Would a Jurupari be alright with a sandy bottom since they pick gravel up with their mouths? I'm thinking about changing from gravel to pool filter sand. And how would plecos act with the sand?
From what I've read, sand is the preferred substrate for eartheaters. They sift through it to find food. In my experience, sand does not have any impact on plecos.
Sand is better. Their mouths can be injured by gravel. That is the only reason I've not gotten any. They are awesome fish but all my tanks have gravel (except the reef). Hmmm, maybe I need another tank.
I've had jurupari for about three years now. I maintain them in a gravel bedded aquarium. Size of the gravel is pea sized. I've found that they will still sift the gravel without injury. They're mouths are very wide and large. They just spit it out instead if sifting through the gill structure. The three that i have are over five inches now and they are very healthy. Its just what the fish get used to in the aquarium. So, you do have a choice on the substrate. IMHO.