Planted or bare tank ?

[Dead Can Dance]

'Ello,

I see two types of tanks.

Planted & mostly bare with substrate.

What pros and cons are there to both types ?

I can see the bare tanks being easier to catch & watch shrimp but is there any less of a survival for shrimplets in a bare tank ? Are the bare tank shrimp more depressed as they have no plants to play in ? :dejection: ;)

[Squiggle]

I think it's entirely up to what you prefer, as long as you supply enough food & good WP then it's all aesthetics, you are right in that it's easier to catch the shrimp in a bare bottom tank & with plants they can hide & graze but I've seen both thrive. It all depends on what your doing with the shrimp, if you're breeding for specific traits & colour then bare bottom with some moss & a few caves will be better & if you're keeping them in a show tank then planted will be better, although you probably won't see most of them at any one time :encouragement:

[BlueBolts]

Some breeders of cherries use bare tanks for those reason's mentioned.... I haven't seen one personally with CRS/TB's ...etc. You can still put a driftwood, and tie some mosses on it to give it some landscaping ?

No doubt the substrates houses beneficial bacteria etc, so from a ecosystem point of view, it does help and create the environment.

I guess it depends where you're coming from...breeding vs hobby or both.....All my tanks are fully scaped with substrate/driftwood and mosses.

[zohn]

I prefer planted. More surface area for bacteria to grow and for shrimp to graze upon. Plants will also add a degree of filtration for your tank by absorbing nitrogen