cories, sand and plants

[fishperson]

Cories like sand. Plants don't do so well in it... usually.
Hence Seachem's Onyx sand. Its sand, but good for plants.
yay

here are the problems...
plants need a deep enough substrate for their roots to be buried. whats the minimum?? 1"?? More?? Less??
BUT, if the sand is too deep than the sand on the bottom that the cories won't be getting to will get stagnant and turn black. How could I clean this?? How do I avoid it??
I know there are certain snails that dig through sand and mix it up but will they uproot and move around my plants??
Will the cories uproot my plants as they scour the sand for food??

can my cories, sand and plants ever live in harmony?

Please help.

[Blue]

Originally Posted by FISHPERSON

plants need a deep enough substrate for their roots to be buried. whats the minimum?? 1"?? More?? Less??

Substrate should be 5-7 cm deep. Try to poke a stick to be able to reach the bottom and stir the sand. Wastes will show up mostly above the sand level so siphoning the wastes shouldn't be a hassle.
Cories will obviously uproot plants that haven't established their roots yet. Established plants are resistant to being uprooted.

Originally Posted by fishperson

I know there are certain snails that dig through sand and mix it up but will they uproot and move around my plants??
Will the cories uproot my plants as they scour the sand for food??

You may try the Malayan Trumpet Snails. As they dig on the substrate, they prevent anaerobic spots. That's how they got the name "aquatic earthworms". Snails don't uproot the plants.

Originally Posted by fishperson

can my cories, sand and plants ever live in harmony?

Of course. As i had mentioned above, the plants will not be uprooted if established. Make sure the sand don't get compact otherwise it will kill the plants as compaction of the sand prevents the penetration of light and air.

[lilmisscountry]

I have some maylasian snails I could give you if you wanted them. Just pay for shipping. Most all of them are adults(around an inch). I also have some Texas Holey Rocks that are great for propagating plants.

[JustOneMore20]

My cories don't really uproot the plants as much as my yoyo loaches do. The yoyos swim around the tank and chase each other and run over the plants. The cories just move around the plants....sometimes if a plant is barely holding in the substrate, one bump will uproot it, but overall the cories aren't a problem.

I use Eco-Complete. Most of it is really small grain, almost sand like, and some of it is gravel-like. It is great for cories and plants. It doesn't seem to compact like really fine sand does. Also, pool filter sand is a coarser grain sand that shouldn't compact as bad as the finer grain stuff.

[savo318]

a good idea though not too pleasnt sounding, if you want plants in sand, which my cories love, so long as you buy proper aaqua sand, the put a bit of rabbit poo at the roots of your plants once every month. this gives good food for your plants,

[Damon]

Rabbit poo works but is not a good idea. If you are setting up the tank the best method I 9and many others) have found is a dusting of spaghum peat moss (cost like $3.00 for a bag that could be used on many, many, many tanks). Just use a dusting. You dont want to coat the bottom of the tank. Then take the filter media from an established tank and squeeze it out all over the bottom. Then after you rinse the sand add it to the tank. Then slowly fill the tank up with water. This method has provided the best results for me when using any substrate.

[MaryPa]

I have Sand Blasters sand with Eco-Complete on top for my plants. My Cories never uproot anything but my tiny sags when they were first planted.