cory barbell bruising

kyle3

kyle3

AC Members
Mar 17, 2005
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Minneapolis, MN
i recently got a school on aneaus corys (bronze/green). I've had julis before but not these guys so i wasn't to worried about it and then i did a little research and it has been mentioned in a few different places that these guys need sand rather than gravel so they don't damage thier barbells. I have fine gravel but there are some more jagged peices. should i consider adding sand to the gravel, leave it just gravel or change completely to sand. (i don't savor the thought of that last one) thanks for your suggestions in advance!-K
 
I use rough peastone gravel in my tank, bought at a garnden store. My cories do wonderfully searching around. Clean gravel is a must, not sand. Low nitrate levels help as well, plus a varied diet. Mine get fed algae tabs and shrimp pellets at the moment. The oldest ones are over 3 years old and the babies (the older ones bred) have been doing fine for close to a year now (9 months or so).
 
unfortunatley small jagged pieces of gravel is the worst thing for them. Sand is the best....smooth gravel works fine as well.
 
No, jagged gravel isn't. Poor quality water and lack of gravel vacuuming is the worst thing for them. Jagged gravel will do no harm to a healthy cory.
 
well, I switched my tank over to sand (originally I had that horrible colored gravel from Walmart) and my Cories love it. what TKOS said is true, but I have seen such an improvement in my cories activity that I would recommend sand to anyone, and its not as hard as it sounds, it will just take some time to do it. the barbels on my cories have doubled in length and they sift around the sand endlessly, sometimes digging their whole head into the sand looking for food. The cories I have purchased from my LFS have also seen improvements, when first introduced they sift around in the sand like they have injured mouths/barbels, but in a few weeks their barbels grow and they seem much happier..just my two cents.
 
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TKOS said:
No, jagged gravel isn't. Poor quality water and lack of gravel vacuuming is the worst thing for them. Jagged gravel will do no harm to a healthy cory.
Click to expand...

hmmmm...sharp jagged pieces of gravel will not harm a fish that is constantly pushing their barbells up against them?......If you were a cory would you like that?
 
The sharp jagged gravel definitely injured the barbels on my son's cories. The barbels definitely grew back immediately upon the switch to sand. The level of tank maintenance was consistent throughout.

I wonder if some of the contention on this topic has to do with one group of people talking about those huge 3-4 inch cories and other people (myself included) talking about the more common 1-2 inch small cories.
 
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I have had my cories in Flourite since day one and gravel doesn't get much sharper than that.

They root in there ALL the time with no damage to their barbels at all. My peppered cory has the longest barbels I have ever seen -- which is why his name is Fu Manchu :)

So, I agree with TKOS, clean substrate, very little nitrates and your cories will be fine.

Then again, those type of water conditions are a must for *all* catfish and loaches. All need a good, clean gravel with minimal nitrates.

Roan
 
Im gonna have to disagree with you about Flourite being sharp Roan. I have it in one of my tanks and it has a softer more mulchy feel to it that would not have the same effect as small sharp gravel pieces.
 
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