Substrate or No Substrate?

[Loulou]

It all started here: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98179

choose ur pick

HAPPY FISH

OR

HAPPY YOU

id go with HAPPY FISH. think abt it

All walking catfish keepers, do you use substrate?

If yes, do you recommend it?

If not, why not?

Thank you!

 

[kntrygrl4lyfe]

I dont own one of these, but sand IMO in easy to keep clean, and you said you wanted bare bottem sence it was easy to keep clean. The poop and extra food stays on the top of it, and if your filters are set up right the crap goes to one corner or side. With gravel you hve to vac alot of it, and to me its a pain, and messy. So If you want something easy, then I would say sand. Ihave it in all my tanks and love it

 

[jojo_nature]

My brother had a clarius (26 inches),and it enjoyed sifting through the gravel ,so i say yes to substrate. sand would be good aswell.

 

[jconley]

They only major gripe I have with sand is this: If you have fish that like to dig a lot (such as clarias) or if you have big fish that will stir the sand violently with a simple flick of the tail, the sand inevitably ends up in the filter or pump and greatly reduces the life expectancy of said pump or filter. Geez, that was a long sentence lol. Plus if you have a deep sand bed (so fish like your clarias can dig/sift), you have the potential for "dead spots" which can wreak havoc on your pH levels by releasing co2 when they do get disturbed.

 

[D3V1Ls]

hmm as i said. Add substrate. lol . neways theres ur answer buddy.

 

[Wolf3101]

You can do away with the dead spots by keeping freshwater clams in the substrate. This also greatly reduces the maintaince...

I use RO/DI water in all of our tanks so I use Crushed coral and medium sized gravil in all of our tanks. I have a perfectly stable PH and hardness. I also happen to like the look. The crushed coral sits below the gravel so it's more difficult for the fish to stir it up and get it into the filter pick ups.

 

[Mystix212]

Pea sized gravel would probably work best. Colours up to you, but Im sure the clarias doesnt appreciate a bright pink floor to sleep on.

 

[Loulou]

Pea sized gravel would probably work best. Colours up to you, but Im sure the clarias doesnt appreciate a bright pink floor to sleep on.

I've got about 40 kg of pea-sized gravel sitting in a bag... will go with that then... colour is natural... hmm... must find a picture to show you guys...

Thanks a lot for all your help.

 

[Loulou]

Started working on the gravel today...

Will be posting pictures soon in this thread:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98179