Clay and Sand

I would like to know if clay in sand substrate still works for the better ment of the plant. Also, would it bother an eartheating cichlid?

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on June 4, 2012 at 1:45am

Clay soil, clay chunks, or clay gravel? It MIGHT be ok with clay gravel but even then its not that good. Sand is terrible for plants. Its ok to mix in a little with garden soil and clay. This is called loam. But otherwise I would avoid sand altogether. If you must, get the round pool filter sand. Its still terrible for plants but at least it won't compact.

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Permalink Reply by jonathan on June 4, 2012 at 1:59am

Well I was talking about clay chunks, but the eartheater cichlid(Geophagus Surinamensis), that I am getting pretty much thrives with sand so no way around that. In their natural habitat they don't have many plants. I think im just going to go with some driftwood and put some Java fern and anubias on it. Do they need any special lighting? I will be putting them in a 20 gallon with just plain old incandescent lights.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on June 4, 2012 at 4:16am

I'm not an expert with Geophagus, but I'm guessing that like most fish they probably don't like it too bright. One thing to keep in mind: the combination of sand and incandescent bulbs may cause algae; so you'll wanna go easy on the light. The sand will lighten up the tank anyway. Good idea on the driftwood. Think about getting some water cabbage to help fight algae as well.