how much difference does the shape of the tank matter to the fish???

[Magnum Man]

I was thinking about this, with my newest ( jar ) nano tank do you think a cylindrical tank, is easier for the fish to swim around in, than a square tank, of the same dimensions??? do you think there is a difference between a cylindrical tank, and a hex tank???

I remember my trip to Vegas a few years ago, and there were many large salt water cylindrical tanks, in the casinos, and a lot of the fish were glass surfing radially around the tank... thinking about it made me wonder if their lap would be as smooth with a rectangle or octagon???

 

[CassCats]

Cylinder tanks suck:

--Cylinder tanks don't regulate heat very well.

--All sides are open so fish have no sense of security.

--Narrow surface area which means less oxygen and less water circulation (also affects the temperature regulation mentioned above).

--Narrower space means less room for equipment like heater and sponge filter, hardscape, and plants, making less space for fish to actually swim.


People throw fish into them for vanity reasons, not ethical reasons. Plants, small snails, or shrimp are all that should really go into them.
A fish can swim forever in a circle in a puddle, doesn't mean it has proper space to truly thrive as a fish should.

 

[Magnum Man]

some of the cylinder tanks in Vegas were 500 to 1000 gallon or bigger tanks, and while I don't know how they are set up, I assume all the mechanical tasks are done below, or above the tanks... corners don't seem to be natural I wonder what fish think about them??? I'm not a fan of viewing through bow fronts or cylinders, and I'm not a fan of hexagon tanks, as there are less viewing panels, and I've never owned one...

 

[GaryE]

Tank size matters. Shape matters.

What shape matters depending on what fish you have. Cylinder tanks, if they are very large (a key) can be good for water column species that don't orient to the bottom. Not many aquarists have enough room for a working cyclinder tank, which should basically be the size of a kiddie pool, with higher sides. If I had freshwater rays and 20x20 room for them, yeah, I'd go for it.

A cheesewheel lying flat tank should be at least 3 feet across, and that becomes a really cumbersome shape.

To me, hex tanks are garbage - home decoration objects only. Large flowerpots.

I look for two things in a tank: surface area, and the maximum bottom area for territories. That puts me firmly in the rectangular camp. I have a six foot tank with a 23 inch height, and in its place, I'd much rather have two six foot tanks 12 inches high. We waste a lot of space with our tanks, partly because we seem to desperately want to overstock them with wrongheaded rules like the inch per gallon. More gallons is supposed to mean more fish, and that sells tanks.

 

[Magnum Man]

One of my favorite tanks I own, are my 45 gallon, talls, ( I actually have 3 of them, and one 65 gallon, that is the same height, & width, but is 18 inches thick ) at least as far as viewing, they are 24 inches tall, 36 inches wide, and normal tank thickness of 12 to 14 inches, but the fish I put in these, are water column fish, and I like to use hang on pots for terrestrial plants... here you can see an electric blue acara grazing the roots in a hang on pot... the silver dollar and angel, are a natural for this shape tank...

but I get that most breeder tanks are shorter, affording more bottom surface area per gallon...
I think @CassCats ... displayed their dislike of jars for tanks, but that really wasn't my question... often really big tanks, for salt water sharks, and such, use a cylinder shape, instead of a square or rectangle shape... assuming to avoid the corners

 

[plebian]

IMO it depends on the species occupying the aquarium. Most species swim horizontally in search of food. Therefore, horizontal space is more important than vertical space. Personally, I rank length over width and width over (vertical) depth as a general rule. It's also why I would never own an aquarium smaller than a 40 gallon long (with rare exceptions) and why I consider a 125 the minimum for most purposes.

 

[connorlindeman]

I recently saw this tank in an Adrians fishroom video.

 

[Magnum Man]

not much room for fish in in that one... looks more like a vase for the plants

 

[connorlindeman]

not much room for fish in in that one... looks more like a vase for the plants

I would estimate it to be around 8 gallons. At the most I would put a betta or just shrimp. It made make a good desk tank.

 

[connorlindeman]

I really like his videos.

 

[GaryE]

Calling that vase a tank is like calling a flowerpot a garden.

We can easily end up at cross purposes. If you are into plants, little narrow topped containers like that are great. But that is for the purpose of growing plants, and fish are secondary in that hobby.

If your primary interest is the fish, then 8 gallon jugs are cruel.

They're like comparing apples to oranges. @connorlindeman - in all the posts I've read from you, I've never detected any deep interest in fish. You do interesting stuff with aquascaping and plants (and cars), so you will look at containers differently.

 

[Magnum Man]

if you look at the plyers on the peg board behind on the picture... I'm not judging, but would say it's much smaller than 8 gallons, also looking at the plants in relation to the jug, makes the jug appear smaller than 8 gallons looks to me, closer to 2-3 gallons

 

[connorlindeman]

Calling that vase a tank is like calling a flowerpot a garden.

We can easily end up at cross purposes. If you are into plants, little narrow topped containers like that are great. But that is for the purpose of growing plants, and fish are secondary in that hobby.

If your primary interest is the fish, then 8 gallon jugs are cruel.

They're like comparing apples to oranges. @connorlindeman - in all the posts I've read from you, I've never detected any deep interest in fish. You do interesting stuff with aquascaping and plants (and cars), so you will look at containers differently.

I definitely have more of an interest in aquatic plants then fish. When I choose to have fish in a setup, the setup is always going to catered to the fish, not the plants.
I would never recommend someone put multiple fish in a tank that size.

 

[connorlindeman]

if you look at the plyers on the peg board behind on the picture... I'm not judging, but would say it's much smaller than 8 gallons, also looking at the plants in relation to the jug, makes the jug appear smaller than 8 gallons loolks to me, closer to 2-3 gallons

You may well be right. If thats the case, then of course its too small for fish.

 

[GaryE]

It's too small for fish, but it's undeniably beautiful.