gravel verse no gravel on bottom of tank
- Thread starter danfong88
- Start date
endi
New Member
its personal choice... if you have barebottom then it looks more plain. if you have gravel it looks better/ more natural but can be more messy.
if you have gravel on the bottom then aro can't see its reflection.. some ppl say if aro can see its reflection on bottom it CAN lead to drop eye.
if you have gravel on the bottom then aro can't see its reflection.. some ppl say if aro can see its reflection on bottom it CAN lead to drop eye.
CHILLI RED
New Member
i find bare bottom tanks easy to clean and i have heard that some fish disease can live in gravel- such as ich etc.
T1KARMANN
New Member
bare bottom is no easyer to keep clean than a thin layer of gravel
like i said gravel has a massive surface area which is a good thing with a bare bottom this bacteria has no were to grow
i may find it stays clean as my rays are always turning the gravel over
it takes me 1hr to do a water change including a gravel clean remove water and fill thats not hard to clean for me
like i said gravel has a massive surface area which is a good thing with a bare bottom this bacteria has no were to grow
i may find it stays clean as my rays are always turning the gravel over
it takes me 1hr to do a water change including a gravel clean remove water and fill thats not hard to clean for me
h.l_nathan
New Member
i have sand bottom and I personally almost lost a pair of aro from removing gravel.
with my sand the phoenix cleans it all the time so not too much work to do durring water changes.
with my sand the phoenix cleans it all the time so not too much work to do durring water changes.
T1KARMANN
New Member
you just use a gravel cleaner when you do a water change it takes no longer to do this than no gravel clean
im a firm beliver that bare bottom tanks have something to do with drop eye the reflecton of the glass
no drop eye disagrements hear but i have had 10 x asian aros and not 1 has had drop eye
im a firm beliver that bare bottom tanks have something to do with drop eye the reflecton of the glass
no drop eye disagrements hear
but i have had 10 x asian aros and not 1 has had drop eyeI personally have a lot of respect for people who can groom a nice aro, with a planted tank. I mean, it already takes a lot of time and attention to groom an aro, I can't imagine myself take care of the CO2 and fertilizer and everything for the plants. Planted tanks definitly looks nice... Maybe a future project.
danfong88
New Member
Silica sand looks nice....maybe I will try this.
Actually even Aros in the wild, or in ponds, have DE sometimes. I would think that nutrition plays a role in DE development, but I also think that genetics play a big role in it. Imho, DE is the building of fat behing the eye muscles, making it heavier and drops.
I guess in a certain way, Aros are like humans, some people tend to get fat easier than others...
Cirrus
Arowana blogger
I can only tell you what every aro farmer told me. Asian aros never get DE in wild, only in tanks. I never saw any arows in poonds with DE. If they start to come down with it in your tank, take them out and put in fiber glass tub for next few months and it will go away. Wait too long and it becomes permanent. Farmers tend to think the aros get DE from reflection issue of glass.
I have seen shop owners in S'pore with high end aros that start developing DE. They cover the sides of the tank with black paper, leaving only a little horizontal slit through which to view the fish. I guess this is a substitute for pulling the fish out and putting it in a tub.
I missed seeing the DE operation in Indonesia by a few hours. Unfortunately my plane left just a few hours too early. Hendri Leong arranged one of the arofarmers (PT Arowana) to perform the operation on a fish at the Indo competition last March. I think there is some film kicking around, maybe I can get it on DVD to share.
Cirrus, let's start a new thread on this...
About no aros in the wild get DE, I would like to believe it. But how are they going to prove it, I mean, are there enough aros left in the wild so we can study this case.
I have heard many times also that putting the aro in a pond helps the DE syndrome. But I am pretty sure I can find you pictures of Aros, coming from a pond, with DE problem. So is putting the aro in a reflection free environment helping the aro, or is restricting the food intake and increasing activity level of the aro helping the DE...
So to resume everything, I think Humans caused DE. I mean, look at the food we mainly feed our fish. Shrimps are full of fat, plus swimming in a restricted place doesn't help the cardio.
h.l_nathan
New Member
Kenta I think your tank needs major cleanup. It just looks too uncomfortable for you fishes.
Cirrus
Arowana blogger
On the subject of bacteria in gravel, there are two kinds: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic bacteria uses oxygen and helps process the nitrogen cycle. It is the "good" bacteria that lives in the gravel (same kind of bacteria that lives in filter media). Anaerobic bacteria is the "bad" kind; it does not need oxygen to live and typically is found at the bottom or deep part of the gravel in a tank. It produces various toxins as part of its life cycle. You know you have anaerobic bacteria if, when you stir your gravel you get bubbles of "air" (actually a poisonous gas) coming up. Too much buildup of anaerobic bacteria and you will get buildup of amonia and other bad stuff.
In the past I have had no problem using gravel with aros (gravel was 4 inches deep or so), but I was always careful to stir up the gravel as part of my weekly water changes. Even then I was surprised to see those bubbles produced by the anaerobic bacteria.
In the past I have had no problem using gravel with aros (gravel was 4 inches deep or so), but I was always careful to stir up the gravel as part of my weekly water changes. Even then I was surprised to see those bubbles produced by the anaerobic bacteria.