Cactuspixie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I dont know. Many cichlids can't be kept with plants- it's not part of their natural habitat and they will endeavour to remove them.
I think most fish come from places where there 'is' a fairly regular influx of new water, whether it be tidal, flooding, or rain etc.
fish in the wild cope with all sorts of dangers and surprises, such as falling branches, predators, other animals etc. if your fish is scared of your hand, its probably actually a natural behaviour- some fish have simply evolved a much keen flight response.
When you look at the global ecosystem- the way a water molecule will make its way around this planet- it puts into perspective the tiny drop of water we keep our fishes in, and the need to keep that replenished.
I think the best ways to meet the needs of aquarium fish are either through very specific biotopes, or species only tanks.
For most of us, this is impractical, expensive, and, possibly more relevantly- undesirable.
I'm sure with an extensive education in chemistry, biology, ichthyology and the time, space and money to put them to good use your theory could be implemented, but, this forum is evidence that for us average fish lovers, that is never going to happen.
I do pwc twice a week because it keeps the water fresh, lets me siphon out the poop, interact with my fish, change up their environment a bit, and just generally have a good look at things.
I have a few fish that hide or dart away when I'm performing this routine (loaches, African cats, plecos for example) but once its done, they all, without exception, enjoy foraging around in the freshly churned up gravel and inspecting all the new nooks and crannies that result from shifting things around. Some fish (guppies, cories, goldfish) love the whole process- getting in the way of the siphon trying to catch debris that gets turned up, and swimming into the stream of freshwater as the tanks are refilling.
As for chemicals, most of the chemicals we use are to remove the chemicals that an industrial society puts in the water, or to replace the correct chemicals that have been removed from RO water (for example)
I actually enjoy the water change process (now that I have fine tuned it) and if that ever changed, I would rather scale down the number of fish or tanks I have than reduce the number of pwc I do.
A lot of people I know think that's nuts- that its too much work, but I think other hobbies are more work than they are worth.
Every tank is different, so there's no one right way of doing things, but if everyone is healthy and behaving naturally AND the water routinely tests well, then the aquarist has got it right for 'their' tank.
I think most fish come from places where there 'is' a fairly regular influx of new water, whether it be tidal, flooding, or rain etc.
fish in the wild cope with all sorts of dangers and surprises, such as falling branches, predators, other animals etc. if your fish is scared of your hand, its probably actually a natural behaviour- some fish have simply evolved a much keen flight response.
When you look at the global ecosystem- the way a water molecule will make its way around this planet- it puts into perspective the tiny drop of water we keep our fishes in, and the need to keep that replenished.
I think the best ways to meet the needs of aquarium fish are either through very specific biotopes, or species only tanks.
For most of us, this is impractical, expensive, and, possibly more relevantly- undesirable.
I'm sure with an extensive education in chemistry, biology, ichthyology and the time, space and money to put them to good use your theory could be implemented, but, this forum is evidence that for us average fish lovers, that is never going to happen.
I do pwc twice a week because it keeps the water fresh, lets me siphon out the poop, interact with my fish, change up their environment a bit, and just generally have a good look at things.
I have a few fish that hide or dart away when I'm performing this routine (loaches, African cats, plecos for example) but once its done, they all, without exception, enjoy foraging around in the freshly churned up gravel and inspecting all the new nooks and crannies that result from shifting things around. Some fish (guppies, cories, goldfish) love the whole process- getting in the way of the siphon trying to catch debris that gets turned up, and swimming into the stream of freshwater as the tanks are refilling.
As for chemicals, most of the chemicals we use are to remove the chemicals that an industrial society puts in the water, or to replace the correct chemicals that have been removed from RO water (for example)
I actually enjoy the water change process (now that I have fine tuned it) and if that ever changed, I would rather scale down the number of fish or tanks I have than reduce the number of pwc I do.
A lot of people I know think that's nuts- that its too much work, but I think other hobbies are more work than they are worth.
Every tank is different, so there's no one right way of doing things, but if everyone is healthy and behaving naturally AND the water routinely tests well, then the aquarist has got it right for 'their' tank.