I have no substrate in my tank. I feel that its easier to clean that way. It's been set up that way for more than a year and a half.
Any opinions?
Any opinions?
Is substrate really necessary?
- Thread starter evedamnededen
- Start date
you dont need substrate in a tank for fish to survive , no . i personally think i tank should resemble the fishes natural surroundings though as much as possible for it to be comfortable . i have a couple of bare tanks but they are both temporary housing .
its easier to clean. many breeders of delicate fish, such as discus, use tanks without substrate becuase they change the water several times a week . but many fish feel un easy without some substrate. the substrate also houses some bacteria that is beneficial to the tank, if your not up on your water changes, and as long as helping you fish feel secure its a good thing
j_chicago, have you ever been to Old Town Aquarium in Chicago? Its the most beautiful LFS I've ever seen!!! Never bought anything there yet, I bought my fish at Thee Fish Bowl in Evanston....
no you dont need it but sometimes its preferable for both the fish and yourself. i dont like looking at bare tanks and i would think the fish would like something in there too.
You can have your cake and eat it too, there are many plants that will happily grow just on driftwood and you can have quite a nice looking setup with such in a bare bottom tank, (my planted tank has ~30% plant mass growing on the driftwood) also you could mix up a nice looking gravel in epoxy to form a thin layer on the bottom that would look kinda natural but be as easy to vac poo off as a bare bottom.
yeah, i go there all the time, actually stopped by there this morning 'cause i drove by and people where in there, so I parked and walked over to find out they weren't opening for another 2 hours. so I wasted $10 on parking for nothing
ps, there's another store out on LaGrange, about 15 min north of i-55, that is really good. I'll have to find the name and let you know.
no, not necessary, but i think it looks better.
and i agree with the above, most fish would feel more comfortable with some sort of substrate.
and i agree with the above, most fish would feel more comfortable with some sort of substrate.
Depends on the fish I guess; my loaches and Hoplo Catfish dig in the substrate and it is natural for them to do so, so they would be in 'un-natural' environments if there were none!
Also I have Kribensis, and part of their mating routine is for him to 'dig' a cave for her......nothing to dig in, no cave, no babies!
I was also told that if there is nothing above, nothing below and nothing to either side it can upset the fish - substrate gives them a reference point to the bottom....I can see that drift wood moss could help with that, but I still like my gravel beds!
Also I have Kribensis, and part of their mating routine is for him to 'dig' a cave for her......nothing to dig in, no cave, no babies!
I was also told that if there is nothing above, nothing below and nothing to either side it can upset the fish - substrate gives them a reference point to the bottom....I can see that drift wood moss could help with that, but I still like my gravel beds!
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