So this post is in response to a post by
@Byron video showing tank with a more natural habitat for angels (basically roots and sandy bottom):
So my question is does having plants with domestic angels which is very much an unnatural environment a 'bad' thing ? Ignore the substrate as that will be going away when i move and redo their tank as a 450.
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Not a bad thing, quite the opposite. I'll explain a bit about habitats vs aquascapes.
All freshwater fish species have evolved to function in very specific environment--this includes water parameters, the hardscape (plants, wood, rock, sand, etc), numbers of that species, and other species common to the habitat. The fish's physiology is specifically designed to operate in that environment, and as soon as the fish is forced to accept something different it negatively impacts their metabolism. It depends upon the specific factors, but the bottom line is that the fish will always have an easier time of "living," meaning the carrying out of its essential life processes, the closer the aquascape is to the "expected" habitat conditions. [As an aside, I will mention that there are aquarists who reject this, but it is now accepted scientific fact.]
The aquascape can provide basically the same environment by natural means or artificial. In most cases, it doesn't matter, and so faqr as we know, the fish don't seem to care. They "expect" certain things such as shelter, numbers of their own, etc. because this has been programmed into their DNA by evolution. We cannot change any of this, so we provide as close a reproduction as we can to their natural habitat. That is the only assurance we can have that we are providing the "best" environment for the fish.
When it comes to the hardscape, it usually does not need to be authentic, provided the fish's instinctive needs are met. So branches of wood can be real or fake, or replicated with long-leaf plants, etc. Plants can be real or fake.
There is nothing amiss in your tank from the photo, nothing at all with respect to the angelfish and their expectations. Nice work indeed.
