The Importance of Hiding Spots
The more hiding places you provide, the less your fish will hide.
By
David A. Lass
To keep our fish “happy,” it is important that we learn about the kind of water conditions they prefer, their foods, and what their natural habits and habitats are like. To a certain extent, since almost all of the fish we keep, at least on the freshwater side of the hobby, have been commercially raised on fish farms in either Florida or the Far East, they can do well in a broad range of water pH and hardness. Most of these fish do well with a neutral pH (6.5 to 7.5) and moderate hardness. Commercially raised fish eat dry prepared fish foods. The only things that haven’t been “bred out” of the fish we keep today are their fears and instinctual behaviors.
Some fish feel most comfortable in a school, and they don’t need places to hide; instead, they require open swimming space and as many of their own species as you can provide. Other fish find security in thickets of plants. Most livebearers, barbs and gouramis fit these conditions, and when given some dense plantings and especially some floating plants, these fish feel secure.
Want to read the full story? Pick up the September 2012 issue of Aquarium Fish International today.