Loaches Online Forum

Hello, i am currently setting up new aquarium.

What do you think about bare bottom aquarium for loaches ?
Will bare bottom setup gives me a problem ?
there are tubes, rocks and wood for loaches to hide out.

My canister filter out flow currently is too strong for this aquarium. So i worry if i put sand subtrate it will make them suspended.
But they loaches seem to like the high outflow

So far with bare bottom i have problem with water being cloudy.
But cleaning bottom is easy !

My canister filter is filled with all biological media.

Thank you for your advice
rgds,
Joie

A bare bottom tank has two problems:

1 the reflections
2 the bottom is very, very hard

I think all fishes will have to adapt to the reflections, and only those who live above a rocky surface will not have to adapt to the hardness of the bottom.

In Dutch loaches are called modderkruipers, which can be translated as mudcrawlers. Now most don't live above mud, but above sand, but still, they need the subsatrate to dig themselves in.

Long stry short, I would in all cases provide them with a few cm of sand