Any of you feel this way ??

[SPLiSH]

I prefer natural beauty like driftwood etc. but I do have a little ceramic ship's steering wheel in my betta tank.

 

[Maroonostrich]

Gotta be natural for me! I'm now 100% converted to the beauty and benefits of live plants.. my tank has a sand base, with a feature piece of large bogwood along with a smaller piece, and an array of green plants along the back growing healthily.

It looks so beautiful even without the fish, and I love seeing new shoots on my plants. I'm sure the fish will love it too. It's most important that they are happy- I spend a lot of time in this room, so I will see them eventually even if they are hiding!

 

[Fiori]

I've only been keeping fish for about 9 months now but have , from the very start, always aimed for the natural look. My first small tank has sand, bogwood and live plants and the subsequent tanks have just become bigger and bigger versions. I did try black gravel at one time, but I'm going back to sand. I think the fish like the natural, slightly wild environment with all the nooks and crannys and I certainly have lots of fun exercising my creativity - its like underwater gardening.

 

[LifeBear]

I thought the bubbly stuff was cool when I was a kid, and my kids like it now. I never was much for bright gravel, no wait, I did like the turquoise-looking stuff my grandpa had. My daughter wanted pink for her first tank. I put my foot down. Luckily, I had some unused gravel at home so I just said, "No, we are using the rock-colored gravel I already have."

My only weakness in artificial decoration is the sunken ruin. I LOVE sunken ruins.

 

[dwarfgourami]

So there are really two questions here: the aesthetic and the needs of the fish.
I have certainly no problem with people doing what they want in aesthetic terms, the important thing is clearly that the fish should have their needs filled. If the two can be combined then all the better. But the fish's needs have to come first, which does not seem to be the case here.
It is possible to train your eye to enjoy the setting your fish requires, even if it wouldn't have been your own first choice. I felt quite disappointed when my corys started hiding behind the bogwood and almost wished I hadn't provided so many hiding places as I never seemed to see them. Now I've learnt to fit my viewing times to their active times, and it's actually part of the excitement to see them on their own terms. Keeping them on forced permanent view just wouldn't give me the same sort of insight in natural behaviour. This is what your friend needs to learn. It is about accepting fish as living creatures rather than as part of the decor; a framed picture stays nicely in place where you put it, a fish shouldn't have to.

 

[Synirr]

I think those really fake looking tanks are a great way to involve kids in the hobby. I'm sure most kids prefer a colourful tank over a natural one...

I personally am absolutely hooked on natural-looking tanks now. As soon as I switched from white gravel substrate to sand, I knew that was how I wanted all my tanks to look. Now the only ones with unnatural/colourful substrate and fake plants are my bettas, because most of their tanks aren't well-lit enough to support live plants. I guess it's a good thing I hate kids and never plan to have any, because there's no way I'd set up a blindingly florescent tank for them

 

[dwarfgourami]

"I guess it's a good thing I hate kids and never plan to have any, because there's no way I'd set up a blindingly florescent tank for them"

My daughter would murder me if I did. Wouldn't do a thing for her street cred.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Apart from the red and black gravel in my smaller 15g tank (oh and a daft treasure chest that bubbles come out of, except it usually ends up upside down and the bubbles come out the back. ) everything is natural. No flurescent anythings!
The larger I'm still setting up has caves I've built up with slate and bogwood and a silver sand substrate. Loads of live plants will be added over the weekend or next week (depending on when the new filter arrives).
So really the only thing I regret buying is the treasure chest. Although I will be getting an airstone or similar for the bigger tank it will be completely free of tackiness. My children have never wanted nor asked for bright neon ornaments (wouldn't get them if they did ask!). If anything they'd probably think I'm strange if I suggested it. My daughter is as much an animal lover as I and wouldn't dream of adding anything that would make it seem unnatural or that might upset the fish. I think if it looks natural children will learn their habits better and relate them to wild settings easier. But each to their own in the end. So long as the fish are happy and well cared for does it really matter?
As for your friend not supplying what the fish needs, he's either gonna have to rethink and give them what they need or they'll end up dieing.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Bloo]

The only "problem" I have with bright neon decorations, is that it does not mimic the fish's natural surroundings. So even though I prefer the natural look myself, I think my fish do too
I can't imagine my catfish being "happy" sitting on a glowing pink rock or gravel as they tend to try and "blend in" most of the time and I've noticed them change colour depending on the object they are on (just ever so slightly, not quite chameleon style!)

Other than that, I don't think the fish care much either way for ornaments and treasure chests and divers blowing bubbles or bubble curtains.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

The idea of the poor cats trying to match some bright pink thing. Bless.
I add bubbles simply because it helps airate and because I like bubbles.
Granted the filter is quite capable of keeping the tank well oxygenated but meh.
Hugs,
P.

 

[sylvia]

Though I preffer a 'natural' tank, unnatural ornaments and obviously fake plants have their place and they don't bug me that much as long as they stay in other peoples' tanks. I'd be more worried about the fish in that tank than about the decor.

 

[GSD]

i like more natural but when i first started i had a goldfish in a bowl with pink gravel and a no fishing sighn

 

[Teelie]

Depending on how the fake look is done it can be quite good looking. Of course like any sort of decorations, it's easy to get tacky or gaudy with the designs.

Most of my tanks are 100% natural looking though they have fake decorations but one does have a mini Pagoda (think Japanese shrine) in it that my RTBS has taken up residence in.

 

[qwikimpss]

Different strokes for different folks! As long as the decor has the qualities the fish need (i dunno about the lack of rocks in a chiclid *sp* tank) such as hiding places etc...the fish dont care.

 

[Panther]

While there are a few plastic ornaments made to look like things that you probably wouldn't normally see in my fishes' natural habitat, the only fluorescent objects in any of my tanks are the lights. Much of the "unnatural" decor in my tanks are hand-me-downs that I use just to give my fish someplace to hide without having to spend any money (I have a low budget!). For instance, a pack of kuhli Loaches has taken up residence in a plastic shelf (turkeytail) fungus, an Upside-Down Catfish haunts a sunken ship, and another Upside-Downer has claimed a small plastic stump. I do prefer a more natural look, though, and in some ways, it is cheaper. For instance, instead of buying neon pink (I can't STAND the color pink!) caves, I just make my own by using aquarium sealant to "glue" a bunch of natural river rocks together. The only thing I have to spend my money on is the sealant, it looks great, and the fish love it.

If I did have a tank with those blinding neon colors in it , the only fish I would probably ever put in it would be those Blind Cave Characins. Maybe it's just me, but I can't imagine any fish ever being partial to hot pink.