The Puffer Forum

Hello everyone

Can fish see their own reflections in the bare glass bottom of a tank?

i maintain 5 tanks and i siphon wastes from the bottom of the tank frequently. For very messy fish like the mbu and fahaka i siphon the waste off daily and i will just do some water change along the way too. for both of them, there used to be gravel and i didnt notice the waste as much. I tried bare bottom for the mbu and was surprised at the amount of waste it can produce. so i went bare bottom with their tanks and the mbu didnt seem to be affected at all.

the fahaka on the other hand started to attack the tank bottom and also was thrashing water about a lot. so i covered the tank bottom with a thin layer of substrate. and it stopped.

is there any advise ?

and what is the best way to keep it clean should i go back to using gravel for all the tanks again ? the gravel vacuum was not able to suck up things like empty snail shells, and in some instance some bigger pieces of poo. So i siphoned directly with the hose and ended up sucking a lot of the gravel up too. I do see the need to clear the waste almost daily.

LSZ wrote:Hello everyone

Can fish see their own reflections in the bare glass bottom of a tank?

YES they can.
PLS, NO BARE BOTTOM TANKS

+ gravel or sand is a home to beneficial bacteria

thanks for the reply and confirmation !

question of interest : is that the main benefit of gravel at the bottom ?

if we are approaching from the angle of water quality, it will be:
benefits of whatever bacteria in the gravel (anaerobic bacteria i presume) VS ability to clean the bottom free of any debris on a very frequent basis.

frankly to me the main benefit of gravel all along was to make the fish feel "at home" . my mbu didnt care if there is gravel, but fahaka is trying to knock his teeth out at the bottom of the tank , though all along i didnt know that fish can see themselves in bare tank bottoms.

1) Lots of beneficial bacteria coats the substrate.
2) They will have a sense that something is moving below them (really, just their reflection but they don't know that), which is very stressful.
3) Puffers will feel safer in a more natural environment.

thank you !

I say, switch to sand. It's much easier to just hover an inch or a bit more above the sand with just the hose of the gravel vac (Not the wide piece, just the hose itself) and get most of everything to come up. For shells and stuff try using a net. Also, make sure the bucket you're emptying your water into from your gravel vac is as far below the tank level as it can get, as this will mean a stronger suction and easier clean.

You can paint the bottom and give it a substrate look. Both sand and gravel are a PITA to maintain. Bare bottom tanks are becoming more common place. BTW beneficial bacteria are primarily in your filter not the substrate. My Fahaka is in a bare bottom painted tank and he's doing great.

They do not see their reflection--rather their own shadow, which appears to them as a predator from below. BB is not a natural habitat for any fish, especially a puffer. Like I said before, there is a lot of good beneficial bacteria in there. No biggie to clean, either. If you don't like maintenance, don't keep a fish tank.

I use "pool filter sand" from the hardware store in my tanks. It is (I believe) a silica or quartz-based sand and fine enough to allow the puffer to somewhat bury himself and poof around for food, yet not so fine as to get vacuumed all away during maintenance. As long as you are not using an undergravel filter, not a lot of waste gets trapped in it. I know that lots of folks use bare glass bottoms but that always seemed ugly to me. Just my opinion.

Careful with silicate sand, it can cause diatom problems.

Pufferpunk wrote:Careful with silicate sand, it can cause diatom problems.

Haven't experienced that issue but thanks for the note.

You sure your fahaka is fighting his reflection or having spasms from the lack of healthy bacteria and the stress due to its un natural environment. I dont know if i could sit in a room with nothing around me but the thought that someone is going to eat me from under me for too long annd be ok. Thats cruel fish are living creatures that need mental stimmulation as well as physical. If you dont like cleaning gravel find a different hobby. Its not a sadist box or a nazi box to keep something barely enough to call it life.

My fahaka loves to bury himself, I swear he thinks I can't see him lol. He digs a small pit at the front to rest his tummy in too. Can't imagine not having any substrate in any tank.

I use play san in my Fahaka tank. In my panaque tank i go for no substrate as i dont think it affects them (after lots of research online) as they poop for fun! my water quality is alot better since having no substrate in there!

You can buy mats for tanks to give a substrate feel, that would be better than nothing for any fish IMO. For example would be fine in a tetra or danio tank. The shadows on the bottom or purely the unnatural look could easily keep your fish on edge.