Background?

[FishHottieWithaBody]

While searching on the web i saw that some people put a mirror behind there fishtank instead of a background. This made the fish tank seem larger then it really was and didnt look to bad... but i was not sure if this was good for the fish or not. It does seem to be a little bit more expensive but also kinda seems to look a little better. Just wanting some comments on this issue and what u guys use as ur backgrounds thx

 

[handsomeboy]

in small tanks it might, but in big tanks it wouldnt, cause when you start to see everything twice in a big tank, all the decorations are going to look out of place, unless you scape the tank with the mirror in mind

i spray painted mine black

 

[Def]

Depends on the fish. Reflections can stress fish out very quickly, especially in more agressive species. I wouldn't recommend it, I've seen lots of fish go nuts over their reflections...

 

[Tolak]

Depending on the fish, the mirror could either go from not bothering them, to making them attack their reflection and injuring themselves in the process. I wouldn't suggest it.

Most of my tanks have black plastic garbage bags cut to size for the background. I got this idea from CFC, it works great. A couple have dark blue automotive window tint on the back. Doesn't work as good as the black plastic, only because taking pics is tough, it does what it is supposed to, reflect light. Looks ok though. This comes in a lot of different colors & patterns, I imagine you could do a real "pimp my ride" job on your tank with a trip to the car parts store.

Tolak

 

[nc_nutcase]

I perfer dark blue to black background (any darker color will do). I've never used a mirror but I have kept large aggressive fish together... so I can't imagine that a such a fish would see it's reflection much different than seeing another loarge aggressive fish. But I may be wrong... that is based on logic not experience...

 

[F15H3R]

I actually use those good old brown bags from the grocery store on the back of my tanks :} I have earth toned gravel and live plants and I wanted something that blended in and had a natural feel, allowing the colorful fish to stand out. I cut a bag along the seam and spread it out, then cut it to fit the back of the tank. Next, I fold it up in all sorts of patterns and crumple it a bit to add texture, spread it back out and mount it. Really cheap and it works out nicely if you are going for a natural look.

 

[tommy281]

Picked up some metallic Blue wrapping paper at the dollor store,looks great.