Does Black Substrate make your cichlids look better?
- Thread starter PredatoryFishRocks
- Start date
I definitely think darker substrate brings out the best in colores, but sometimes it does make certain fish darken too much making them look stressed... although they might not be... I think customizing (mixing) is the best way to go...
Like the others have said, black is good for certain cichlids' colors but I've also found that for the most part it makes the fish too dark. Go natural.
I prefer dark background with light sand. looks a million times more natural and fish look better imo.
I have black estes medium broadcast (100lbs) and black eco-complete (~45lbs) mixed in my 90 gallon. I've gotten multiple comments from people 100% outside the hobby saying my tank looks like they stuck their head in a river and this is what they saw. So....I think dark/black substrates looking less natural is all in how you do the rest of the tank. The eco-complete being mixed in does help a lot though.
As far as fish coloration, when my jack dempsey was a juvie we had him over play sand & he showed barely any color at all. You could sort of see his metallic/iridescent scales, but they were faint. I was not really a fan of the coloration. After that we switched to a reddish brown & black mix. I couldn't really stand the substrate, but the fish all looked great (also keeping tiger barbs, polypterids & knives). Now I've got them over the black I just described and everything in the tank looks absolutely beautiful. My senegals have a nice dark coloration, the delhezi has a beautiful pattern with bold colors, the jack dempsey looks like what I think a JD is supposed to look like etc etc.
Here's some pictures for reference:
As far as fish coloration, when my jack dempsey was a juvie we had him over play sand & he showed barely any color at all. You could sort of see his metallic/iridescent scales, but they were faint. I was not really a fan of the coloration. After that we switched to a reddish brown & black mix. I couldn't really stand the substrate, but the fish all looked great (also keeping tiger barbs, polypterids & knives). Now I've got them over the black I just described and everything in the tank looks absolutely beautiful. My senegals have a nice dark coloration, the delhezi has a beautiful pattern with bold colors, the jack dempsey looks like what I think a JD is supposed to look like etc etc.
Here's some pictures for reference:
Ditto. All of my tanks have black backgrounds with natural gravel or sand. one day I would like to have a 3D background, but one that doesn't reduce too much space in the tank. I also agree that dark substrate can darken the colors of some cichlids. I think natural tones look much better.
I love the look of black sand and black backgrounds. It does make a lot of Cichlid's color pop, especially if they are red/orange in color.
It also looks great for planted tanks, making the plants really stick out. It also depends on lighting, I would do a T8 or T5, even if you aren't doing live plants. I have a T8 on my Blood Parrot tank, and their orange looks really nice in it.
It also looks great for planted tanks, making the plants really stick out. It also depends on lighting, I would do a T8 or T5, even if you aren't doing live plants. I have a T8 on my Blood Parrot tank, and their orange looks really nice in it.
