Gravel. Why do you need it?

[KcMopar]

I have kept several tanks with no gravel for my cichlids. They are very dirty and it was a breeze to vacuum.

 

[Momotaro]

I'm using "river rock" for the half of my tank that is not planted. bought it from home depot. had to wash it first but wanted to go with a 'natural' look and thought it fit the bill.

just assorted rocks. medium/coin sized rock.

find that by using that the mess falls between and settles underneath. i have to get the vac underneath the rocks to get it out of the tank. vacuuming makes the tank quite dirty from kicking up the stuff but after an hour or two everything settles.

 

[johnk]

This is my Tank with no gravel after 2 weeks........Bare spot is where heater was.......Algae is beginning to cover base....Ageed not as nice as Gravel but easier to clean and less chance of disease in substrate.

 

[Kyra]

I try to match my gravel with the color of food I am feeding them. The red food gives them red poop, which doesn't stand out on the gravel as badly.

One thing I did think about though was when I was looking up information on how to de-ick an aquarium, that in the protozoans lifecycle they will sink into the bottom for awhile before rising again to attack the fish. Does the gravel allow the Ick to survive easier, or does it allow the fish to handle the ick better since there is gravel to scratch upon or trap the ick?

Will a bare-bottom tank make it more difficult for the parasites to survive?

 

[KcMopar]

Its easier to vacuum the parasite and waste when you have little to no gravel.