Seachem Flourite can be mixed with other substrates. Some reviews say that it's difficult to clean, becomes a muddy mess while others give it high praise to the benefitial nutrients that it provides to plants. As for your fish. I found one person that said. "because the product is chipped and fractured it has sharp edges and can injure fish". Since cory spends most of it's time as the bottom searching for food within the substrate, there may be a potential for damage to his or her bristles.