Unpopular Opinions (fish related)

[Alice B]

I did a 60s neon tank for an elementary school for a couple of years, then the new principle wanted it all natural looking plants so I had switch it out. I can't find a picture, gravel was a neutral brown tans and muted white, but the tank came out very nice. I'm just lazy at home. I spent years decorating tanks for businesses and with no one to tend live plants, about all the live I ever put in were anubias and Java fern. Easy stuff, because those tanks were serviced monthly. Couldn't have anything going crazy. However at home, I decorate the tank once or twice a year if I have time and I don't worry about it as long as the fish are healthy and not fighting. I am very understocked here right now, anticipating a redo on the living room flooring in the fall means all the fish are going to have to do a migration to the old separate air supply fish room, so I might as well not stock or dress up too much. I'll pull the fish, shut down aeration, put the fish in a 55 in the fish room, now that the foundation will support a tank, cover the living room tanks, and move everyone back out after the floor is cured. I guess I decorate my house more than my fish tanks. Fortunately most of my fish get along. The ram tanks are 10s, I can set up a small iron stand for them and just move them

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I don't like bright-colored, fake plants and clown puke gravel. I just don't like them. I think they look terrible. But hey, let freedom ring! If that's your cup of tea I don't have a problem with that...except:

Fish see in color, and most researchers seem to think their color perception is comparable to ours. That means they are actually seeing not just the shape of those plants, but their colors. Maybe they can get used to them eventually, but I do have to suspect that, for an animal with color vision, being surrounded by play-do colors is probably not at all comfortable. So I would urge someone using artificial plants to use natural-colored ones, or at least dark-colored.

That's just my common sense; I don't have any scientific papers to back that up. Maybe blaze orange and fluorescent chartreuse plants don't bother them at all. It just makes sense to me that more natural colors are going to feel more natural and thus more comfortable for the fish.

 

[jaylach]

I don't like bright-colored, fake plants and clown puke gravel. I just don't like them. I think they look terrible. But hey, let freedom ring! If that's your cup of tea I don't have a problem with that...except:

Fish see in color, and most researchers seem to think their color perception is comparable to ours. That means they are actually seeing not just the shape of those plants, but their colors. Maybe they can get used to them eventually, but I do have to suspect that, for an animal with color vision, being surrounded by play-do colors is probably not at all comfortable. So I would urge someone using artificial plants to use natural-colored ones, or at least dark-colored.

That's just my common sense; I don't have any scientific papers to back that up. Maybe blaze orange and fluorescent chartreuse plants don't bother them at all. It just makes sense to me that more natural colors are going to feel more natural and thus more comfortable for the fish.

Unfortunately my substrate has colors which I really don't like but, since most is covered in plants, it isn't worth the trouble to change it out.

I just did a bit of researched as to fish eyes. A while back I did a similar search and there were some surprises. Different fish see different colors and number of colors. Some even see in the ultra violet spectrum. Others, such as deep ocean fish, only see blue and green which allows them to see bio luminescence.

OK, it isn't a fish but the Mantis Shrimp sees more colors than any other known animal having 12 color receptors. Amazing looking beasties but don't try to keep in a glass tank as they are known to break aquarium glass. The appendages that sort of look like fore legs are their hunting weapons and put out 200 pounds of pressure to shock/kill prey or break aquarium glass.

https://www.livescience.com/42797mantis-shrimp-sees-color.html

 

[Alice B]

Owner's choice on decor. However, if you are making a living decorating tanks, or ponds, etc, there will be times when the customer's choice is not to your taste. I did this. I still do ponds. I do not always agree, I always base my suggestions on the health of the fish and if it's something too stupid, I drop the account. My unpopular opinion is to each their own, but I'm not really interested in anyone else's opinion of what my personal tanks look like, so no more contests for me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use good quality artificial (most silk) in my tanks. I can’t keep a plant alive for anything. My fish are fine and haven’t complained about the decor, so we’re good.

