Aquarium gravel okay to use in place of sand ?
- Thread starter Danny 1018
- Start date
For a 55G I would do males and females with a timid species like kandeense. 3m:12f. Females are drab.
I would not do all male peacocks in a 55G.
I also would not use gravel...the fish like to pick the sand up in their mouths and spit it over the rocks. Pool filter sand is ideal.
I would not do all male peacocks in a 55G.
I also would not use gravel...the fish like to pick the sand up in their mouths and spit it over the rocks. Pool filter sand is ideal.
When I got back into the fish hobby 20 years ago I went with a gravel tank as that is what I had always done. Then I saw on fish forums that many were using sand for cichlids. So I took out the gravel - what a mess - debris really accumulated. I liked the look of sand plus debris settled on top to eventually find its way into the filter. I swore I would never go back to sand.
Fast forward 20 years and this fall I was getting tired of sand in the HOB filter, wearing out parts and making lots of noise. I had an empty tank with nothing for substrate. I picked up a male peacock and 4 females near breeding age from the independently owned place I buy cichlids. He breeds a lot of his own fish he sells and he does not like sand. He suggested some gravel that was larger than stuff I had used in the past.
I tried it, not layering it too deep to catch debris. Some of it is pea size but most of it is smaller. I post a picture below. My peacocks have spawned twice and you can see where the male has cleared away the gravel. Because it is a close up picture, the gravel looks a lot bigger than it really is.
I don't want to persuade you to abandon the sand idea, just want to share some options with you.
Fast forward 20 years and this fall I was getting tired of sand in the HOB filter, wearing out parts and making lots of noise. I had an empty tank with nothing for substrate. I picked up a male peacock and 4 females near breeding age from the independently owned place I buy cichlids. He breeds a lot of his own fish he sells and he does not like sand. He suggested some gravel that was larger than stuff I had used in the past.
I tried it, not layering it too deep to catch debris. Some of it is pea size but most of it is smaller. I post a picture below. My peacocks have spawned twice and you can see where the male has cleared away the gravel. Because it is a close up picture, the gravel looks a lot bigger than it really is.
I don't want to persuade you to abandon the sand idea, just want to share some options with you.
Last edited:
Facor this in...pool filter sand is 20 grain and is larger and heavier than some sands. It is unlikely to fly around and get in your impellers.
I have tried pool filter sand as well. It seemed the fish would spit it near the filter intake tubes and inevitably some would get suckled in from time to time. Maybe I will go back to it at some point. The sand I admit, does look nice.
I can certainly understand the benefits for having a sand substrate when keeping African Rift lake Cichlids.
The substrate in my tanks have always been a deep bed of small grain river gravel. That was true when I kept Africans. Never had a problem.
Sand vrs gravel is always a subject of debate, Lol. There's valid pros & cons for either.
The substrate in my tanks have always been a deep bed of small grain river gravel. That was true when I kept Africans. Never had a problem.
Sand vrs gravel is always a subject of debate, Lol. There's valid pros & cons for either.
I agree with Stephen St. Clair@
Personally, I use sand and haven't had a single problem with it (except when algae grow on top of it, it looks bad). I've found sand to be much better than gravel, and I also think it looks better, especially for Rift Lake cichlids. But then again, gravel has its benefits, as others have stated.
Honest answer: Either is fine. It just depends on what you plan on doing with the tank decor-wise and filtration-wise.
Yes. I like that they are open swimmers that do not need caves that mbuna prefer. When I have the 55, it will be placed where the tank will run parallel to the floor joist....other wise I would get a 75. The tank will sit on the middle of a 16 foot long floor joist.
