No Gravel Or Sand? Opinions?

[fishmad2014]

what's your opinions on a bare bottom tank without gravel or sand?
 
 

 

[coolie]

It stresses the fish.

 

[KieranBoyne]

Well, my tank had been bare bottom for about 3 years. Up until about 2-3 days ago when I found a bit of gravel in my shed, washed it and put it in. It turned the tank a bit cloudy, but that cleared after a while. It also depends on whether or not you have bottom feeders in your tank. If you have fish with sensitive mouths then the generally prefer sand, such as corydoras. However some species can be happy with gravel, such as plecos and cories, which can live on both happily. Make sure the sand is not too sharp otherwise it can harm the barbels on some fish.
 
Now, it also depends what kind of plants that you want to keep. If you want to keep live plants, it's better to have a fertiliser substrate which is then covered over by gravel or sand. Of course that is not necessary but certainly won't do the plants any harm.... I prefer the look of dark sand with lots of lush, green plants. I would get sand, but the dirt shows up far too easily for my liking.
 
For bare bottom, it shows where you need to clean, but you can't bury plants in anything. So, personally, I would rather have a substrate. Others will probably have different opinions though.

 

[RRaquariums]

It all depends on the fish you want to keep but most fish can do fine with bare bottom tanks personally I like sand because it's cheap and looks good but in my breeding set ups I've gone bare bottom so I could clean easer.

 

[star4]

It does depend on the fish, there are some that actually prefer bare bottomed tanks and will move sand and gravel if they can to create a bare area, my pictus have done so in every tank they have been in. Some cichlids too like a clear area, my one oscar has a bare batch at the back so he can admire his reflection.

 

[attibones]

I keep my hospital tank bare bottom. I also had a bare bottom tank when I was keeping goldfish because they were so messy. They were never stressed by it.

 

[KieranBoyne]

None of my fish were stressed by bare bottom at all.

 

[coolie]

There could well be co-relation between people who aren't interested in creating a natural looking habitat and those who can't tell their fish are stressed.

 

[fishmad2014]

i was thinking off going bare bottom BUT i have allot off bog-wood and tubes the fish can claim there territories and though it also be easier to clean the poo up etc

 

[KieranBoyne]

There could well be co-relation between people who aren't interested in creating a natural looking habitat and those who can't tell their fish are stressed.

What's that supposed to mean?

 

[coolie]

Can't you read?

 

[fishmad2014]

ok ok i don't want arguing please, i said opinions everyone is different please no arguing

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Lots of fishkeepers keep bare-bottomed tanks. Especially those with a lot of tanks and multiple breeding set ups. It helps in keeping the tanks clean and for those running a big breeding operation the tanks aren't set up for aesthetics. When we add a substrate, for the most part, it's for us to create a pleasing look.
 
coolie...you may need to cool it. If I had to guess I'd say that the opinion that bare-bottomed tanks are bad for fish is well in the minority. In addition there are more opinions out there than your own and you should be more respectful of others'.

 

[KieranBoyne]

Obviously i can read... Otherwise i wouldn't have responded...
And yeah, you need to cool it. Be careful with how you say things.

 

[TallTree01]

Yikes guys, really not worth having an argument over. This is a good question and I do not want to see this thread locked.


Me personally, I prefer a light sand substrate. Dark just doesn't look as natural IMO ( don't eat me people with dark sand ) .
Not a huge fan of using gravel period tbh.
Sanded tanks definitely look better than Bare but in some circumstances bare bottom is best.