[g8wayg8r]

I'm working out the details for moving up to a 75-gallon tank and I've got three corydoras adolfi, four panda corys and one speckled in my 29-gallon tank now. I read something on the net about sand being a bad substrate for corys because it erodes their barbels. My first impression would be that corys love the sand. Is anybody keeping corys with a sand substrate and would like to commnet on that warning.

Any suggestions on the substrate other than soilmaster or sand would be welcome.

 

[fredyk]

Corys love sand, and it's a good substrate for barbel health. They like to dig around. What's bag for cories is bare bottom. Any substrate has a beneficial bacterial colony for cories which bare bottom tanks are lacking, and sand is one of the best substrates.

 

[dragonlover]

Corys are best in sand. They dig and root, and kick it up everywhere...overnight it looks like I have "footprints" all over the bottom of the tank. Their barbels grow long and healthy. It is chipped, sharp gravel or rock that erodes the barbels.

 

[mrbelvedere]

They like AS too.......

AS (except maybe Africana) is a very soft substrate, which would be perfect for them.

 

[AmoAquafish]

My cories love my sand. I wouldn't have anything else. I like it too.

 

[SchmucK]

Cories do like nosing around in sand but some sands can definitely erode their barbels. Heavy sharpish stuff like pool filter sand should be avoided if you want to keep their barbels.

 

[Zebrapl3co]

Is there really such a thing as sharp sand? This is the first time I've heard about it.

 

[mrbelvedere]

Some silica sands are supposedly "sharp" and have rough, fracted edges. Many sands, however, are spherical and smooth.

 

[CampCreekTexas]

Is there really such a thing as sharp sand? This is the first time I've heard about it.

Yep. It's used in building trades (masonry, laying brick pavers, etc.) and horticulture.
http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/805/
http://www.google.com/search=define:Sharp+sand
What is sharp sand please?

 

[SchmucK]

If you clean the sand with your hand running through it, the sharp stuff will even start to scrape on your nails.

 

[Zebrapl3co]

Thanks for the info guys. I will have to be more careful with my choice of sand selection in the future.

 

[g8wayg8r]

What on the bag at a hardware store should alert me that the sand is sharp? Maybe it's best to bring a magnifier and look at it, but that may be too simple.