Should I put substrate in my fry tank?

due to frequent feeding that fry require, i would go with a bare bottom tank. leftover food can be hidden in the substrate too easy, making for water parameters that are out of whack. and with fry, using a gravel vac isn't advisable, since they can too easily be sucked up. as time consuming as it may be, a piece of airline tubing would be your best option for siphoning out old water/mulm.

I def use bare bottom for my fry tanks. Makes it easier to suck up excess food and clean it as needed. Also makes it easier not to suck up the fry for me since I can see them better with no gravel for them to hide in. Congrats on the fry.

I guess I'm the exception. I keep a thin layer of gravel in my fry tanks, but only on half of the bottom. The other half is clear of gravel. Works fine and doesn't stress the fry out since they have spots to hide between the gravel. I'm careful with the python, just hovering over the gravel side of the tank and using slow water pressure, watching the intake tube the whole time. If you're using barebottom for cory fry, be sure to keep wiping the bottom down of biofilm. Because they are bottom dwellers, a dirty film on the bottom of the tank can be detrimental to the cories.

I put sand in my cory fry tank. I've had higiher survival rates since trying it, so I stick with it. As far as feeding goes, just stick with mostly live foods and you don't have to worry about fouling the water near as quick.

I think having a substrate down helps with cories because it keeps from having a thick layer of biofilm building up and they are always sitting on the bottom of the tank