# Bare Bottom tank !



## Shred Revolution (May 16, 2003)

I think I have come to the conclusion that I just dont like gravel. I like the look of a tank that has nothing on the bottom ( bare bottom ). Does anyone here have a bare bottom tank ? and if I was to switch my tank to a bare bottom would there be any problems in doing so ? thanks in advance for the replies.


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

Im not sure if Piranhas get the droopy eye effect as do Arrowanas. If you look from the top of the tank you can clearly see a reflection on the bottom, which in turn might attract your P.

I had a Rhom in a bare tank, no decors, gravle, plants.. nada!! He was more active than usual, but it was temporarily. I wouldnt advice bare tanks, due to the need of decors and gravel to help cycle, let bacteria, water perimeters to balance out. You 'll just see a load of crap on the bottom which is non attractive


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

I hear most of the crap gets sucked into the filter so theres never a need to do a gravel syphon


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## ezlife (Jan 25, 2003)

I agree with nitro and rhomzilla,

on my 125, i had half the tank with gravel and the other half bare (i ran out of gravel and had to have it 50/50 for a couple days), and the piranhas were spooked by it, they saw there reflection and tried to attack themselves or got scared by it, etc.

then again they are RBs and kind of skittish. I dont think it would do any harm to them, but its not "natural".

Make sure you have some good filters with biological filtration (like emp 400 bio wheels), etc. since you no longer have a gravel bed for bacteria to grow on.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Personally, I'm no fan of bare tanks at all: actually, I think it's pretty cruel keeping fish in tanks as such - in the wild, piranha's dont live in sterile, empty environments, so why should they in captivity?

Maybe a bare tank indeed makes your piranha more active/agressive, but that might by just a by-product of the stress/uneasiness which a bare most likely causes (no hiding places, looking at it's own reflections all day, no challenges/stimulae whatsover etc...) And what's more important: agression, or a healthy, content and stress-free fish???

I don't think the fish will benefit in any way from a bare tank, so all that remains is a tank that's very low maintenance (ie. it's for the owner's sake/comfort, not the fish itself), but looks horribly unattractive, imo.
To me, a fish looks best in a natural-looking environment, not in just a glass cage...


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

I would only do it as a temporary thing, like at a fish store.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

I have a different view towards bare tanks. I have many tanks and most of them are bare. The few tanks that I have which are decorated are for the sole purpose of it being a display tank.

If maintenance was kept simple, I would be more inclined to keep up with my water changes. To tell you the truth, I hate cleaning that display tank with the shoal of geryi. It always amazes me at the amount of poop that I pick up when I vacuum the gravel. Some may argue that it's only because the owner is lazy, but I am far from being lazy... I do my water changes religiously. My personal observations of my fish are that they are less skittish (notice I didn't use the word aggressive), show vibrant color, have a voracious appetite, and they truly are more active instead of just hiding.

I'm not a fish psychic, so I can't tell you if the fish would be more mentally stimulated if I put in a few pieces of driftwood and plants... but I KNOW for a fact that they are enjoying pristine water that ties in directly with their health and well-being. Most ray keepers that I know keep their tanks bare. Do you think it's because they are lazy? No... Are the rays stressed? No, because they are eating aggressively, thick, healthy and displaying the most vibrant colors you can imagine. It's all about the water. We keep the water and the water keeps the fish.

It's all a matter of personal preference though. To each their own... If you want, you can always add driftwood and plants anchored by rocks and rubberbands.


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## thoroughbred (Mar 14, 2003)

DonH said:


> I have a different view towards bare tanks. I have many tanks and most of them are bare. The few tanks that I have which are decorated are for the sole purpose of it being a display tank.
> 
> If maintenance was kept simple, I would be more inclined to keep up with my water changes. To tell you the truth, I hate cleaning that display tank with the shoal of geryi. It always amazes me at the amount of poop that I pick up when I vacuum the gravel. Some may argue that it's only because the owner is lazy, but I am far from being lazy... I do my water changes religiously. My personal observations of my fish are that they are less skittish (notice I didn't use the word aggressive), show vibrant color, have a voracious appetite, and they truly are more active instead of just hiding.
> 
> ...


 good point maybe il do it just to see


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## thomisdead (Mar 31, 2003)

I had my Red in his tank for a little while when I was trying to boil his gravel. I felt really bad for him. He was freaking out. Swimming back and forth as fast as he could, the whole time bashing his face off of the tank bottom. Even when I turned the light he didn't stop. I would advise against a bare bottom tank.


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## GARGOYLE (Feb 12, 2003)

never had a bare bottom p tank, but did have my 135 bare when my PBass and RTC were in there. I liked the way it looked, but my guys were huge and I was syphoning their crap every other day. I didnt mind the maintenance, it would only take 5 minutes each time. And to be honest, it turned out to be less maintenance than with gravel and plants. I wouldnt need to do massive water changes, since I was doing maybe 10-15% every other day. Just my opinion. As far as filters I had 2 ac 500's and a Fluval 404. Water parameters were top notch and my fish were healthy as can be.


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## Shred Revolution (May 16, 2003)

I converted my tank to a bare bottom. The P's seem to like it alot and are swimming around contently. They have been swimming around all day and I have the powerhead on to keep them entertained. When I first took out the gravel I noticed an interesting pheonomenon and that is that the P's would swim frantically back and forth as fast as they could, nose down chasing there reflection. This behaviour stopped after about 20 minutes and now they are acting normally. I like the look of a bare bottom tank much better. But I will probably switch back to gravel in 2 months when I will be moving my bedroom to the basement.


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## ezlife (Jan 25, 2003)

From the sounds of the replies, it sounds like it depends on the fish itself. Some like it some dont.

Try this:

1) move the gravel from one side of the tank to the other side of the tank. Dont take it all out because thats a lot of work if you have to put it back in, etc.

see which side of the tank they prefer, but give them a couple weeks to adjust. and do what they like.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

They chase their relfection is because 1. they are scared/spooked that another piranha is so close.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

o snap its eric said:


> They chase their relfection is because 1. they are scared/spooked that another piranha is so close.


 I can't remember my physics that well, but I don't think piranha can see their reflection through a bare bottom tank. The reason why we do is because we are looking through another pane of glass. Something to do with refraction... Just look down on a bare bottom tank, you don't see your reflections, you only see the bottom of the tank.

I believe the reason why they react that way is because of: 1) the light reflecting off the bottom of the tank; 2) they are searching for the bottom to seek refuge from a potential predator (us). If you have an open stand, I suggest you either paint the bottom or put a piece of plywood before you place the tank on the stand.


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