Mirrored Background?

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Kittiee Katt

Kittiee Katt

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Aug 1, 2015
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Hi all, we're in the process of fixing up a 170ltr tank and I have some questions about backgrounds.. But first, my plan:

I've recently moved most of my bettas tank mates to my spare tanks so Bruce (the betta) can have his tank to himself for his last days.

Once we get the 170ltr up and running I'm going to swap my little sister her 80ltr tank for Bruce's 120ltr tank, and put Bruce in the 80ltr one (which I plan to plant out). His ex-tankmates will be going into the 170ltr one, these consist of white cloud mountain minnows, an usd catfish (synodontis nigriventris sp?) and a calm (possibly stunted) cae.. I plan to get more usd cats, maybe 3-4 more, and plan to get more minnow's as well as maybe a small school of glowlight tetras depending on how quickly the nitrates rise with the usd cats, minnows and cae.. What I'm wondering is, since most of the fish I want for the 170ltr are schooling fish, would I be able to use a mirror on the back of my tank? I want the tank to look 'full' without being overstocked, but I'm not sure if having a mirror as a background would worry/annoy/scare my fish? Specifically the cae?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I was taught that "its better to ask a stupid question than make a stupid mistake".

Thanks in advance. :)
 
Like u said, better to ask then regret not knowing or what if. Personally I have thought of the same thing but my tank is a monster tank so bad idea for my setup. But as for you, I don't see why not? Give it a shot and what's the worst that can happen. If It don't work just remove it...I do know beta fish do get aggressive when they see their own reflection in a mirror and will fliar their gills and body. But Bruce is going in a different tank by himself correct. Other then that give it a shot. But let's see if anyone have any input on this. Good luck happy :) fish keeping
 
mirror backgrounds ad depth to the tank but the fish tend to be near the back of the tank more
 
Dee eng said:
Bruce is going in a different tank by himself correct.
Click to expand...
Correct. :)


Lepisosteus said:
mirror backgrounds ad depth to the tank but the fish tend to be near the back of the tank more
Click to expand...
Is this because they feel like they're in a "bigger school" when close to the mirror? Or is it for reasons unknown? :)

Thanks for the replies.
 
Only I fish I would worry about with a mirrored tank is your betta(he is in another tank tho), it can add quite a bit of stress but your schooling fish would be fine.
 
Coolies. Thanks for the replies peeps. Now I'm going to ring around some mirror shops and glass cutting places to see how much an 80cm x 40cm mirror will cost me, then to find out how much it will cost me to get a hole like this drilled in the mirror:1456807471562293823032.jpg so that we can hook the pipes up through the mirror as well... If that makes any sense?

Also, I was thinking about putting it on the outside of the tank, would there be any difference (from the fish's perspective) with it on the outside vs the inside? Would it even be possible to put it inside the tank? Sorry about my many questions.

Thanks heaps for all the help and suggestions. :)
 
^ outside maybe a better option, so a) you cant scratch it, and b) remove it if you dont like it...
 
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