Imagine having to spend an extended period in a room with no furniture of any kind. How long would it take for you to become bored and uncomfortable, even neurotic? Life in such barren surroundings is clearly not an ideal situation for humans — and the same is true for our fish. Though we may need to use bare tanks for specific reasons (such as spawning or quarantining) on a short-term basis, time and experience demonstrate that fish not only exhibit fewer signs of stress, but also become more outgoing and demonstrative of natural behaviors if they can retreat to protected areas when they feel like it.
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