Re: Bare vs Planted tanks (was Re: [RML] The End: P signifer male

Rhonda Wilson (rhonda at naturalaquariums.com)
Fri, 13 May 2005 20:34:16 -0700

Sorry I'm late chiming in here, but I have to say I much prefer planted
tanks too. I wouldn't want to live in a tank without plants and maybe
the fish don't care, who knows? Maybe I'm anthropomorphising here but I
think many would like a planted tank better. I don't think they have
enough brain power to be debating it in their head but I think they are
more comfortable in general, at least the fish I deal with. I also think
a planted tank is much nicer to look at.

Some of us may have the tanks in the back fishroom planted too. I put up
a few shots of my fish room a couple weeks ago.
http://naturalaquariums.com/aquariums/froom.html

Rhonda

Andrew Boyd wrote:

> Hi Tom,
>
> sorry to hear about you losing the signifer. It can be hard to lose a
> fish that you've grown to like a lot then put a lot of time into saving
> when it gets ill. If this happens often enough, you may decide that it
> is not worth keeping fish in tanks any more, as others have done
> before you.
>
> As to the bare vs planted thing - there are ethical arguments either
> way. If fish get bored and/or feel trapped, they are more likely to be
> relaxed in a planted tank, and stress reduction is disease reduction. On
> the other hand, if there are preventable medical conditions that can be
> eased by keeping them in a bare tank, it may be better to keep them in a
> bare tank. It is a hard call and one that each individual fish keeper
> must decide for themselves. A lot of guys (and gals!) that I have met
> have a display tank or two inside the house that is fully decked out
> with a variety of coordinated landscaped plant/substrate packages. Out
> the back they have a fishroom with a bunch of bare tanks for the fish,
> and similar special conditions for plants they are breeding. The bare
> tanks are easier to clean, and therefore water quality is easier to
> guarantee, and therefore the fish stay healthier longer. Aesthetically,
> I am pretty sure that most people would prefer to see their finny
> friends in planted tanks with natural looking backgrounds and the whole
> box and dice.
>
> Best regards, Andrew

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