Best Substrate for Bichirs?

[cheeseb0y]

I was originally planning on going bare bottom painted black, but lately I've been considering:
Carib Sea Instant Aquarium Tahitian Moon Sand
SeaChem Onyx Sand
SeaChem Flourite Black Sand


If I go with substrate, I can hide a layer of Egg Crate underneath it to help keep black slate and other rocks from touching the glass bottom, as well as hiding any silicone sealant I might use to anchor any rock or driftwood to the bottom.


I'm also unsure if sand is the best choice compared to a larger grain substrate. I'm not planning on any planting aside from Moss Balls and plants that can be anchored to the driftwood.


So, any opinions?

 

[tokyogasmask]

Here in Japan 99% of Bichir enthusiasts use crushed quartz or Garnet.

It is a very red/orange color, and brings out the best contrast on the fish.
It is also very very heavy, much more so than sand so it doesn't go up the filter so much.

That said 4 of my 6 tanks have black sand in. Not really sure what it is, but it too is incredibly heavy.

These tanks are ones I use to house my Bichirs that have green to them (such as Bichir Bichir/Lapradei etc) as the black boosts this.
But fish that don't have so much or any green (Endlis etc) tend to go all over very dark and pattern contrast isn't so strong.

 

[benzjamin13]

Sand is a good substrate for Bichirs. I use Black Tahitian Moon Sand in one of my tanks and the other I use Quartz Sand. Both tanks have Bichirs. If you're not going to do a planted tank, I would just stick to the Moon Sand.

 

[JustinDavis]

I use a special ordered gravel from my lfs, it's to big for them to fit in their mouths and it's extremely smooth with no sharp edges for them to cut themselves.

Justin

 

[renman74]

I just use pool filter sand, its inexpensive, doesnt look as good as other sands but my bichirs seem to like it just fine

 

[gar man]

+1 for pfs, I have it in my 55 with my senegals and I'm very happy with it.

 

[JamesF]

Unless you're going for plants, I'd go with something cheaper than a commercial aquarium substrate. Fine to coarse sands can be found at home improvement stores, pool stores, and some landscape stores. Many of my tanks have sand collected from local sources.

 

[fishticuffs]

i use 3m black color quartz s grade or t grade

 

[tokyogasmask]

The way I look at it, the 6 glass boxes of mine, take up a lot of room in my house, so I want them to look pleasing.

My preference is the crushed quartz. It is expensive, but no other substrate brings out the contrast and patterns as well.

 

[mike_sema]

Actually its pretty cheap look at this thread and find a distributor in your area it cost about $20 for a 50lbs bag and is great it is black as black can be and very heavy
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384819