I currently have smallish medium size pebbles in the tank and prefer that because its easy to vacuum and clean. a week ago my husband bought a cory and a snail because he *gasp* doesnt understand why I find goldies exciting *smacks hubby*
I read that a cory needs river sand because rocks can hurt thier barbels while they dig for uneaten food. Is it easy to vacuum sand using the same one I use on the rocks (self starting) or will it just suck the sand up? also worried about the snail if the sand would be too rough. Im hoping to get another tank next weekend since my fry are pushing the 3 month age and need to be seperated like yesterday, lol So I basically need to know if I should leave my apple in the tank with rocks and if I move the cory into the second tank will I need sand and a new vacuum. One last thing when the goldie "pecks" at the bottom of the tank will a mouthful of sand hurt it? or do they know to spit it back out?
Thanks in advance!

I dont think that sand is recommended for goldies because it can irritate their gills if they nudge around in it. Someone else should clairify that though.

might try the lfs for a smaller stone size then...also the cory might be fine with stones since he is with the goldies he actually thinks he is one and will swim and play with them, its too cute to watch, if they are at the top or on the other side of the tank he freaks out and goes looking for them

bingo not a good idea with goldies

I use the smallest common gravel in the tank that my cory is in. His barbels look healthy and hes a fat little guy.

As much as I like that "Sand look",I've seen first hand what a Goldie does with sand,and I'm convinced that it's gotta do some long term damage in the long run of things.
They do spit alot of it out,but this fish was black and when I saw first hand ,the amount of sand coming out of his gills,it was unreal.I can't help but think it had to have irritated him . (Using a gravel vac on sand can not only take a while to get use to,but it can also mess with your filter big time.Snail's really are fine with sand and most other gravels,etc.. They actually have like a protective slime coat so that they can glide right over it. I keep my snails in sand,but I do have one tank with crushed coral substrate(broken sea shells and such) That can be quite jaggy when handling it,but the snail's never have a problem.
As for Cories,they do love the sand,but if you go with the smaller/smoother pebbles,then it should be fine. Hard sharp gravel can hurt them,but usually problems with barbells involve dirty gravel and bacteria more times than the actual gravel itself.Doing regular gravel vac's are a must.
I also want to at least add that all Cory's like to be kept in groups of at least 3-preferably with it's own type,but if they have to ,they'll buddy up with other Cory's,rather than be alone.I personally feel that a Cory being kept single,is a sad Cory. They love to group and shoal together,and they're actually hilarious to watch.

I use sand in my goldie tank and there fine and have been fine, however I don't use the powdery sand I use fine sand actually I use pool filter sand it's very cheap I got 55 pounds of it for $12.