Tank Back Ground

[Brainjuice]

Was just wondering............... Is there any benefit to the fish to have a background on the tank? The standard sort of thing you can get from any LFS.

Its just that a friend of mine seems to think its very important (not really sure why) and I'm not really that fussed about having one. As there are plenty of plants in the tank.

 

[Judgejudy]

I always have one as it looks a lot better. But its personal taste at the end of the day. Your choice

 

[richpowell1989]

to be honest i think the ones u get from the shop look extremely cheap and horrible i have jus a plain black bk ground

 

[Cazgar]

It's your tank, if you don't want a background don't have one.
If you have lots of plants you probably don't even notice there isn't one.
I agree some of the Lfs ones look can a bit tacky.
I use black card on the backs of mine, it's cheap

 

[coldcazzie]

I used to always have one, now neither of my tanks have them. Makes no difference to the fish really... although does depend on your wall covering - pale paint will look better than weird 70s wallpaper...

 

[elmo666]

logically it can't be of any benefit to the fish as the other 3 sides are open to the viewing world It is purely aesthetic, so simply down to what you like the look of.

 

[Brainjuice]

Well that's pretty much what I thought, so thank you all for confirming what I thought was right.

 

[OldMan47]

"weird 70s wallpaper.." Come on Cazzie, not even I have any of that any more.
The only benefit to a cover on any side of your tank is to keep the fish being disturbed by things happening outside the tank. Unless there is a walkway or similar thing behind the tank, it will have no value to the fish. If you have a tank in a busy area, cover all but the front to help calm your fish. You don't want them rushing about and banging their heads on the tank ends.

 

[Dazzler666]

Hey, what's wrong with 70's wallpaper?!!!!!! lol.

 

[CezzaXV]

I have heard backgrounds can be of benefit to fish in finding hiding places. Some fish in the wild might cling to the side of the river when they want to hide and having a tank with no background can stress them out. A background can also be beneficial for us for hiding heater cables, filter pipes etc.

 

[fluttermoth]

^^ This. I've always found that most fish are paler and more nervous in tanks with no background.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

+ 1 on CezzaXV's point. If you use the glue, don't be surprised if it looks perfect when you put it up then wake up the following morning have ruddy great big air bubble looking at you! I can never get them all out. Perhaps I'm just useless at doing it but Ironing them out with a ruler or something seems to get most of them out. Planting the tank also helps, I don't even notice it any more. I just use a plain black background. Makes all the other colours stand out, I think.

 

[CezzaXV]

I'm a personal fan of a blue background, but it's just taste at the end of the day.

I use a fabric background for mine. I used to have one of those plastic ones, but I found that water would often get between the glass and the background and never dry out. Not a problem with the fabric.

 

[FishBlast]

I sure need a background to hide all the cables and the sockets... So some day (whenever my dad gets a wooden frame and some black (best if velvety) material, I'll get some gold, silver and blue thread and make a starry sky themed background. (no, not them fake-looking stars, more like dots organized to look like a real sky).
And there's a tiny problem convincing my mom about this... but it would give me a chance to get back at my oldest hobby: making embroidery.