The chips lie on thin layer of gravel or mix of sand and gravel of different size. The chips do not lie on bare bottom. With chips I keep almost all my shrimps - Crystal red, Bee, Bumblebee, C. simoni, Cherry, N.denticulata, C.japonica, Tiger, Snowball.
Sorry if I missed it in your post but could you please tell me what kind of wood this is. Is there a plant called "aquarium root" or can we use different roots?