gravel but their barbels still wore down. Now I have mine on sand and they are doing great.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i think i'll do sand or fine gravel then. probably sand, but i have a question about sand- i read somewhere that it can store toxins that can release and kill everything in their path. do i need to stir sand on a regular basis? or would my corys take care of that?


i am thinking panda or pepper or the albino corys. i think steurbai are gorgeous but they get big, and i'd worry they'd get cramped up in my 18x12x30 tank


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## dmuddle (Nov 14, 2011)

I kept a cory with two bettas and both bettas died. the corys omit too much ammonia for fighters to handle. If this is incorrect and anyone has any ideas why they died let me know but when i took one away from the cory it got better.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

people on here have successfully kept them together i think.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

djembekah said:


> i think i'll do sand or fine gravel then. probably sand, but i have a question about sand- i read somewhere that it can store toxins that can release and kill everything in their path. do i need to stir sand on a regular basis? or would my corys take care of that?
> 
> 
> i am thinking panda or pepper or the albino corys. i think steurbai are gorgeous but they get big, and i'd worry they'd get cramped up in my 18x12x30 tank


I'm not sure about storing toxins, but most sands, you'll want to rinse it first to get rid of the toxins. I have heard of someone (can't remember who) using sandbox sand and saying it didn't need rinsing? You probably won't want to stir sand as it will cloud up your water really badly. Most sands, you have to wait about 48hrs for it to settle. 

As for the ammonia problem, I have not heard of that before. I would research that first.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i will definitely be doing more research on the corys then. i dont want any problems.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Cories emit too much ammonia for bettas to handle??? LOL...No, that's not true. If it was a tank that was still cycling then adding more fish (of any kind) will cause an ammonia spike. That may have been what happened.

I have play sand in 4 of my tanks. Make sure you rinse it very well. Don't make it too deep and you won't have any problem with anerobic pockets. About 1-2" is fine unless you have rooted live plants, then you may need it a little deeper so the plants can take hold. At water change time turn your filter off and run your fingers through it if you want to stir it. It will settle quickly.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

awesome, thank you!!!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

dmuddle said:


> I kept a cory with two bettas and both bettas died. the corys omit too much ammonia for fighters to handle. If this is incorrect and anyone has any ideas why they died let me know but when i took one away from the cory it got better.


That is false. I suspect your tank was simply too small to cope with the bioload of two fish. 



djembekah said:


> i think i'll do sand or fine gravel then. probably sand, but i have a question about sand- i read somewhere that it can store toxins that can release and kill everything in their path. do i need to stir sand on a regular basis? or would my corys take care of that?
> 
> i am thinking panda or pepper or the albino corys. i think steurbai are gorgeous but they get big, and i'd worry they'd get cramped up in my 18x12x30 tank


I loved peppered! So pretty.  My albino is super cute, too.  You do indeed need to stir the sand - the cories will disturb the surface but will not get deep enough. It's not really difficult, though. Just rifle your fingers through it once a week with your water change and you won't have any problems.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

awesome  i'm more and more excited for this tank everyday. and sand is pretty! even play sand will be neat.

what is the best way to rinse sand? i feel like i'd end up losing a lot of sand xD should i buy cheesecloth or something? or could i swish it around a bowl of water?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I just swished mine in a big bowl. Most of the crud just floats to the top and you can gently tip the water away without losing much sand.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

good deal. ahhhh im so excited i want to start cycling noooow. but i dont have anything to cycle with.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Cories like sand MUCH better, that is what they have in the wild. Sand also looks good. If you get play sand from like Home Depot, it is a 50 lb bag for like $5. Sand is much cheaper if you do decide with the play sand.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i'm thinking i'll do play sand :3


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## ManInBlack2010 (Sep 7, 2011)

about a month ago i moved my corries from a tank with gravel substrate to a tank with sand substrate and they are in heaven!! it's adorable, they keep burrowing themselves in it, i'm watching them right now and two of them a digging a hole together, your corries are gonna be happy fish!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

aweee!!! i'm so excited. i have a feeling fish keeping will be a life long hobby for me.


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

I have four pandas in a 10 gallon and I think they are absolutely adorable. I love watching them interact with one another. You can check them out in my sig.  You're going to love your cories!

As far as substrate goes, I have a very small, fine gravel. I've had them in this setup for over a year and haven't had any problems, though I do sometimes regret not getting sand for them to burrow in.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

oh my goodness they are so cute!!!!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

on the subject of cories, they dont breed easily do they? if i got a mix of male and female, i wouldn't be over run with fry?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

No, they aren't like livebearers. You may get an accidental spawn, but you'll never be overrun.


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

They will only breed when they are happy, the only incedant when you might get more fish that you prefer is when you heavily plant the tank, leading to a high survival rate


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

that is good to hear. if i have an accidental spawn, the bettas may eat the eggs or fry, right? or might the corys eat the eggs if something like that happened? they wont be in bad conditions but they probably wont be prime spawning conditions.


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

Yes, the Betta and cories will most likely eat the eggs
Youll need a tank something along the lines of this to get a high survival rate
http://http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRB9U4rhhZQj92PbnYb7R7fMi39td8EwfYcuww7oIgw9qfjw39e


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

that is beautiful :O


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