Tank Bottoms

[Fisheyes]

As I watch my discus eat off the bottom It appears they are having a lot of trouble catching the food in there mouths.
Is this because they are bottom feeders and there is nothing to hold the feed still or is it because of the reflection they pick up off the bare bottom ??

What if a person sand blasted the inside bottom of his new tanks or used acid etch to give it a foggy look.
Your thought on this before I try it ? ???

[Ralph]

Some people paint the bottom of their tanks, either the inside or on the outside of the glass, either a light blue or a dark color. The problem with the blasting or etching is the damage to the silicone.
I don't have a BB tank so this isn't my expertise.

Ken

My first thought was the fish may have an eye sight problem...but that might be jumping the gun a bit.

As for sandblasting the bottom.....as Ralph already stated, you would need to be careful to avoid the silicone. In particular the feather edge of the bead.
I have one tank thats blasted on the bottom side of the glass...neat effect, similar to paint.

One problem I do forsee..is cleaning. The rough bottom would be more difficult to wipe clean.

As for painting...Ive never really fully understood why people paint thier tanks (outsides) to get rid of reflection...you still have a glossy surface inside the tank, and depending on the color chosen...it can make the reflection worse (mirror effect)

With all that said...Ive never experienced a feeding problem that was due to reflection. Maybe try to dim or block some of the light from the fixture for a day or two....see if that helps. It should change/eliminate any reflection problems.

Tony

[Rick_May]

does anyone have a silicon/sand bottom? IE glueing sand to the bottom of the tank with silicon.

[Ralph]

I was looking into it and someone told me that it is like having sandpaper on the tank bottom and the discus will scratch themselves up. Then I thought that a cover over the sand would protect the fish but I didn't come up with anything that still made the sand look like sand. Then I thought that attaching the sand to something soft, something that would give if the fish hit the bottom. No luck so far.

[Smokey]

Keep the bottom of the tank bare and orginal. Discus will eat the food, however do you have a strong current. My discus go for the food as it is suspended...first; off the top Second; and finally they will graze the bottom .
Sounds like me.. lol.hahahahahaha.

What size tank do you have. How old are the duscus.

Smokey