Another reason for barebottom

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Nic

Nic

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2005
15,800
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outside philly
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207827


http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207355


hmm bacteria lives in the sand... so there for the substrate is bad... those of you who argue sand is better find me a person who has had this or anyother problems with disk rot etc... or bare bottom... you argue rays "NEED" to bury themselves or they stress out A try covering the tank completely and keeping it 100% dark or B a driftwood cave... hmm KISS really seems the way to go
 
never had a problem with fine pebble gravel

but i do do a gravel clean twice per week at every water change

as for crap or bacteria my substrate is very thin on the ground less than 1inch this less bacteria grow on the surface of the gravel and no bad anabolic build up

i still stick to what i say rays need substrate and wont be removing mine anytime soon
 
The bacteria might colonize the substrate, but it should never become a problem unless the ray is stressed. If the ray is stressed, then you have something else going on that you need to resolve. There are a lot of different kinds of bacteria constantly present in an aquarium, whether there is a substrate or not. Its stress on the fish that brings about the infection, not being on a substrate, IMO.

I still think that some kind of substrate will mimic their natural habitat better and make them more comfortable. I think that is likely to lead to less stress and less likelihood of infection in the long run.

I won't try to tell anyone else what to do, but I plan on keeping my rays on a sand bottom.
 
IMO bacteria exist EVERYWHERE...when your immune system is at its weakest point (stressed or sick), then the bacteria will infect the body.

So I don't think going barebottom will totally solved the problem (or potential ). The key is keeping your fish healthy.

stan
 
i know brent keeps his rays top notch.... same with skynoch.... both are great ray keepers so.......
 
I still will probably use substrate with my rays but I do agree with nick in the fact that it would be easier to clean up my bacteria problem with no substrate in the tank than to have to remove it all and start the process of healing the rays then sterilizing the substrate and putting it back in. But to me the extra work is worth it.
 
Anarobic baccteria will always grow in dead pockets. If you have substrate and dead pockets, that' just poor tank care - regardless of rays or fish or anything else aquatic.
Good water flow, regular hydrocleaning (siphoning) and turning over the substrate is an easy fix.
 
i did like the fine gravel ( i have had it T1 just cause you kept swearing by it) and it was ok then i did a larger river pebble and it was ok as well i stirred both of them everyday and never had a problem but in the end i always come back to a barebottom tank.... keeping things really simple has payed off for me a few times guess i cant see a need to change it
 
never had any problems as already stated

but if this was a problem then every planted tank would suffer

it maybe a problem if you have large rock or driftwood were it doesn't get cleaned or the gravel doesn't get turned over as often

bare bottom tanks just look soooo wrong to me watching your rays ice skate all over the place or them pumping the tank base for no purpose
 
yeh, i know its all personal preference, but bare bottom TO ME, looks crap.

Its more natural looking to see a ray wave over gravel n dig holes and make gravel piles n stuff.
Not saying whats right or wrong. But tahts what i prefer. Also gravel also acts a place for beneficial bacteria to grow also. so you cant say its all bad. You just need to maintain it.
 
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