One of the more popular substrates you can use in your fish tank is the Caribsea Eco Complete, which recently changed its name to the Caribsea Eco Planted. So, can you safely use this product with gold fish? You can find out in this article at Aquarium Blueprints.
Benefits
The main benefit of Eco Complete or Eco Planted is that the product will provide are the essential nutrients for your live plants to grow healthily. These small volcanic rocks will gradually release nutrients for rooted plants as well as plants that feed off from the water column.
In addition to giving a natural look to your tank, plants will also help keep your water parameters healthy for your gold fish as the flora will help keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels in check.
If you get the black color variant of this substrate, then it should make the colors of your goldfish pop out more.
Disadvantages
The one big negative of the Eco Complete or Eco Planted is the sharp edge structure. Goldfish likes to dig into the substrate with their mouths. Therefore, it is very likely that they will damage their mouths when digging into this Caribsea product.
If you want to use Eco Complete or Eco Planted in a gold fish tank, then we recommend that you top it off with a thick layer of another substrate type. The top layer should be at least one inch in depth.
We suggest using sand, if possible, if you want to prevent the mouths of your goldfish from getting damaged. Substrates that are smooth and round should also be safe as well.
Recap
While Eco Complete or Eco Planted is a great substrate if you want to grow live plants in your fish tank, the sharp edges of the rocks can harm the mouths of your pet goldfish when they are digging. For that reason, we don’t recommend using this product if you are keeping the cold-water fish in your aquarium.
If you still want to use Eco Complete or Eco Planted in your gold fish tank, then we recommend that you top it off with a thick layer of sand or a rounder and smoother substrate. By doing so, you should be able to still live plants in your tank while being able to protect your gold fish from harm at the same time.
