I got a bit of a scare the other day. My fish are constantly nibbling on the gravel in my tank and one of them got two pievces stuck in his mouth. I have no idea how long he struggled to get them out (when I came in he was really pushing and seeming to get tired). I asked my mom what I could do (she's a pretty experienced aquarist) and said they usually spit it out on their own after a few minutes. I went back to the tank and watched him for ten minutes struggling. I didn't want to risk stressing him out further by helping him, but I finally netted him and popped it out of his mouth. There were TWO pieces of gravel in there!

What I'd like to know is gravel actually a safe substrate? I had always heard it was, from many many sources, but this really frightened me. I hesitate to use sand, as it seems harder to keep clean (how do you vaccuum it?), and around here I've never actually seen sand sold for freshwater aquariums. Is there any way to prevent this from happening again, or is just a risk I have to take? I'd really rather not go bare-bottomed, as I find that to be very unnatractive and difficult with plants in the tank! (fake and edible)

Thanks so much for any help!

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