There is plant soil made specifically for aquariums you can use. Potting soil sounds like a bad idea. I've never heard of anyone using that. Yes with sand you run the risk of air pockets getting trapped that can be released in the form of gas toxic to your fish and mixing soil or gravel with sand increases those risks. That can be avoided with regular stirring and siphoning.
As for overstocking I would say you aren't overstocked with two severums and 6 cories and a smaller species of pleco(bristlenose I would suggest as they are hardworkers). But when those two severums are full grown (maybe even before) you could have some problems with your water quality using only those two Aqueon filters. I would add a canister to accompany them and you would be perfect.
On another note I'd make sure to grow those cories out a bit before introduced. I recently tried to add some and he viewed them as food. I had to hand them over to my girlfriend to add to her corycat school. Sucks I really like cories too.
When I caught my severum with the cory half way in his mouth it was kind of funny and sad at the same time. I yelled at him and he looked at me as if he was confused, putting his fins up like a confused hand gesture "what, what?!? It's food. No? Fine." *spits cory out and shakes head at me then does a feed me dance*. Man I love my severum.
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My Severums are already about 8"s long and I have in tank with them 5 Zebra Danios 2 GBR's 3 died kid sad lol and now I have the 4 cory's and my sev's don't even look at the cory's.
As for the plant I picked up upon further looking I found it was water sprite so gotta look up info on it. Pretty sure they killed the java fern or just not able to grow it yet but well see. Like stated only seen my rams trying to eat the plants.
Also mine got that confused look all the time lol.
To help with keeping sand stirred up should I get some snail or something that sifts the sand alot?? I plan on putting more light on and adding more plants so eventually won't be able to get to all the sand.
