substrate or no substrate

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baracuda

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 2, 2005
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So im about to get a silver arowana and i was wondering whether or not to have substrate in the aqaurium. The guy at the lfs said that water quality is better when there is no substrate. He also said the downside is that if the fish stares at its reflection, it will get drop eye. If this is true, does drop eye affect the fish's health? I'm planning on putting it in a 30 gallon by itself with no substrate until i can move it to a 150 gallon in about six months. There is a 10 inch one and a 6 inch one but i dont know which one to get. Can i keep it in a 30g for a while?
 
baracuda said:
So im about to get a silver arowana and i was wondering whether or not to have substrate in the aqaurium. The guy at the lfs said that water quality is better when there is no substrate. He also said the downside is that if the fish stares at its reflection, it will get drop eye. If this is true, does drop eye affect the fish's health? I'm planning on putting it in a 30 gallon by itself with no substrate until i can move it to a 150 gallon in about six months. There is a 10 inch one and a 6 inch one but i dont know which one to get. Can i keep it in a 30g for a while?
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water quality would be better maintained without any substrate, personally i would go without any substrate :) but thats just me :D.
there is no reflection on the bottom of the tank, thats all :bs: unless you have a mirror as a bottom panel :grinno: . it just looks like a reflection because of how you see through the front glass/acrylic panel :grinyes:

now try this, look into the tank from the top of the tank, you see? you wont see a relection at all. you will just see the wood stand or whatever the tank is on.

this rules out the ol refection theory :thumbsup:

the sad thing is that almost ALL silver end up with drop eye in at least one eye.

genetics are most likely the culprit.

30 GALLONS WILL NOT LAST 6 MONTHS!!! :)

and 150 wont do either :D

best save for a 300 gal :naughty:
 
Whether the tank has reflection or not. The silver is going to get droop eye anyway :(

Its just how they all are...

I would go with a very light layer of sand. Just looks better IMO.
 
sand is nice to have makes the aro feel at home but its just preference, mine has no substrate, just a bare tank, 30 gals won't last you too long, better upgrade soon
 
same here. my aro tank has also no substrate on it while a 30gals tank for a silver is not a good idea. better to have the biggest tank you can acquire rather than upgrade tank every few months.
 
baracuda said:
So im about to get a silver arowana and i was wondering whether or not to have substrate in the aqaurium. The guy at the lfs said that water quality is better when there is no substrate. He also said the downside is that if the fish stares at its reflection, it will get drop eye. If this is true, does drop eye affect the fish's health? I'm planning on putting it in a 30 gallon by itself with no substrate until i can move it to a 150 gallon in about six months. There is a 10 inch one and a 6 inch one but i dont know which one to get. Can i keep it in a 30g for a while?
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the thirty is too small. they grow very fast. also the 150 is too small for its fullgrown size. and if you want a undergravel filter you need substrate
 
Droop eye can be caused by a fatty diet of gold fish, least i have heard this is a contributer to the problem. Substrate is a preference thing. Personally can't stand having no substrate looks so in complete.
 
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