Wow in that first pic it looks like you can actually see eggs being held by the pelvic fins right?
Right??? I stared at that for ages in person too, before snapping the photos. There isn't sand in that tank, so it can't be sand. I thought I was going mad. Who else has otos we can tag? I know @JuiceBox52 does. Maybe @NCaquatics has thoughts?
Luckily it hasn't clouded too much, I rinsed it well, and I'd literally just added the sand, filled the tank 3/4 of the way and added the filter before snapping the pic, so hopefully removing some wouldn't cause too much of a problem.
Yes that’s the only real worry with that much sand. I would remove a little bit though.
I concur with @Barry Tetra - to much sand.
Unless you have substrate damns (small pieces of plastic you slide in the substrate), the sand will eventually slide down and get level, especially with substrate dwelling creatures.
Yeh without any hardscape and plants its going to even out definitely. Once roots from swords etc are established they do a good job alone at fixing substrate in place. But yes, you're right, before those roots take hold, using some large pebbles as a barrier is necessary
