...just dawned on me...

**Dolphin Dip** · 11-10-2007, 08:53 PM

i'm switching my tank from a planted to a bare bottom because it is too hard to keep the nitrates down [even with WC 4x a week]. the problem is i also have 3 sterbai coried in this tank. i'll still have plants and some wood in this tank but no substrate. will the sterbai still be able to THRIVE in these conditions?

**crazie.eddie** · 11-10-2007, 11:04 PM

As long as you still feed the fish and perform ater changes, I don't see why not.

**White Worm** · 11-11-2007, 12:19 AM

Yep, I have 4 of the little suckers in a BB 75g. They do just fine. They do a great job of picking up any leftover crumbs off the bottom.

**Dolphin Dip** · 11-11-2007, 01:01 AM

Fantastic, i just wanted to make sure substrate wasn't nessecary. thanks for the responses.

**crazie.eddie** · 11-12-2007, 08:33 AM

Also make sure there's something covering the bottom of the tank, either painted or a solid colored piece of paper, cardboard, etc. covering the outside. I'm not sure if fish would get disoriented or even vertigo seeing an almost endless bottom if you had no cover.

**Apistomaster** · 11-12-2007, 03:50 PM

I raised ~500 Corydoras sterbai last year to sell. I keep them in bare bottom tanks but the survival rate of the Corydoras fry is typically higher with at least a little fine sand on the bottom but that is only relevant to breeding them. I "store" my seven species of Corydoras breeders in bare bottom tanks which sit on shelves painted black. That's enough for them to have the perception they are "on" something.