 

[jaylach]

I use good quality artificial (most silk) in my tanks. I can’t keep a plant alive for anything. My fish are fine and haven’t complained about the decor, so we’re good.

If using artificial silk is probably best as they are less likely to have sharp edges and look more natural in most cases.

When you say that you can't keep pl;ants alive are these aquatic plants or ground plants? The reason I ask is that I have a totally black thumb in relation to land plants yet my aquatic plants totally thrive. Shoot, I even managed to kill a 'luck bamboo' which is considered really hard to do. Yet I just trimmed the plants in my tank and threw away enough green to make a salad for three. Hmmm, have to research as to if some of my plants are human edible. Green is green and, if safe and tastes good, I would have no issue with making a salad from trimmings.

If you ever want to try live plants in your tank just start a thread asking for how. If I can succeed with having live plants in my tank anyone can.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I use good quality artificial (most silk) in my tanks. I can’t keep a plant alive for anything. My fish are fine and haven’t complained about the decor, so we’re good.

Mine are silicone......very very soft to the touch in warm water and no harder "stems". The only live plants that I seem unable to kill are the bulbs which are doing their kelp forest impersonation in and around the silicone plants.

I did try Anubias....BIG mistake. Never ever again.

 

[jaylach]

Mine are silicone......very very soft to the touch in warm water and no harder "stems". The only live plants that I seem unable to kill are the bulbs which are doing their kelp forest impersonation in and around the silicone plants.

I did try Anubias....BIG mistake. Never ever again.

Hard to not be able to do Anubias. When you tried did you plant in the substrate? If so that was probably the problem as they need to be tied or glued to rocks or wood above the substrate. Such plants as Anubias have a rhizome just above the root cluster. If the rhizome is below the surface of the substrate it will usually rot killing the plant.

Just as with fish one needs to research the needs of a plant. One would not wisely mix South American and African cichlids as Africans tend to want hard water while South Americans want soft water. The same can be very true with plants.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Hard to not be able to do Anubias. When you tried did you plant in the substrate? If so that was probably the problem as they need to be tied or glued to rocks or wood above the substrate. Such plants as Anubias have a rhizome just above the root cluster. If the rhizome is below the surface of the substrate it will usually rot killing the plant.

Just as with fish one needs to research the needs of a plant. One would not wisely mix South American and African cichlids as Africans tend to want hard water while South Americans want soft water. The same can be very true with plants.

Take a look at my "Bitten the Bullet with Plants" thread in the planted section and all will be revealed.....and why I had to throw them away.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

My anubias always seems to get covered with algae.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

My anubias always seems to get covered with algae.

Mine got a bad case of tiny brown worms that delaminated the leaves and caused the fish to become very stressed out and sluggish. So they all went in the bin....and were attached to rocks, which also went into the bin.

 

[Ichthys]

One would not wisely mix South American and African cichlids as Africans tend to want hard water while South Americans want soft water. The same can be very true with plants.

To be fair only the Rift Lake cichlids need hard water. Nearly all African fish outside of those lakes want soft water. Just to be pedantic.

 

[GaryE]

To be fair only the Rift Lake cichlids need hard water. Nearly all African fish outside of those lakes want soft water. Just to be pedantic.

Since my favourite Cichlids are African from rivers and lakes not in the Rift Valley, I don't see that as pedantic. It's myth-busting!

 

[Alice B]

Mine are silicone......very very soft to the touch in warm water and no harder "stems". The only live plants that I seem unable to kill are the bulbs which are doing their kelp forest impersonation in and around the silicone plants.

I did try Anubias....BIG mistake. Never ever again.

I got some silicone fake anemones last year and they kept getting gooey white stuff on them I scraped off a couple of times then tossed them. How do you clean?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I got some silicone fake anemones last year and they kept getting gooey white stuff on them I scraped off a couple of times then tossed them. How do you clean?

Never had any issues with the ones I get....Oase and Superfish manufacture the ones I use and they never lose their colouring or produce any nasties or algae etc