Jark

I am currently finishing up a cycle on a 37g tank that I got from craigslist. It came with a red and black substrate that looks like fragmented clay. My question is; is the clay gravel too sharp or rough for the Cory cats wiskers? What would be another good bottom feeder that would work if it is?

CHoffman

I would say if it's just clay that' been broken up it's going to be to sharp for any bottom feeder. Cories LOVE to sift through sand, mine do it all day long. plecos, loaches and pretty much any bottom feeders have soft bellies and they swim along the bottom of the tank. You wouldn't want them to scratch themselves up. Even sharp kinds of sand like play sand can stratch them. I say if you want a bottom feeder get sand. Gravel will work with pleocs but for loaches and cories I would say sand. Pool filter sand is a type of silca sand and is very soft. It's perfect for them, it's cheap and it looks good. I got a 50lb bag of it for $13.00.

Jark

That's what I was afraid of. I have some filter sand that I have in my betta and triop tank and I still have 20-40lb left. I might just change it out when I drain the tank. Hopefully the removal of the gravel won't hurt the cycle. It is an eclipse 3 hood so most of the bacteria "should" be in the wheel.

If I end up getting plants I'll just plant them in a few pots with the clay I don't thow away. I am mostly planning on Java ferns so I shouldn't need it at all.

kimb

When you change out to sand, take a couple of scoops of gravel, put it into a new, never seen soap nylon, and you can either hang it or place it in behind decor in your tank. It will have some beneficial bacteria on it and help your tank along. I used some from my LFS to cycle my very first tank and it is still in there. Great advice from above re corys...I have 4 that spend the day digging. If you are going to sand, you may want to add some malaysian trumpet snails also. They will keep the sand churning, which will stop gas pockets from forming. Good luck with your tank.