Lupin
Registered Member
- Sep 21, 2006
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- Real Name
- Paul
Is substrate really necessary?
- Thread starter evedamnededen
- Start date
Mots of my tanks are bare bottom, it works wonderfully for me. I have some big fish (fancy goldfish, Oscar, Blue Acara, not in the same tank of course) and big fish=big poo. Bare bottom makes it way to easier to know you've got everything out.
My filters are designed specifically for black outs and media is ALWAYS under water, so I'd have the same about of bacteria after a black out as I would if I had gravel. The bare bottom tanks also have large marbles or large gravel to give the fish something to push around and rearrange and make the bottom less bare. Decorations include weighted plants, plants planted in large glass vases filled with sand/gravel and other more common decorations.
A bare bottom tank still has food on the bottom, that the fish still eat, just less food gets stuck underneath.
With that said I do have some tanks with substrate, my Kuhlis have sand and my tabby has gravel so she can dig to her hearts content.
Personally though I prefer barebottom. Most fish we own have never seen their natural environment, and really i don't think they can tell the difference between a natural cave made out of a hollow branch and a black PVC pipe, they serve the same purpose. Some fish do require substrate to forage/nest.lay eggs, but others are fine with bare bottom.
My filters are designed specifically for black outs and media is ALWAYS under water, so I'd have the same about of bacteria after a black out as I would if I had gravel. The bare bottom tanks also have large marbles or large gravel to give the fish something to push around and rearrange and make the bottom less bare. Decorations include weighted plants, plants planted in large glass vases filled with sand/gravel and other more common decorations.
A bare bottom tank still has food on the bottom, that the fish still eat, just less food gets stuck underneath.
With that said I do have some tanks with substrate, my Kuhlis have sand and my tabby has gravel so she can dig to her hearts content.
Personally though I prefer barebottom. Most fish we own have never seen their natural environment, and really i don't think they can tell the difference between a natural cave made out of a hollow branch and a black PVC pipe, they serve the same purpose. Some fish do require substrate to forage/nest.lay eggs, but others are fine with bare bottom.
