Do zen scapes keep fish happy?

[venymae]

So I see all these beautiful simplistic, clean lined tanks. A gorgeous rock a few plants lots of swim room, black luscious sand.... but are your fish happy in there? I was under the impression that without lots of hiding places most fish get stressed. Tell me, oh wise ones, how does this work for the fish?

 

[Caliban07]

So I see all these beautiful simplistic, clean lined tanks. A gorgeous rock a few plants lots of swim room, black luscious sand.... but are your fish happy in there? I was under the impression that without lots of hiding places most fish get stressed. Tell me, oh wise ones, how does this work for the fish?

I don't think this is the case. Some species do need lots of hiding spaces. Particularly cichlids but the more I am around my fish the more relaxed they are. My community tank never even gets startled with any fast movements or loud noises. Perhaps it would be more interesting if the fish had more things in the tank to interact with but I don't think stress is an issue.

My cichlid tank however is totally different. They only come out when they think no one is watching or there is food on the go. Hiding places are a must.

 

[Rivers2k]

I think it is more for the owner than the fish. Depends on the fish many fish require hiding spots other could care less if there are any hiding spots.

 

[freckles]

I enjoy changing the decor in my tank often. I have a 55 gallon tank. Not long ago I removed all but 3 medium sized (plastic) plants and had those placed equidistant from one another along the length of the tank. They were the only decor other than gravel. And my fish turned into complete brats! The blue ram would chase the cories if they came any closer than half the tank away from him, and every one of my turqouise rainbowfish became very nippy toward one another and would chase each other around the tank all day long.
So I put all of my plants back in and they immediately calmed down. My rasboras started swimming freely again, the ram stopped harassing the cories, and the turqs are perfectly peaceful.
So, my fish definitely hated the 'zen' setup!

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I need more plants, but they're expensive, and I don't have enough light to grow real ones.

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