GF and Plants Friendly Substrate?

I've finally got some aquatic plants established in my tank that are growing
and able to survive the goldfish. My goldfish are still under 3 to 4 inches
but they love to rip up tender plants.

I have pea gravel in the tank. The fish are getting bigger now and I've
read a lot of warnings here about the fish swallowing gravel.

My question is, what if anything should I put in the bottom of the tank that
will work for the fish and the plants in the aquarium?

Could I dump a load of marbles on top of the gravel?

Thanks.

Underwater wrote:

I've finally got some aquatic plants established in my tank that are growing
and able to survive the goldfish. My goldfish are still under 3 to 4 inches
but they love to rip up tender plants.

I have pea gravel in the tank. The fish are getting bigger now and I've
read a lot of warnings here about the fish swallowing gravel.

My question is, what if anything should I put in the bottom of the tank that
will work for the fish and the plants in the aquarium?

Could I dump a load of marbles on top of the gravel?

Thanks.

Underwater,

I've had the same dilemma as you. I'm considering one of the following:

Sand substrate
No Substrate
Pebble Substrate

Still yet to make my mind up.

Geezer,

These pebbles your thing about getting are they the sort of size of the
pebbles that are on the beach and if you washed them really hard and
carefully would go perfectly in your tank?

If so can you please tell me because this could save my goldfish!

Thanks

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


Underwater wrote:

I've finally got some aquatic plants established in my tank that are
growing
and able to survive the goldfish. My goldfish are still under 3 to 4
inches
but they love to rip up tender plants.

I have pea gravel in the tank. The fish are getting bigger now and I've
read a lot of warnings here about the fish swallowing gravel.

My question is, what if anything should I put in the bottom of the tank
that
will work for the fish and the plants in the aquarium?

Could I dump a load of marbles on top of the gravel?

Thanks.

Underwater,

I've had the same dilemma as you. I'm considering one of the following:

Sand substrate
No Substrate
Pebble Substrate

Still yet to make my mind up.

Mat, yes similar type, but the right size so that they would not fit in
the mouth. I assume a UGF would be ok, but I'm no expert.

I also have an underwater gravel filter would this be ok with it too?

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


Underwater wrote:

I've finally got some aquatic plants established in my tank that are
growing
and able to survive the goldfish. My goldfish are still under 3 to 4
inches
but they love to rip up tender plants.

I have pea gravel in the tank. The fish are getting bigger now and I've
read a lot of warnings here about the fish swallowing gravel.

My question is, what if anything should I put in the bottom of the tank
that
will work for the fish and the plants in the aquarium?

Could I dump a load of marbles on top of the gravel?

Thanks.

Underwater,

I've had the same dilemma as you. I'm considering one of the following:

Sand substrate
No Substrate
Pebble Substrate

Still yet to make my mind up.

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.

Cheers,
Poe

"Underwater" wrote in message
...

I have pea gravel in the tank. The fish are getting bigger now and I've
read a lot of warnings here about the fish swallowing gravel.

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.

"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.

"Underwater" wrote in message
...
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.


In my barebottom goldfish tank I have a selection of plants attached to
driftwood.
I tried plants in clay pots, plants attached to rocks, and this works much
better. They are so lightweight that I can scoot them around with the siphon
while vacuuming and not worry that they will tip over and crack my glass.
This always bugged me with the pots and rocks- one slip of the grip and
*crash*.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/goldfish.htm.

Toni, good thought. That is why initially I was considering a
thin layer of sand (which I wont now). Plastic pots are ok, I wouldn't
use clay pots as they'd probably wear away anyway.