River rock

[Bix22]

I was doing landscaping around my house with river rock and was wondering if this could be used as a substrate? It is about 1 inch around and round in shape. I would rinse with boiling water to get out the dirt and possible bacteria if any.

 

[Fresh2o]

As long as there are no problems mineral wise (do the vinegar test, let it sit in water for a while and check for pH changes) you probably could use them. One disadvantage of stones that size is that fish food can get in between them and become inaccessible to fish.

 

[Bix22]

Yes I was thinking that too - might be tough to clean it

 

[Fishanatic]

Could work but is "usually" used in ponds in my experience. As said it might be tough for fish to reach the food, maybe a bit harder to clean them all.