23 Litre "Sand Cats" Tank!

[Urban Aquaria]

Following up from my 23 lite "sand" tank post, i've finally managed to introduce some fauna into the tank... they are all catfish, so this tank will be dubbed the "Sand Cats" tank.



Here are the tank stats:

Tank Size: 48cm x 22cm x 22cm (High Clarity / Low Iron Glass)

Substrate: Sudo Reef Sand

Filter System: Eden 501 + 10mm gUSH Lily Pipe Set

Filter Media: Seachem Matrix + Bio Sponges

Temperature: 27-28 °C

Lighting: Up Aqua Z-Series Pro LED Z-15 (45cm)

Light Duration: 6 hours

Co2: None

Fertilizer: None

Fan/Chiller: None

Water Change Regime: 20% Weekly

Water Parameters:
Tested using API Freshwater Master Test Kit
pH = 7.0
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 5-10 ppm

Flora:
Limnobium Laevigatum
Fissidens Splachnobryoide
Bogwood

Fauna:
Corydoras Habrosus
Otocinclus Cocama
Neocaridina Heteropoda

Feed:
Hikari Micro Wafers
Hikari Algae Wafers
Hikari Sinking Wafers
Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine
Blanched Zucchini & Green Peas

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As this tank has a wide and low design, i choose to stock it with corydoras fishes since they spend most of their time on the substrate scavenging for food, hence the larger "floor area" will be ideal for their natural feeding behavior.

I choose Sudo Reef Sand as its is fine grained, as well as a light beige color which still looks natural, but yet not too glaring.

I narrowed my corydoras species selection down to the smallest "dwarf" ones... namely Corydoras Pygmaeus, Corydoras Hastatus & Corydoras Habrosus.

One of the reasons why i wanted the dwarf variants was so that i could stock more of them in the tank (without creating too high a bio-load) which would encourage them to display their natural shoaling and group interaction behaviors.... and the small corys also look cuter too.

After reading up and observing the 3 species of dwarf corydoras at aquarium stores, i decided to go for Corydoras Habrosus. This is because out of the 3 species, Corydoras Habrosus seem to be the most out-going and least shy (they never hide and are moving around the tank all day).

In addition, they stay at the bottom of the tank and scavenge around the majority of the time, just like the larger corydoras species.

Here are some of them in the midst of their favorite activity...



Those of you with sharp eyes would have also noticed a much larger catfish in the tank too.

Thats right... its an Otocinclus Cocama (aka Zebra Oto).



I got it from a friend a few weeks ago who recently de-commissioned one of his tanks and needed a new home for this fish, so i offered to adopt it.

Interestingly this particular adult otocinclus has been raised on commercial food and fresh vegetables from young, so it doesn't seem to be interested in algae... i kept it in quarantine for a few weeks in my shrimp-only tank which has lots of green and brown algae to choose from but it only went for the shrimp's food and vegetables.

It also spends most of its time rooting around on the substrate too... this particular oto seems to act more like a cory!

I figure it could have been so accustomed to prepared/commercial food that it doesn't bother with algae anymore. So i decided to shift it to this tank as the sand substrate is more suitable for its feeding habits and it would be more comfortable with the company of corys too.

So far, it seems to fit in nicely and even shoal around with the small corys. Its like a gentle giant amongst the tiny denizens.

Btw, i've read that some otos mimic corys in the wild to avoid predation (as corys have poisonous barbs which predators avoid, the otos adopt similar colors and behaviors to trick them too)... i think this oto is probably doing the same!

[ivantan]

nice tank.

[jiejian]

Awesome and very very informative!!!
Ah, how i hope we can get as many choice of low iron, high clarity glass as you guys have.

[hiisoka]

a minimalist's dream aquascape

[Regis]

I always like your simple and elegant setup!

[lionelckg]

Bro Urban, stop inspiring a.k.a poisoning people with your simple but awesome setups! Hehe...

[inrewind]

Another awesome tank!

[AQMS]

Where can i get the oto??

[aquarius]

Very simple and nice looking tank ! Maybe you can add some boraras brigittae to complete the look? I'm surprised that your tank is only 45cm in length cause from the pic it looks so much bigger. Even more surprising is that your cories coloured up very nicely despite the light coloured substrate you're using.

[Urban Aquaria]

Thanks for all the nice comments!

Where can i get the oto??

I guess you could find them at most of the popular LFS at some time or the other, but they seem to be very rare nowadays (probably depends on the season and import availability).

So far i've only ever spotted them at GC over the past year. They tend to be more expensive than normal otos though.

Very simple and nice looking tank ! Maybe you can add some boraras brigittae to complete the look? I'm surprised that your tank is only 45cm in length cause from the pic it looks so much bigger. Even more surprising is that your cories coloured up very nicely despite the light coloured substrate you're using.

Thanks!

I agree, some mid-top level fishes might be nice to fill out the rest of the tank. I'll see how the current bio-load fares before adding more fishes.

The tank is very wide and low, so the "widescreen cinema" style aspect ratio probably amplifies the perceived scale of the tank. The tank inhabitants are also mainly small corys, so they make everything else look bigger too.

Yeah, i was also worried that the light colored sand substrate would cause the fish's colors to appear washed out, but it turned out to be okay and they all still look nice.

