gravel-less tank?

seems like food,poop, and other junk would always be visible and get easily stirred around, but my walmart uses bare tanks :D

when i switched from a 10 to a 55gal i didnt have enough gravel so i put all the gravel on one side of the tank, inorder to anchor my plants, and left the other half bare till i could get more gravel. while my tank was setup like this the fish never swam over the bare glass
 
Kasakato said:
Thats becasue they dont like it. It can act like a mirror or freek them out with whatever is under the tank.
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I was just about to say that....I would at the very least have a thin layer of gravel...for the reflections and bacterial probs..
 
Today I started putting a thin layer of gravel in with no filter, and my irridescent shark came right out and has been swimming around ever since, instead of hiding all the time. The rest of the fish seem happier, too. Thank you all.
 
bare bottom is quite popular in some places. I've got a 1/2 bare bottom 1/2 sand tank right now.
In a few months i'm going to go full bare bottom for ease of maintenance. The fish actually can tell the difference. I have bottom feeders, and when i first introduced them into the tank they tried to swim down into the glass, but they got used to it.

Heres a pic om my favorite inspirational barebottom tank. Its not mine, but i love it to death.

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DSC05371.jpg
 
True you do not need gravel but it looks A LOT better than having none. People who breed certain species find it benefitial to use a bare bottom. Fish feel more secure with a gravel/sand bottom and I know all my fish like to nuzzel around in the substrate. Gravel also becomes a major reservoir for benefitial bacteria. I never vacuum my gravel and it does not collect food or waste at all. I have lots of cories, otos, and shrimp and good filtration. And waste that does make it to the bottom becomes great mulm for my plants.
 
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