Priscacara Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 G'day, 1 step closer to setting up my new 6 footer and ready to buy the substrate for it but unsure what to get. I plan on frontosa for the main fish , thinking julies for lower level interest and various catfish. I have fine coral sand in my shellies tank and even after 4 months I can get a film of coral dust floating on the water when they do their tank renovations. I like the looks of it but its too fine to clean properly using a syphon so dont think it would be a good idea for the big tank, cleaning and the potential for the dust to get into the canister filter and cause damage seems to me to not be worth the risk. I have seen 20kg bags of larger sized crushed coral, looks like its been through a tumbler to grind off the sharp edges but could be wrong. The size of it was about 3 to 5mm which seems about right but still unsure so needing recomendations or opinions on what to use. I'd like the fronts to breed but not full scale to sell or anything, just for the interest factor mostly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Either coral sand or aragonite best suit frontosa. I havn't had any issues with either, but if you don't like the dust go for 2-3mm aragonite. Looks excellant and helps prevent your frontosa darkening up. Keeps the bars nice and clean looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 In my experience they don't like the light coloured (white) substrate if you are running lights on your tank. Its just too bright for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscacara Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Tx for the info guys, I'll ask what the lfs has in stock. Not seen aragonite substarte but have collected it as a mineral specimen :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couchy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I have crushed marble and coral sand in my frontosa tank and they breed well. But as above I don't have lights on the tank. They don't like the light at all. Some say that the coral sand or marble chips can get in the mouths of females when breeding and effect breeding but I get average spawns of 70 fry. If you aren't going to breed though the white gravel does look the best but in a display tank with lights it may be better to go for a darker gravel. Just make sure you have a cave or pot for each Frontosa to retreat to and they'll be happy. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingfishyhmm Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have fronnies with coral sand & other types crushed marble etc etc the most favoured is (river sand) cheers chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 yeh i like using fine sands for any fish, washed sand from bunnings is cheap as like 5 dollars for 20 kilo's, it doesnt buffer your water though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscacara Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Tx for the replies! I went with 2mm river sand/gravel golden brown in color. I've added the rest of the decor and will take a pic later. Its a mix of coral rock and river stones with a large piece of wood in a corner for the catfish. Lighting is a twin aquaone fluoro 4 foot to leave a bit of shadow, heating is an Aquaone 300w and Jager 200w, filter is an Eheim pro II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscacara Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Pic of the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Looks excellant. I can't remember reading what size frontosa and variant you were getting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscacara Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Most likely going to be about 6 x 5cm fish, not sure what strain they are though. The cost is around $25 each so will be a more common strain I think. I could get 12cm fish that would be sourced from a wholesaler but at around $100 each I cant really afford to go for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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