More swimming or more hiding space?

[Ella_e]

So after putting on my super long gloves, I decided to put in a new rock and do some re-arranging.
In a saltwater tank, is more preferable that the fish have more free, open space to swim, or better that there are lots of hiding places, tunnels, etc.
Or is this a matter of preference?

 

[chbix]

I think it's a matter of what your fish are as what thy prefer

 

[Schism]

So after putting on my super long gloves, I decided to put in a new rock and do some re-arranging.
In a saltwater tank, is more preferable that the fish have more free, open space to swim, or better that there are lots of hiding places, tunnels, etc.
Or is this a matter of preference?

Depends on what fish. Smaller and vulnerable fish need lots of hiding spots. Your bigger fish such as tangs will prefer lots of room with lots of available grazing area. Its best to try and balance the tank out to give it a bit of both.

 

[Mr. D]

I found with any fish even freshwater (discus) the more hiding spots the more often they come out... Sounds backwards but that's just my opinion

 

[Ella_e]

Well all of my fish are small (2 inches or smaller) and I would give them away once they reach 3". So it would be better to have more hiding spots and, to me, it is more visually interesting.
I will try this out and see how it goes, especially since I plan on adding a tiny regal blue tang (soon).
Also I am hoping more hiding spots will reduce the aggression between the two clowns.

 

[woody390]

Why would you give them away when they get to 3 inches? Fish grow fast in decent conditions. What fish do you have and what tank size?

 

[tonysearsjr]

Just a thought to add but wow catching a fish in a tank that full of rock is a task. Why catch them and rid of them at three inches ?

 

[Ella_e]

I do not like big fish. I like it when they remain small and they seem so novel. Also it would be cruel to keep them in cramped conditions. I have 3 clowns, yellow cory (?) wrasse, yellow tang, and engineer goby.
2 days ago I took all the rocks out, and it was not too bad. It would be possible to catch them!

 

[Ella_e]

Yellow coris*

 

[woody390]

What size is the tank the tang would need a lot of swimming room so would concentrate on that depending on tank size

 

[Mr. Crabs]

Few months ago, I got this wild hair to do something drastic. So I took a lot of my live rock out and put it in my sump. I wanted to see more of my fish and figured open water might force them out.

Not good. Not good at all. It had the exact opposite effect that I was hoping for. The fish coward in corners and were extremely skiddish. When I approached the tank they collectively went nuts. I left it this way for about 4 days to see if they'd get used to it. Not so. I put the live rock back in the display tank and all of the anxious behavior ended. Point of my story is that piles of live rock give the fish the security they need to hang out in the open so that you can see them. I think defined territories are important in that each fish should have a spot that it can call home. Secure fish are happy fish IMHO.

 

[Ella_e]

My tank is a 55. The fish still have the whole length of the tank to swim. The tang is about two inches and he spends most his time behind the rocks, swimming through them, and only swims in the open when he grazes on his leaf. The funny thing is, all the fish prefer only one side of the tank. And I tried re-arranging the tank several times, (same flow on each side of the tank), but they still all stay on one side.

 

[ezy33]

I have the same thing. My tank is a 180 gallon with two equal plies of rock and most of my fish spend 90% of their time on the left hand side. Only Blennys, Wrasses, Gobies and Inverts seam to like the right hand side. When it was FW the fish had no preference. The only real difference is my lighting ballast are two feet above the right hand side. If anyone has any ideas please let us know.

 

[Ella_e]

Haha My fish like the left side as well. Only the engineer goby stays on the right side. Lights, flow, everything is the same. The rocks used to be equal as well, and they would rarely venture to the right side.. So now there are less rocks there and more open space for swimming - They still avoid it like its the plague.

I also noticed that all the fish stay in the lower 50% of the tank. The top of the tank is rarely visited unless there is some food floating up there. Is that odd?

Today the tang seems to be out more in the open. (She still swims through the tunnels and rocks, but she is swimming in the open space a bit more). It is odd she spends so much time in the rocks, since she is THE only fish not bothered by the mean clown.

 

[Mr. Crabs]

That's so wierd. My tank is 6 feet. I recently added LED's. The tank is much brighter now. Closer to natural sunlight. One thing I have noticed is that the fish use all levels. They never spent much time middle to the top. Now they do and the only thing different is that the tank is evenly lit. No dark spots anywhere. Thought I'd mention.