Cories & Flourite

[aquatik]

Just curious if anyone has had any experience using SeaChem's flourite while raising the Corydoras species. Does it cause the infamous "barbel erosion"?

[shev]

dont know why it would, its clay based substrate is pretty smooth.

[MyraVan]

Flourite isn't what I would call smooth. It's not sharp enough to hurt your hands when you wash it, but it's nothing like that nice smooth rounded gravel you can but. But then, it's a substrate for a planted tank, and I think the irregular surface gives more area for plant roots to attach, or something like that.

Now, cories and barbel erosion: barbel erosion isn't caused by a rough substrate, it's much more likely to be caused by bacteria or fungus. One guy kept cories with a substrate of crushed glass, with very sharp edges, and they didn't suffer from barbel erosion
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/doc...atfishes.shtml

So, cories won't suffer from barbel erosion if kept in a tank with Flourite, as long as you don't have problems with bacteria/fungus.

However, as osteo continually points out, cories are much more at home in a tank with a sand bottom. They come from places that have sand or mud bottoms, and in a tank with sand they sift through it and it comes out their gills. While you can keep them healthy in a non-sand tank, it won't be as natural to them as a tank with sand.

You can combine the two, by putting a layer of sand over your gravel. See this for info:
http://www.plantedtank.net/sandsubstrate.html

[Damon]

Exactly what Myra said. They will be fine. I keep C. Aenus and C. Paleatus in flourite.

[aquatik]

I was thinking of perhaps making sandy areas in my tank where the cories like to relax. Under the driftwood, base of plants...etc..etc.

I've read a lot of vacuuming is needed with cories to keep the bottom free of mulm, nitrates, etc..to prevent barbel erosion.

But then I read, that a lot of vacuuming in planted tanks can be detrimental to the root systems.

What should I do?

[Damon]

I've had no problems with them. I Use a gravel vac and keep it just above the substrate level (as if I were vac'ing sand). No problems here.