All the advice I have read about keeping Cory cats indicates that the gravel substrate should be rounded so that they won't wear their barbels down to nubs. After I washed my flourite with bare hands, they felt rather rough and scraped up, so I am wondering if this is an appropriate substrate for a planted tank with cory catfish.
If flourite shouldn't be used, what would be a good alternative? Could I cover the flourite with about an inch of rounded gravel or sand? Would this just get mixed when vacuuming the surface, and bring the flourite to the top?