gravel color

[Hans]

ok so i guess fish really DO like darker gravel, now that i have beach sand color gravel, they are all lighter in color, and skittish, i think im gonna have to get more plants in the tank

[dethjam316]

fantastic.

[Hans]

hey you know what im going to ban you now

[aquariumfishguy]

Thats a new one for me...I mean, I've never heard of fish being overly stressed by the color of the gravel. Personally, I like to stick with the "natural" looking gravel, esp in my goldfish tanks. grey, and black colored gravel also has its benefits as far as bringing out the color of the fish's scales are concerned.

[fishdude]

i use black gravel
1-it makes fish colors seem better
2-it makes food easier to find for the fish

although soe of the color will come off and i ended up with grey and black gravel :p :p

[aquariumfishguy]

Yes I forgot to add that...I noticed some of my black gravel does this...but, IMO it makes it look more natural looking anyways so :p

[Lauren]

switched out a medium colored blue gravel for a natural light colored gravel and I noticed that the iridescent effect of the blue gravel did make my fish seem more vibrant, but I still like the look of the natural gravel more. I made up for the loss of color by replacing the blue with shades of natural green (plants) and I don't notice the difference any more. Plus this gravel is finer so my plants are doing better in it.

[shewlett]

We are using a light blue (robin's egg) colored gravel on two of our tanks and it gives a nice effect. Brings out the fish colours and the plant colors nicely. Both plants and fish are doing well with it, including our corydoras julii which are somewhat shy (depending on when they last ate). Our other tank has a dark red / purple colored gravel which works well for the dark red betta in it ... I think he likes the fact that the gravel color gives him a little camouflage and he is active and sociable with us.

[Lauren]

how did you do the change? Maybe your fish are skidish because you messed up the biological filter and balance of the tank, and not because their ground cover changed in color.

[NatakuTseng]

In my opinion sand is the best way to go, the play ground sand at home depot is awesome, its lighter colored, but gives the tank a lot more natural look. The color of the substrate does bring out some colors on fish better, but a better effect I think is to dull the lighting, becareful of doing this with plants though as some may not get enough light, and if your doing it with planted tanks, let the plants diffuse the lights for you. Brings out the colors great.