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Bare Bottom tank for Juliedochromis

Cleanwater

Members
In the interest of keeping cleanest water quality possible I really prefer bare bottom tanks with minimal objects in the tank. However I've been reading that Juliedochromis need hiding places and like a sand substrate. How important is the sand substrate?

I figure I can use PVC and inverted terra cotta pots for hiding places. Can I get by without the sand?
 

Cleanwater

Members
My water constantly changes with a drip system... I'll still do large water changes manually of course. The water can never be too clean.
 

lizardboy

CCA Members
A thin layer of sand can make the fish feel more secure, and with your water change system, it should be fine. If it's just for breeding purposes, though, there are plenty of people who do that with a bb tank.
 

thedavidzoo

Members
I don't like bare bottom tanks, except maybe for tiny fry in the beginning.
Fish have a substrate in the wild, and would "appreciate" some sand and/or rocks/plants depending on the kind. They feel more secure and can act more natural (and breed) if their tank resembles the conditions that they evolved for in the wild. Julis need rocks, sandsifters need sand, shell-dwellers need shells or such, etc.
If you are really changing your water that much, I don't think a little substrate or decor is going to be detrimental.
 

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I've personally not tried to breed fish in bare bottom tanks, as I try to keep fish in a natural-ish type of setting, but that is just my personal preference. The only fish I keep in bare bottom tanks are grow out fry and quarantine tanks. I've actually found that fish don't act "normal" in bare tanks, usually hiding most of the time and rarely swimming around except during feeding time.

Like Esther said, with the amount of water you are changing, I wouldn't think that a thin layer of sand would be detrimental to your tank.
 

rpitonyak

Members
I use substrate in all of my breeding tanks. All tanks are sponge filtered and I do (2) 50% water changes every week. The substrate conditions the water for the fish and helps them to feel more secure. I use coral for hiding places. The only bare bottom tanks I have are for quarantine. Even in those I put a piece of small coral for a hiding spot.
 

zendog

Active Member
Hi,

It depends what you mean by get by. Will they survive and do well, yes I expect they'll be fine, although some fish seem to prefer to have the outside bottom of the glass painted so they feel they're actually at the bottom of the water. I think the Transcriptus, spending most of their time near the bottom, might be more comfortable with that, but I'll let others weigh in if they've kept them on a bare bottom. But overall, I don't see why you couldn't keep them with a bare bottom.

But personally I would add a thin layer of substrate just for looks. I've kept them over sand or crushed coral and I think their color looks better with that for contrast. They might look particularly nice over black sand actually. In general, I have found the Tangs I've kept (Trascriptus, Calvus, Eretmodus, Xenotilapia and Cylindricus) have always done fine with a single weekly water change, even with somewhat heavy feeding, so unless you're adding a ton of fish or mixing in other species, I think the bare bottom tank for these is unnecessary. Just my thoughts.
 

Pat Kelly

CCA Member
Staff member
Most of my tanks are bare bottom. I do paint the outside of the glass. Other wise it seems to throw them off.
 
Juli do not need substrate to do well or breed, but they are cave dwellers and need caves to breed. They will not lay eggs in the open. A few flower pots with small opening will work, and a pile of rock with caves within caves will be the best. Nothing wrong to keep fish in bare bottom, and it is a common practice in wholesellers, fish farms, Discus, arrowana and goldfish keepers, and Asian fish keeping in general. If you choose to have bare bottom, tape a dark background underneath to eliminate reflection.
 

cabinetmkr39

DavidG / CCA Member
I have a friend who breeds hundreds of Julies in bare bottom painted black tanks, uses clay pots for caves and they do fine. I'm not a fan of bare bottom tanks I use PF sand in 95% of my tanks.
 

Cleanwater

Members
Well I think I'll paint the bottom and start out bare and see how it goes. If it proves problematic I can always add small bit of substrate.
 

zendog

Active Member
I've looked for a while as well and haven't seen any - all just F2 or tank raised. If you do see any, let me know and maybe we can split shipping.
 
Most commercial breeders use bare bottom tanks. We used to use bare bottoms doing Julies on the farm I worked on as well.

Take a flower pot and a piece of terracotta tile that is just big enough that the corners of the tile will extend beyond the rim of the flower pot. Invert the flower pot and put the tile underneath so that there are some gaps where the julies can get into from underneath (plus the hole in the flowerpot on top). They will be quite happy with a hiding spot like that and breed readily.

Andy
 

Cleanwater

Members
I ended up buying some inexpensive Ornatus from the LFS. Just decided I wasn't really ready to make a major investment right now.
 

Cleanwater

Members
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