Tank Setup

[prince321]

Jus a lil question, is it beta to have lots of things in the tank, ie, rocks, plants, boats, rocks with holes, other stuf that fish can hide in , better for most tropcial fish or bad? i have 5 tetras in a 37 ltr tank, quite a smal tank ? they seem to be always exploring and hiding in the gaps at times and other times swiming around at the midle of the tank?

 

[Chri$]

I think it is better for the fish. Fish like exloring and sometimes want to hide from other fish if they are being 'picked on'.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Jus a lil question, is it beta to have lots of things in the tank, ie, rocks, plants, boats, rocks with holes, other stuf that fish can hide in , better for most tropcial fish or bad? i have 5 tetras in a 37 ltr tank, quite a smal tank ? they seem to be always exploring and hiding in the gaps at times and other times swiming around at the midle of the tank?

Generally yes, it is better to decorate the tank with things like plants, rocks, wood etc but not all fish like the same sorts of habitats (for example, dawrf gourami's prefer heavily planted tanks that don't have overly strong currents as they spend a lot of their time swimming around the undergrowth- White Cloud Mountain Minnows on the other hand prefer fast flowing high oxygenated tanks with big open area's to shoal in etc)- so you should ideally decorate your tank according to your fish's needs or preferences.
Some things can change a tanks environment, for example, limestone and sandstone changes the PH (which is not good), while bog wood can create tannins in the water (which are benneficial for many catfish out there), some plants require different factors to thrive (some plants need very strong lighting, or need to be half-submerged in the water to grow properly rather than completely submerged for example), so you should be careful on what you put in your tank.
37litres does sound very small for tetras in general (is it filtered and heated?), although some tetras like the penguin tetra can do fine in tanks around 5gals. Do you know what type of tetra's you have?
Most tetra's require at least 10-15gallons.

 

[prince321]

ahh thnxz alot..yep i have serpae tetras... 5 of them? whats the best enviroment for them?
and ye my tank is filtered and heated..

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

ahh thnxz alot..yep i have serpae tetras... 5 of them? whats the best enviroment for them?
and ye my tank is filtered and heated..

Serpae tetras require at least 15gallons, so the tank is already not a suitable environment for them unfortunately;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=35121

I would upgrade the tank to at least 15-20gallons. Substrate as far as i am aware is not really a big deal with serpaes, so sand or gravel or whatever else you choose is up to you. I would have some dense planting in the tank, but leave a nice big open area for the tetras to school in as well .