what about black n red that sounds tight, these are some old pics of my tanks i changed up the 150 by removing the 2 dragons and placing wood in their spot but my buddha still chillin
not so sure if gravel is a wise choice for you bichirs .. sand maybe better I also could be wrong . but I belive some one posted a thread on one of these fish with a blockedge and it was suspected to be from the gravel he had in his tank because of the way this type of fish eat's or location ( level , low. medium. high .point 's in tank..) or you may want to go bare bottom..
gravel is not a wise choice cause bichirs tend to suck food on the base of the tank, might eat the gravel unintentionally, so sand would be your best option
I really really really like flourite, its uber great for plants and it looks really nice if you are going to the "natural" look. Be sure to was it though, or it will be really cloudy for 3-4 days when you add water