Substrate color- aesthetic only?

[jsherwin4545]

I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge about whether substrate color is purely an aesthetic choice? Or, can different substrate colors be better or worse than other for the fish health, behavior, etc.

I'm not interested in what your favorite color is to make your tank look the nicest. That's a personal preference. Is it true that a black substrate would make your fish more relaxed?

 

[ryansmith83]

If you keep discus on a dark substrate and/or dark tank background, their colors will darken (bars will show, pepper will show on pigeons, etc.). It's a chameleon-like trait and I've seen it in other cichlids as well. I've never found that different colors affect the behavior or health of the fish, though.

 

[Arthur]

I have no idea of whether or not fish will be more relaxed, you need a fish whisperer for that. But as stated before me, fish will generally try to blend into their environment. Darker colored substrate will generally make your fish either show more color or plainly just be darker, and light colored substrate will sometimes wash out fishes color. All of this really depends on the fish though, but I would say it's mostly preference.

The main debate is what size substrate, sand, fine gravel, pebbles, etc...

 

[yeroc1982]

I had my male GT in a tank with a lighter substrate and his color looked washed out, changed it to black and now his color is amazing!!

 

[peathenster]

I do think substrate color may be important in some cases.

I was telling a Apisto breeder friend about pool filter sand having a natural color. He looked me in the eye and asked "you think that's a natural color for them?" (Apistos). That's when I realized how dumb I was.

If you are really serious about it, find out what the natural "substrate" color is for your fish and go from there.

 

[Toby_H]

I think people often get caught up in focusing on the color of the substrate and overlook the bigger picture...

I use light tan pool filter sand... I also ensure I have the back of the tank fully covered with a background of some sort and ample decor. When practical I paint the sides of the tank also.

Doing this the bulk of my fish show their confident colors...

If you put a fish in a rather empty tank, with no background and dark substrate, it is very unlikely you will see the 'confident coloration'...

 

[Aquanero]

^good point, I never thought about it that way.