What type of 'fish keeper' are you?

[TheFishGuru]

I voted for 'fish over tank' you can have a good looking tank, but its the fish that matter more. A tank with sick fish or none is kinda boring I reckon!

 

[Adistar]

id much rather have a really healthy fish than a good aquascape

 

[rdd1952]

I voted for the tank over fish but that's not to say that I don't care about my fish. Quite the contrary. I think a well planted tank that is clean and attractive is much better for the fish that a plain tank with nothing in it. The plants, driftwood, rocks, etc. give them places to hide and rest and as others have said, a more natural habitat. Actually, I don't think those that breed fish are more caring for their fish than those that work hard on the tank environment. To have happy, health fish, I think you need it all.

 

[TF Keeper UK]

I voted fish over tank. Maybe one day i'll get round to producing an aquascape worthy of note! But for now its plastic plants and sunken ships!

Del

 

[Synirr]

The fish definitely matter more to me, but I do put forth an effort to keep my tanks looking nice as well

 

[George Farmer]

Interesting question.

Personally I like perceive my tank as a microcosm where the plants and fish are all in harmony, both aesthetically and biochemically.

By creating an ideal environment for my plants, the fish show their best condition. In the words of Amano, "Healthy plants, healthy fish".

So to answer the question - I spend most of my time on the aquascape (if you regard growing plants as the aquascape) but this is intrinsically linked to time spent on the fish.

 

[Inchworm]

I voted for the fish, but that's just because I don't have the knowledge and skills necessary to keep a beautiful planted tank. It's not an easy thing to do, and all that water testing and stuff has put me off it. However, I truly admire looking at a beautiful tank with happy and healthy fish and hope to spend some time learning more about this area of the hobby in the near future.

 

[jimbooo]

i'm 100% aquascape first.

sorry but the reason is my aquariums are peices of furniture for my home. i'd much rather sit in front of the tank for 2 hours than watch crappy TV. anyone who has seen my pic threads will already know this.

however on the flip side if you manage to have a stunning planted tank then your fish will be happy. at the end of the day my tanks could almost run without a filter due to the biological balance in the tank. if i removed the plants my fish would not be as content.

however when all goes wrong the fish tank over priority. i just had a disaster in my 50G cube which illustrates this point. i changed the whole tank in a day, total clean out, substrate change etc... as a result of my impatience i've given the whole tank whitespot and lost 90% of the fish.

the second i noticed i was devestated and spent every minute trying to save them. water changes at 1am for example when i saw the fish gasping.... i would have to admit though that the whole problem was caused by me wanting a pretty aquascape and not wanting a stocking full of pea gravel in the tank for more than 24 hours.

idiot!

anyway there you go, my two pence worth.

 

[CFC]

Dont forget that it also depends on the fish you keep, my large catfish and open water predators would hate to be kept in a heavily planted/decorated movement restricting tank and are far happier being kept in a fairly sparsely decorated tank with pleanty of swiming room.

 

[jimbooo]

very true indeed, if i were to keep monsters like you i would have to agree.

 

[Inchworm]

CFC has a good point there. Even my little corys like some wide open spaces to swim.

I've moved recently and have one 55 gallon tank with a sand bottom but no plants, caves, or other decorations yet. Most of the time the corys go their separate ways or congregate in small groups, but once in a while they all jump up and form a big, mixed species school to swim the length of the tank and back. These little guys can get up a bit of speed and seem to enjoy the open space in that tank.

 

[CFC]

This is where that wonderfull thing the biotope rears its head. Corydoras like many other tropicals in the hobby come from the Amazon, and guess what? In most places the bottom of the Amazon looks like a underwater desert with very little in the way of plant life and just a few boulders or pieces of fallen tree to break up the endless barren sand. The fish that live there have evolved to survive in that habitat and so are perfectly happy without a lush underwater garden to live in, it is only when we stick our human judgements onto them that we would rather live somewhere lush and green than in a desert that people start to think that the fish will be happier when kept that way, when to be honest they would be equally happy with a few bits of broken roofing slate and some plastic pipes for decor.

 

[George Farmer]

Dont forget that it also depends on the fish you keep

[snapback]906985[/snapback]​

Excellent point. That's one of the great things about this hobby, there's a set-up to suit every taste (and budget) from the humble goldfish right up to the mighty reefs.