Gravel Color
- Thread starter TheZoo
- Start date
well, aperantly the colour of the gravel/substrate/decor affects the mood of the fish because fish use colour to show thier mood. My own expierence with buenos aires tetras, wich one book even labels as viciuos and that the females can't be with the males because the females will kill the males is that they are viscous with flourescent pink gravel and perfectly peaceful, almost barely moving except at feeding time (there still agressive feeders) with mostly white gravel.
So, I guess the fish do care what colour there substrate is but don't care if there substrate is unnatural(niether whit or pink are natural colours for fish) or natural, with the exption of : Wild caught fish, you should try and make thier tank look as close as possible to thier natural enviroment, just because of what you've paid somebody to do to them, respect the fish. Here I find it for the for the most part cruel to put them in a tank with neon green gravel and purple plants or any other unatural decor or no decor at all, the fish tank is unatural enough.
So, I guess the fish do care what colour there substrate is but don't care if there substrate is unnatural(niether whit or pink are natural colours for fish) or natural, with the exption of : Wild caught fish, you should try and make thier tank look as close as possible to thier natural enviroment, just because of what you've paid somebody to do to them, respect the fish. Here I find it for the for the most part cruel to put them in a tank with neon green gravel and purple plants or any other unatural decor or no decor at all, the fish tank is unatural enough.
im pretty sure they dont care.. but usually the darker it is more vibrant the color gets. from my experience that is
yea a nice neutral natural looking gravel wold be best. Besides i think "colored" gravel looses its appeal after a while ,it did for me. The fish really do appreciate the natural look as far as I am concerned. also a black background would really enhance the look of the fish to, but it is a matter of choice.
You can change the gravel. Yes you will mess with the good bacteria in the tank but the filter also colonizes bacteria as well as other thi ngs that are in your aquarium such as the decor. If and when you change the gravel just keep some of the old gravel by placing in a nylon stocking and after the change is complete, place the stocking with the gravel where there is good circulation such as under the filter uplift tube or near an airstone. In about 2 weeks you can remove the stocking with the gravel from the aquarium. The filter will have caught up with the bio-load. Even with doing all of this, the tank may still be thrown into a mini cycle but it will be quick.
Marinemom
Marinemom
in my 90 gal i have soil with rocks on top, in the 60 gal i have it bare bottem, and in the 20 gal i have neutral black and white stones, in the 15 i have crushed slate