Confused! Question on bare tanks

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ang

Ang

I should be a Hookworm
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2005
2,046
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38
San Diego
Ok, i've seen some awsome tanks on this site. Seems a lot of you with the monsters have them in bare tanks. No gravel, no plants, no nothing. Amazingly enough they still look cool.

I've been under the impression that for large territorial fish like cichlids, its best to have "stuff" in the tank to break it up so they can establish their own territories to cut back on fighting.

I have to admit it would be easier to do water changes without all the gravel and other crap i have in my tank.

You can see the fish i have in my sig. I dont know if they would do well without the stuff in my tank. I suppose i could keep the big stuff in there like the hollow log my JD goes in and the other "fake" driftwood i have.
And the Bichir would need something to hide in as well.


I guess i'm just fishing for opinions. What would you do with the decor, if you had my tank with my exact fish?
 
I keep most of my tanks bb, but they all have rocks and driftwood in them. You dont have to get rid of all the decor just because you have a bb. The point of it, is that its easier to keep clean, not that there cant be anything decor in the tank (unless you want no decor). $0.02 :)
 
I personally prefer gravel.. Just think it looks nicer and its not that hard to clean it...
 
bb with a few show pieces works well...all a matter of preference
 
I have a tank with several territorial fish that is almost bare bottom (it has some gravel, not much, but thats about to change).
I actually have LESS agression with it than I did a heavily decorated tank. I guess they just dont establish a territory that way.
 
I thought that gravel helped to establish bateria necessary for the tank. I guess with a BB tank you need more biologic supporting media in the filtering system. Personally i prefer the aquascaping and gravel isnt that hard to clean.
 
I believe a thin layer of sand would still get you the bb advantage as well as the natural-look aesthetics. Sand doesn't trap detritus as gravels do. Poo and leftover foods just sit on the sand most of the time and they don't give off any junk or cloud the water during water change.
 
with an absolutely bare tank, there would be less aggression because the more aggressive fish wouldn't have anyplace to set up it's own territory. I think bb tanks look lame, so I would never have one :D
 
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