"Geezer From The Freezer" wrote in message
...


Poe Lim wrote:

The worry I think is more on the GF choking on the gravel (I've only
seen it
happen once, and the GF had this pebble stuck in its mouth for several
weeks, but was otherwise fine), hence anything that is smaller than the
GF's
mouth should be fine. Mine seems happy with 2-3mm gravel.

I think I'm going to section a portion of my tank with large cobbles
that definitely won't fit in their mouth, a big rock, have some bare
bottom and have plants in a pot with sand and also my cave/bridge
from my current tank.

This sounds like a good solution. After posting the question I started
thinking about using 1" or larger river rock, possibly on top of some
gravel.

I've been using an Aquaclear filter that draws water through an under-gravel
filter. I really like the waterfall effect of the Aquaclear, it gives nice
aeration and a current for the fish to play in without too much current. I
also like the way the waste decomposes in the UGF. As I mentioned, I
finally got some plants that are growing well and are too tough to be ripped
up by the fish, which cuts down on the frequency of water changes by
removing nitrates. So my tank looks natural and the water stays good with
very little tank maintenance. But the fish are getting big and if they end
up choking on gravel it's no good.

I think bigger rocks instead of or on top of a thin layer of gravel may be a
solution.

Thanks for any input or experience with this problem.