Anyone Here Have Barebottom Tanks?

[Tommy Gunnz]

Tolak,

First, let me start off by saying that I wasn't "lipping off" like you say and I am entitled to my opinion, just like you are. Of course EVERYONE has probrably seen a barebottom tank since they are in pet stores across the world and so, I can base my opinions on a comparison. As far as keeping a tank clean is concerned, I do not see how much harder it is to vaccum out gravel every so often, however, I do agree with the idea of having bare bottom tanks for people who have lots of different tanks because it would be a full time job trying to clean them. This is most likely why the pet stores stick to bare tanks and I can appreciate that.

As far as these posts are concerned, it is the serious short coming of any written conversations that you cannot tell exactly how I am saying the words that I type. In the future, I would hope that you would prefer to assume that what people have written in these forums is meant with the best of intentions.

 

[Teelie]

Bare bottom is fine for breeding or mass numbers of tanks where it really would make a big difference in tank maintanence from week to week. But when you have one set up for decorative purposes, like in a living room, office, front room, or such, a bare bottom tank just doesn't have the same appeal as one with a substrate IMO. They always tend to look sterile and artificial to me instead of more natural and aesthetic with a nice substrate to it.

Fish aren't like most other pets. They often serve the dual purpose of decoration or ornamentation to a room and a bare bottom tank, even with a few pieces of wood or plant fails to draw the same look as one with a more natural appearence.

It all comes down to personal preference. A bare bottom tank might be cleaner and easier to breed with, but one with a substrate often looks better to most people and the extra work is usually worth the extra appeal the tank will have.

Just my opinion but many people tend to use aquariums as living decorations almost like paintings or photographs. Ultimately, I guess it comes down to; what are your intentions for the tank? If it's for showing off, then it'll probably look better with substrate and the whole natural look to it (absent the predators, disease and such of course ). If you intend to breed or keep large numbers of fish/tanks and don't care so much if they look flat and fake, then who cares if the bottom is bare, covered in a gaudy, ugly hot pink gravel or somewhere in between?

 

[Synirr]

Gravel is just awful in my opinion, much too hard to clean, and bare-bottom doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of sand. Most of my tanks have sand, and deep sand at that... stirring the sand every month or so takes care of any anaerobic bacteria problems, and I use trumpet snails as well. I find that poo and whatnot doesn't show up on sand as bad as most people seem to think... most of the time it just blends in, or as with my large cichlids, collects under ornaments and at the base of plants where it is less noticeable. I looove my sand tanks, they are the best of both worlds -- beautiful AND easy to clean

I do have a couple of bare-bottoms as well, one is a betta juvie growout tank, and the other is normally used for the same purpose, but is temporarily housing a juvie flowerhorn. I don't appreciate having to scrub the bottom as well as the sides when the algae starts to build up, but that doesn't happen often so it's really not that big of a pain. Like I said, the reason sand wins out over bare-bottom for me is pretty much solely due to aesthetics, but bare-bottom is more practical for tanks that need to be cleaned constantly.

 

[annka5]

IMO clean water is the most strong signaller of a more natural environment for any of the fish commonly kept in the hobby; this has to be more important to them than substrate choice. And, I find bare-bottomed tanks are easier to clean - you're siphoning stuff of the bottom before it gets chance to rot down to result in nitrates etc. Therefore, bare bottomed tanks = cleaner water = more natural environment for most fish.
Many tropical fish live over muddy silty leaf-mouldy stuff which would be totally impractical in an aquarium - what's more natural to a fish that lives above that, gravel, or glass?
Having said all that, IMO fish aren't really clever enough to know what they're natural habitat is or was, particularly given captive breeding.
Personally, I have sand and low growing plants, but just keep up with waterchanges and don't overstock or overfeed the fish, and they do fine.

 

[Qays]

bare bottom tanks are much better.

but wouldnt corries be a bit bored, they would have nothing to do without substrate. Right? I dont see it as a big issue though.

 

[Tolak]

Tommy;

“In the future, I would hope that you would prefer to assume that what people have written in these forums is meant with the best of intentions.†http/www.bartleby.com/59/3/roadtohellis.html

I’ll bet more than 99% of what is posted in these forums is with the best of intentions. People will post wrong information with the best of intentions, if others follow this information they will not have the best results. Opinions on how something looks is fine, it’s all personal choice. Opinions on how something works are usually based on hands on experience. It’s not only my experience, it’s that of other breeders I personally know in the area, many of whom have been keeping, breeding, and raising fish for decades. They are a bunch of computer illiterate old timers, but they are the guys to go to for any sort of serious problem. I have made calls to some of them in the past for problems posted on this forum.

The most serious shortcoming of any written word is the lack of vocal inflection. I’m trying different ways of saying that art comment, imagining me saying it to one of my fish keeping buddies, a coworker, or a family member. No matter how I say it, it comes off as a wisecrack, though a mild one. Some people come out with things without realizing how they sound. I’m not loosing sleep over it.

One of the original questions was are they easier to keep clean, without a doubt they are. They have been proven to provide a cleaner environment for fish. The other was how do they look, which is a total matter of opinion. I think they look fine in a more informal setting, in a more formal setting a substrate with plants, driftwood, etc. looks better. That is an opinion.