# substrate ?



## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

Im currently researching and making shopping list to covert my 10 gallon to an NPT.
Inhabitants are 1 CT male betta, 2 panda corys and a julli corey.
(I'll be upping the shoal a bit since a proper NPT can support a little more bioload, id like 6 cories total)

OFL's sticky has been printed and is being referred to often. 
My question however, is Im seeing pool filter sand as a cap will not he ideal for my little corydoras. What cap would you guys reccommend for my little bottom feeder buddies?

Im also setting up a 5 gal planted tank (might not be npt right away) for our rescued betta. He's a cute little yellow guy with some red on his fins who we saved from walmart, he was fighting sbd and bad ammonia burns. What plants would you all recommend for the smaller space of his tank? Hes the lone inhabitant.


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## Fin Fancier (Aug 11, 2012)

I don't own any cories (though I want to badly), so I can't really suggest a substrate for them. 
As far as plants for the 5 gallon I keep water wisteria, anacharis, and anubias in mine. The anubias don't grow too quickly, so they don't outgrow the tank like the anacharis will. Luckily anacharis is a champ at propagating, just break the stem and replant when it gets too tall. It also looks great planted or floating.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

Awesome! Ill double up on those so I can put some in both tanks.

Anybody got an answer about the substrate?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I use something called silver sand, which is a totally inert sand from my LFS. I have no idea what it might be called in the US, though. What's the problem with pool filter sand?

Is it possible to rehome the julii's? They are a larger cory and won't thrive in a 10 gallon the way the pandas will. Rehoming them would also allow you to have a properly sized school of one species of cory, which would be far better for the cories in the long run.

In terms of plants, make sure that you have fast growing stem plants, as they are what makes an NPT successful. In mine I have:
- wisteria
- lacefern
- ambulia
- ludwigia repens
- anacharis
- willow hygro
And some others that I can't remember. You need a lot - you want to cover approximately 75% of the substrate with them. 
Some good mid-low cover plants include java fern, anubias, susswassertang and java moss. I'm also looking at introducing some low-light crypts into mine. 

All of the plants I have mentioned would be fine in a 5 gallon tank as long as you keep on top of the trimming.  My main problem in my previous tank was that I got lazy with trimming, and I ended up with more plants than water. So trim, trim, trim!


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I agree, the corys are much too big for a 10 gallon. In my opinion corys are too big (must consider the school, not the individual) for a 10 gallon in general, but if you MUST, get a small one like pandas.

As for the sand cap - whatever is a larger diameter will eventually end up on top. Pool filter sand is an excellent choice for all bottom dwellers. Why do you think it won't be good?


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

I read in a few threads that the pfs wasn't working for cories, but Im certainly willing to try it out. 
When I first joined I was told the pandas would be perfectly happy in a 10 gallon. The julii was rescued from my friends little 2.5 gal. No problem with him, he can just move into my husbands 55 gallon at work and I'll pick up 4 more so they can shoal in there.
On the 10 gal I'll get 2 more pandas. Sound good?


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

What you don't hear about is ALL the people that don't have problems keeping Corys with pool filter sand. Tons of people have no problems whatsoever. 

Too, something to consider - a lot of people are quick to blame one thing or another when they have a problem with their fish - often the most convenient thing. The best example is "the filter killed my fish". No - the filter did not kill the fish, the fish died and was collected by the filter. It's easier to blame the filter than look at the possible reasons why the fish died, especially when it may be a case of fish keeper error.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

Play sand is much softer than filter sand. Just wash it well.

If you want colors, there's Estes "ultra reef" sand which says its save for freshwater on the package.

There's also a product called Estes "ceramaquartz", available at pool and tile companies. Totally inert, and attractive. Just dusty.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

redchigh said:


> Play sand is much softer than filter sand. Just wash it well.
> 
> If you want colors, there's Estes "ultra reef" sand which says its save for freshwater on the package.
> 
> There's also a product called Estes "ceramaquartz", available at pool and tile companies. Totally inert, and attractive. Just dusty.


Thanks! ^only reply that answered my question without chastising me. Very appreciated.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

redchigh said:


> Play sand is much softer than filter sand. Just wash it well.


I found exactly the opposite. Once I was through washing the play sand it was much sharper than the washed PFS. I think brand may have a lot to do with that, though.


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## shimagoma (May 1, 2013)

I have a school of 6 cories in my 30 gal and they are on pebbles/sand/flourite, and ive never had issues.... If they are healthy I dont assume you would have problems with their barbles


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

shimagoma said:


> I have a school of 6 cories in my 30 gal and they are on pebbles/sand/flourite, and ive never had issues.... If they are healthy I dont assume you would have problems with their barbles



I haven't had issues with them on gravel, I've just never used any type of sand before and had read on this site a few people having problems so I figured id better ask. In gonna go with pfs and see how it works.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I thought corydoras were supposed to be on sand rather than gravel for the sake of their barbels. Never heard of anyone having issues with sand and corydoras.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I thought corydoras were supposed to be on sand rather than gravel for the sake of their barbels. Never heard of anyone having issues with sand and corydoras.


That's why im switching to sand. Apparently several people misunderstood my post. I ease simply asking if pfs was ok or if another type of sand is better for the copies.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

*was
*cories


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## Gallium (May 14, 2013)

The best substrate I've used so far is to use a fine layer of pure worm castings, top with a fine layer of blasting grit (I like black diamond blasting grit for even grit size, allows the substrate to "breathe" a bit) and top with whatever is aesthetically pleasing to you. I used a mix of flourite (to hold onto nutrients) and fine gravel for volume in this tank. I'm trying out worm castings topped with several inches of grit this summer so I can see how well the substrate breathes.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Cheylilmama, it wasn't meant as chastisement - we all care a lot about fish here and want to help them and you get the maximum possible enjoyment out of them being your pets. 

I think your solution with the tank switcheroo is a good one - the julii will love the space of the 55 gallon, and the pandas will be alright in the ten. 

You are also right about sand being best for the cories - when I had pandas and gravel, the poor little things had their barbels damaged before I realised what the problem was. 
Beware that pandas seem to be the most sensitive of the cory species when it comes to stress - acclimatise slowly, pack them securely for the trip from the petshop, and give them plenty of hiding spots.  Luckily, they are also one of the cutest species, IMO, so they make up for being fusspots.


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## cheylillymama (Apr 30, 2013)

Bombalurina said:


> Cheylilmama, it wasn't meant as chastisement - we all care a lot about fish here and want to help them and you get the maximum possible enjoyment out of them being your pets.
> 
> I think your solution with the tank switcheroo is a good one - the julii will love the space of the 55 gallon, and the pandas will be alright in the ten.
> 
> ...




Thank you. My husband will be happy too, he loves the julii and has been planning to get some, Im planning to surprise him with a whole group on Saturday.
as a new member, having several people throw the same info at me in a manner which comes across as scolding, is frustrating. Especially since I took the time to look up the info myself after the first reply about the julii. It hurt my feelings a bit I suppose, because i care for all of my animals a great deal, including my fishies.
we run a dog rescue. So i am pretty sensitive to negligence when it comes to animals and I went on the defensive immediately. I appreciate your polite reply.


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