Hi all!

We currently have a Betta in a 5 gallon planted tank. Fish and water quality are doing very well! Currently, I have basic petsmart gravel substrate in the tank but wanted to change it to a planted substrate now that I’m starting to introduce more plants.

My question is, would it be possible to remove the gravel substrate and place planted substrate in the tank without causing too much stress for the fish? The tank has been established for about a month. I know that the substrate holds a lot of the beneficial bacteria and didn’t want to mess up the water quality too much after it just became pretty well cycled. Any advice would be great! I’ll attach a picture of our tank as well, feel free to give any suggestions, pretty new to the live plant scene.

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