Advantages and Disadvantages of Bare Bottom Aquarium

Most of us are aware of the two major types of aquariums - Bare Bottom and Planted/Decorated. Some fishes prefer one over the other, while a few are ok with both.

It’s pretty obvious that a planted aquarium looks more fetching than a bare-bottom aquarium. Though bare bottom fish tanks are much easier to clean and maintain.

But devil is in the details. In this article, we are going to look into the minute aspects of this topic and list down the pros and cons of both types of aquariums.

Table of Contents

• What are Bare Bottom and Planted Aquarium?
• Advantages of Bare Bottom Aquariums over Planted Aquariums
• Advantages of Planted Aquariums over Bare Bottom Aquariums
• Tips for maintenance of bare bottom fish tanks
• Fishes that we can keep in a Bare Bottom Aquarium

What are Bare Bottom and Planted Aquarium?

Bare bottom tanks are just simple, plain glass tanks. You may find attached filter or heater, but they will not have much decorations, sand, gravels, etc. So, there bottom is just glass – hence the name ‘bare bottom’.

The following pictures of bare bottom and planted aquariums will make it absolutely clear to you.

Bare bottom aquarium:

Planted aquarium:

Advantages of Bare Bottom Aquariums over Planted Aquariums

• Though a bare bottom tank looks less appealing than a planted tank, but here you get an unobstructed view of the fishes. So, they are a natural choice for display tanks and even quarantine tanks.
• You can add medicines to the tank, without having to worry about the ill-effects of these on the substrates (Planted tanks generally have substrates).
• You can easily recognize that the tank is getting dirty, as the fish waste and uneaten food will clearly be visible to you. It also makes the cleaning process so much easier and less time consuming. Simple siphon hose will be enough to clean the tank. There’s no need to use gravel vacuum (As of course there’s no gravel at the bottom).
• There’s better waterflow throughout the tank.
• Bare bottom fish tanks are often used by fish breeders, as it’s easier to clean these tanks.

Advantages of Planted Aquariums over Bare Bottom Aquariums

• The various features in a planted aquarium (such as gravels, sand, etc.) offer a lot of surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow. Such bacteria convert the ammonia from fish waste and rotten food into less harmful nitrate (nitrogen cycle). Too much ammonia in the water is harmful to the fishes. In bare bottom tanks, the only place the bacteria may grow is near and in the filter. With no support from cleansing bacteria, you will have to make sure that the water is kept free of toxins – it means your regular maintenance duties (changing water and cleaning the tank) become much more essential. If the small colony of bacteria near your filter dies, your fishes won’t survive for much longer either.
• Planted Aquariums have a more natural and aesthetic appeal.

Tips for maintenance of bare bottom fish tanks

So, now you know the negatives and challenges of keeping bare bottom tanks. But is there a way around these issues?

Let’s share some tips when it comes to bare bottom tanks.

• To ensure growth of good bacteria, provide some extra places for them to grow (apart from the regular mechanical filter). For this purpose, you may place some sponge filters in your tank. Or, you may do some basic decorations and place some toys.
• Ensure regular maintenance work – regular clean-up of the tank, water change, etc.
• Some fishes need plants and other structures in the fish tank. Kindly do not keep such fishes in a bare bottom tank. Do some background research of your fish species, their native grounds, etc. It will provide you a fair idea. Ideally, we should try to match the ambience of our aquarium with that of the natural, native breeding grounds of our fishes.
• Some fishes need hiding places to hide from the bigger, more aggressive fishes in the aquarium. In absence of which they may get killed, or die due to regular stress.

Now, last but not the least. What fish species can we keep in a bare bottom aquarium?

Fishes that we can keep in a Bare Bottom Aquarium

Here’s a small list of the fishes that can thrive in a bare bottom fish tank.

• Gold fish
• Disqus
• Bettas
• Minnows

Winding Up

So, now you have a fair idea of the benefits and negatives of both of these types of fish tanks. However, keep in mind that it is your fish that has to live in that fish tank, not you. So, do some research on the kind of aquariums preferred by the fishes you keep and choose accordingly.