Spiny eel and crushed coral

[coldmachineUK]

Hi, I wondered: I'm looking to keep a spiny eel (zebra spiny eel) in my brackish puffer tank. I've sage advice on the fact this will work ok with other occupants.

My question, however, is this: right now I have a mix of marine white and coral sand in the tank. Frankly it's a pain in the backside to maintain and keep clean, compared with gravel. I'm looking at replacing the substrate with this:

Florida crushed coral:

I would like to know if my future spiny eel will be ok burrowing through this without injury?
I would also like to know: are the grains about the size of normal gravel, or are they still as small as sand particles (i.e. 'is this gonna be a pain to clean too?').

TIA!

 

[JustOneMore20]

I put this brand of CC in my filter to raise the pH in my Malawi tank. I really think that if the eel burrows in this it could cut him. There are tons of shell bits in it and some smaller whole shells. Its about the size of regular gravel, but its flat and kind of sharp pieces. I personally wouldn't put it in a tank that housed burrowing fish.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Ok, thanks for that info: definitely useful to know since the tank is being relocated in the coming week so I'm on a rushed timescale if I make any substrate changes.

I think I may just stick with the sand then, and leave it at that. It's a vicious cycle:
1. Got sand
2. Need something to aerate sand -> burrowing fish suited to brackish -> spiny eel
3. Sand pain in the backside, think about gravel
4. But what about the poor eel?

lol

 

[flip_lx]

I had my peacock eel in a gravel tank first, granted it was mostly rounded but there were some jaggies. He burrowed straight in right after i brought him home. Lived under the gravel more than under the sand when i swapped him to my larger tank(i bought an anacharis and he would lay/sleep/hide/etc in the branches all day long)

 

[toddnbecka]

MTS are fine in brackish water, they'll even acclimate to full salt.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the info, any more welcomed in case I've missed something else!
Toddnbecka, I can't use MTS in a brackish puffer tank, unfortunately. The shells are rumoured to be too hard for a puffer's beak and they can apparently cause dental damage. Not sure how true this is, but better to be safe than sorry I suppose.