fresh water question?

Question

if i have a fish tank with sand and live rocks can i have fresh water fish in it or they will die because of the sand

Answer 1

They shouldn't. At least not because you're using sand, as long as you clean it and it doesn't have anything in/on it that would affect the fish.

I know a lot of people suggest the use of gravel, but this was based in the time when undergravel filters were the primary source of filtration. As long as you don't have the filter plate for it to sift through, you can use either one.

What I've seen against using it is the possibility of the fine dust irritating the fish's gills and the possibility of the buildup of noxious gasses under the sand from anaerobic bacteria. If you clean the sand well and remove the fine dust before adding the sand to the tank, you eliminate the first possibility and if you use sand-sifting organisms or occassionally stir the sand, you need to have a really deep sand bed for the last to occur.

On the positive side, many burrowing fish are more at home on sand and sand doesn't allow particles to fall through the spaces between particles, so it's easier to keep clean.

Live rock is something used for saltwater tanks - it's porous rock with bacteria to cycle the tank. Although this would work in theory for freshwater, the type of rock used for this purpose(carbonate) would raise the pH of a freshwater tank, so it wouldn't be suitable for any fish other than those needing a higher pH. Lava rock would be inert and serve the same purpose. The live rock for saltwater would have most of the organisms die off if you added them to a freshwater tank - this would increase the ammonia.

Answer 2

If it's fresh water the fish will live but the rocks won't. If it's saltwater the fish will die and the rocks will live.

Answer 3

basically live rock/or live sand is nothing more than sand/rock that is seeded with the positive bacteria that jump starts the "bio filter" So in answer to your question NO they will not die simply because you have sand.

Answer 4

I guess it depends on the fish AND where you get the sand from.

Answer 5

the biological filter won't manifest very well so the chemical level in tank could be toxic until the bio-filter has grown on the filter (if you have one). Sand is excellent for aquatic plantlife however much better than gravel.

Answer 6

They won't die, sand is perfectly fine.

I didn't know that live rocks lived in freshwater. I'd make sure about it if i were you.

Answer 7

They won't because theres sand in lakes so I'm sure they will stay alive.