background

[panboy]

im trying to find a background. but im not sure what to get so im asking for opinions.

i have natural colored gravel, with a 1 1/2 long piece of drift wood with some rocks and lots of plants later.
what would go good?

 

[Woody]

I also use natural gravel and I like minimal distraction from the background in my tanks. I use a nice shade of solid blue. It has an aquatic feel, the fish look good in front of it and it's not distracting like pictures are. You can buy it off the bulk rolls in your lfs or, if your tank is small (no more than 20 or 30 gallons) you can get it even cheaper by buying a sheet of poster board from a crafts store and trimming it to fit.

 

[wuvmybetta]

My big tank sat backgroundless for months and months because I couldn't decide. I finally bought the mirrored background and used the blue mirrored side, I liked it but I flipped it over to try the silverish side and I really liked it.

Seems to have cut down on the aggression that's been going on with my e. blue haps, they'd attack each other all the time and now that they're constantly seeing their reflection, they're a lot mellower.

I also have natural gravel mixed with crushed coral and my rocks have a lot of silver flecks, it all looks nice together.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have about the same setup.

Natural gravel, a large peice of driftwood, lots of plants.

I use a all black background.

 

[guppygirly]

The background I use comes in a reversable sheet. One side is black (a little too dark for my taste) and the other side is a blue that goes from light to dark. I like the blue cuz it looks like the water gets "deeper". Kinda like a river or pond.

 

[modernhamlet]

My background is two-sided as well. One side is a rocky/planted stream type motif. The other side is black. I use black. I just planted pretty heavily, so with any luck it'll be hard to see the background anyway!

Good luck!

 

[crazie.eddie]

I also have natural gravel mixed with crushed coral and my rocks have a lot of silver flecks, it all looks nice together.

Coral will raise your pH

 

[jams.alaskan]

One of my tanks is in an intensive resource (special education) classroom. I use the background as a way to give the children an opportunity to express themselves. We may use several different ideas in a year ie decorate for the holidays/weather/season/or guests. The children have used paints, glitter, yarn, crayons, colored paper etc. Thankfully not all at once. I laminate the background and hang it until we make a new one. Then a class member "earns" the old one with some sort of good behavior or academic achievment. Too fun really. For some students the fish tank is a sanctuary - a place to sit and visit when the noise of their day is just too much. It's also an IN for me as the fish keeper and their aide... just something we can share without judgements. Children share in the feeding and care. Our fish have been with us now for three years and we've had very few losses - so this is working both ways.

ALASKA

 

[guppygirly]

That is so neat! I hope my children will be able to experiance this type if learning when they go to school.