bare bottom

[fishingaddict]

so i have a 210 with a couple dats, pbass, and a payara. all thats in the tank is a big piece of driftwood, no substrate. the fish seem really shy. ive had the dats and pbass for a few months now. they eat well, but seem really shy. when the fish were in a 55 they were real active swam up when i came to feed. now that they are in the 210, they shy away.

are they shy due to the tank being larger or because of the lack of substrate? i like the look of bare bottom and its easy to clean, but ill add substrate if it means my fish not being so shy.

thanks

 

[Alistriwen]

Could be. A lot of fish seem uncomfortable in bare tanks but they do usually get used to it. A possible simple solution may be to tape something to the bottom of the tank so they can't see through the bottom.

 

[ShadowBass]

I have never had such a reaction from my fish when going from substrate to barebottom, whether the bottom was painted or not, though I do like a solid colored bottom just in case.

I think the bigger deal may be that all you have is that one piece of driftwood so there's not really much for them to go behind to make them feel safe.

I also think the move from such a small tank to such a large tank probably does have a lot to do with it. Some fish do become shy when moved to a significantly larger tank.

 

[fishingaddict]

it also might have to do with them being young i guess.. all the fish are in the 4-6 inch range. when i had bigger fish in there.. there were no problems.

 

[ziggy2]

I would give them a couple more places to hide and swim around. That might help them out.