Gravel, Coral, no gravel?

My females constantly graze on coral in the spring, this helps wear down their beaks and gives them an excellent calcium supplement for egg developement. My tank substrate consists largely of a mix of small and large coral with shells and various gravels with some dolomite as well. I have 50lbs or so of each on my larger tank. This yields a nice blend of dissolved salts in the water for pH buffering and prevention of pathogens. I have various mix of calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate, carbonate, and chloride salts; as well as slight traces of other salts such as copper, cobalt, zinc along with whatever is in my tap water which originates from a limestone bed. Of course there are to many to list organic salts that come from foods and wastes but these are just what I add in additon to the tap water. If you do not use substrate you will not have near the pH or biological buffer capacity of a tank with it. Hence more water changes and an unstable system if your system is not the size of a pond. hope this helps, Scott

You may want to add some coral. The FL crushed coral is softer and easier for them to eat. African cichlid mixes are usually more dense and harder. Crushed shells can also be a little hard. If she is eating gravel then it may be her instinctively trying to increase calcium in her diet. I have always had at least 50% coral in the substrate. “Natural aquarium gravel”? I use small pea type gravel that is not polished or painted, it can be obtained very cheap if you want to do a little extra initial cleaning and if you do not want it painted. My juveniles and males munch on the coral from time to time as well. I also have about 30 fish of various types that help clean the tank by eating excess food. Just try to achieve a nice healthy balance to keep things easier for yourself. Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@y…, “Walker, Vincent” http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/