Sand for corys

[Cheesejawa]

What type of sand is aquarium safe and were do you get it? I am thinking about getting a small dish or bowl, filling it with sand and burying it in the gravel for my corys.

[snookie]

i use builders sand , can use play sand , also sand for swimming pool filters , i know of people who take from the beach allsorts really

[Cheesejawa]

what do you mean by builders sand? do you mean the drak gritty stuff? Were do you get play sand and is it rounded? So I dont live any where near a real beach.

[Foxglove]

You can buy builders sand from building supply shops. There is also plasterers sand, which is finer. The bags are all in fairly large amounts though, so if you know someone with a sandpit...

I recommend Daltons Propagating sand or Daltons washed sand (lighter in colour). Daltons is found at some Warehouse stores also some garden centres and hardware shops - in the garden section. Propagating sand isn't as fine as the others but the corys like it. :lol:

All sand needs to be washed until the water runs clear. I found using a shallow round dish (a dishwashing plastic dish) easier to use than a bucket, which it's too tempting to put too much in at once.

If you put just a dish of sand in it may get redistributed into the gravel.

[Cheesejawa]

could make a separate area out of sand or would it just get mixed up with the gravel? I will look at the warehouse and garden center etc.

[Foxglove]

I think you could make a separate area for the sand, as long as there is a rock or wood clearly limiting the spread.

Do you have sand on the lake shore there? If so you could get a small amount from there.

What corys do you have?

[alanmin4304]

I use river sand as it is free of shell and has smoothb edges. Sharp sand would not be good as it might sandpaper their barbels

[Cheesejawa]

i have peppered corys in one tank and want to get some sterbai, pygmy or more peppered for my other tank. I would like a nice light yellow sand.