dazzler

hi guys do we need to have a certain amount of hiding places for a certain amount of fish. say 1 hiding place for every 3 fish? Is there a rule of thumb guide for this too? sorry silly question but one that could change my aquascape dramatically!!!

kerryve

Well it all depends on the fish you want to have, some fish like loaches prefer more hiding spaces where as something like an oscar doesnt really need one. but in the whole little fish like hiding spots. how big is your tank?

Kerry

dazzler

its 86 us gallons i heard starting big is a little easier. but only got about 8 med fake plants was wondering if that was gonna be enough

kerryve

It is much easier to maintain a bigger tank, what fish do you want? cos oscars wiil eat all your live plants so fake ones will be better bearing in mind they will uproot anything. bit if youre wanting acommunity tank that should be fine,

dazzler

community tank is the way foward!! for me little active hectic fish seem fun. i have a huge filter with a in the hood as back up.

Tom

First off, there is no such thing as a silly question, the only silly question is that that is not asked. Anyways, do you want an agreesive/territorial tank (cichlids), semi-agressive tank (barbs), or a non-agressive tank (livebearers)? And do you want an active tank or a somewhat of an active tank? You could put in fish that are all from the same family (ex. barbs, gouramis, tetras, etc) or you could mix and match different species from different families. Hope this has helped.
Tom

dazzler

cheers tom,i have concerns a plenty. i am not having many plants they will be plastic at that. about 12 small to medium ones but at least a dozens hiding holes for the fish.does this also impact fish behaivour too!

atmmachine816

If you want active community tank you don't need many hiding holes at all, only if you have a catfish which I would suggest. May I suggest you just make your tank into just one topic to make it easier on us, thanks.

cheers

atm