I guess its probably because the sand color isn't totally white, but rather a light beige, so it still allows for some contrast with the fish's colors.

[stormhawk]

IMO, Corydoras hastatus is more gregarious in behaviour. However, they cost 3-4 times more than what a habrosus would go for. Good choice of dwarf Cory. I'd make this a species only tank and see if the habrosus decide to spawn. I had an accidental spawning once with my pygmaeus in their species tank. It was a temporary holding/QT tank and they decided to spawn there. I think a few more habrosus would be a good idea. If you can add some plants with big leaves, like Anubias, you might see some interesting behaviour. My dwarf Corydoras would stay on broad leaved plants and just relax for awhile before moving off.

[ivantan]

is the led light ajustable? i got a 38 cm tank but they only provide in 36cm or 40 cm

[foocp]

Where can i get the oto??

I bought 2 Zebra Oto from JZX Pets Boutique last Monday. There should be a few more pieces left. Best to give them a call to enquire.

[foocp]

Hi Bro Urban, very clean and enjoyable tank you have setup!

[Urban Aquaria]

IMO, Corydoras hastatus is more gregarious in behaviour. However, they cost 3-4 times more than what a habrosus would go for. Good choice of dwarf Cory. I'd make this a species only tank and see if the habrosus decide to spawn. I had an accidental spawning once with my pygmaeus in their species tank. It was a temporary holding/QT tank and they decided to spawn there. I think a few more habrosus would be a good idea. If you can add some plants with big leaves, like Anubias, you might see some interesting behaviour. My dwarf Corydoras would stay on broad leaved plants and just relax for awhile before moving off.

Yeah, i saw the corydoras hastatus tank at GC and the whole swarm of them were swimming up and down the water column, i actually mistook them initially for tetras, their shape and movements were so similar.

I noticed both hastatus and pygmaeus were more active mid-level swimmers and tend to spends less time on the substrate, whereas habrosus were more bottom dwellers (which influenced my choice due to the shape of my tank).

I'd probably get those other dwarf cory variants if i do start up another taller and larger tank though, which would have more head room for them to swim around.

Breeding these small corys sounds interesting, will definitely read up on it. I'll probably add more to the tank soon too, along with some additional plants... i've spotted a few them sitting in one row on the fissidens covering the bogwood before, look like their sofa bed.

[Urban Aquaria]

is the led light ajustable? i got a 38 cm tank but they only provide in 36cm or 40 cm

If you are referring to the Z-Series Pro LED lights, they are available in 30cm, 36cm, 45cm and 60cm versions locally... i guess for your 38cm width tank, you could go for the 36cm version, it actually has the same number of LEDs as the 30cm version, just housed in a longer casing. The plastic side holders can be adjusted slightly wider so there is likely a good chance that it'll fit.

[comet]

It's really a nice, simple and yet modern looking tank. Nice! I love how the fissiden grow. It just stand out nicely. But how you maintain 27-28 deg this few days without a fan? It's so warm in Singapore now.

[Urban Aquaria]

It's really a nice, simple and yet modern looking tank. Nice! I love how the fissiden grow. It just stand out nicely. But how you maintain 27-28 deg this few days without a fan? It's so warm in Singapore now.

Thanks... its just a very quick setup, mainly for keeping corys and observing them.

Yeah, the weather has been really hot the past week, outside temperatures hitting up to 34-35°C in the afternoons.

The room that i keep my tanks in does not have any walls facing the sun directly and its windows are shaded. The tanks are also positioned away from the window too. I guess that helps to keep the water temperatures at a comfortable 27-28°C most of the time... but on particularly hot afternoons, i've seen the tank temperature hit up to 29-30°C too (luckily it gradually cools back down in the evenings).

Not too much of an issue though, as the flora and fauna i have are okay with those range of temperatures.

[Urban Aquaria]

Update on the tank... both the Corydoras Habrosus and Otocinclus Cocama have acclimated well, swimming around actively and looking very healthy so far.

I've added some inert river stones to provide abit more variety in the tank environment and to create additional surfaces for algae to grow. I've also increased the lighting period temporarily to 8 hours in order to encourage the controlled growth of a nice film of algae on the glass tank walls and river stones (it worked!), which will help feed the zebra oto.

Here is a photo of them dining on a slice of blanched zuchinni...



In my attempt to provide enough nutritious natural plant-based food to acclimatize the oto, i have been dropping a fresh slice of blanched zuchinni into the tank everyday for the past week (always removing any uneaten portions after 12 hours) and i see the oto constantly munching on it. Now it looks healthy and is very active.

Interesting thing is... it has also been turning noticeably green!



Here is a photo of its underside... notice the nice round tummy.



It has also started to actively scrub the algae on the glass tank walls and river stones too, which is a very good sign that it is adapting to the tank environment.

Not sure if its the diet of zuchinni or the availability of lots of green algae, perhaps all the green colored food that its been eating might have contributed to it turning a tint of green?

Since the zebra oto is already well conditioned, i have now reduced the zuchinni slices to only once every 3-4 days, so i'll see if it gradually reverts back to its original black/white coloration.

[hydrophyte]

Really great fish in there.

I love the simplicity of the whole setup.