[jbrady33]

HI All,

I did a heavier than usual trim on my tank. My wife took one look and said "that looks great, you should keep it that height all the time!"

I'm just so used to the jungle look that I never thought about i, but she is right that it is brighter and you can actually see fish now Which of these 2 pics do you prefer?

Jungle Life:

Room to breath:

Cell phone snaps, sorry if the quality isn't the best!

 

[GraphicGr8s]

I like the first jungle look myself. I hate how bare it looks when I do my trims and can't wait for it to start filling in again.

 

[acitydweller]

im also a jungler. i find all livestock, fish and shrimp more comfortable in a natural setting. It makes netting a hassle but otherwise there's always something to look at in the tank...

 

[Aquatic Delight]

i do enjoy the jungle look, but i also enjoy seeing my fish, watching them swim in the open water.

 

[GeToChKn]

Jungle look. My vals are like 30" long in a 20" tall tank. I like when the leaves fold over and run across the water.

 

[HybridHerp]

I'm going to be the combo breaker and say the cleaned up look. Because your cleaned up look is still pretty thick.

 

[Shiggy]

I like the jungle look. it just seems more natural look in my opinion.

 

[Betta132]

I like the second one, because it's still thick enough to have loads of hiding places, but you can see the fish.

 

[zoragen]

I vote for the 2nd one cause it's gives the fish some space but it looks pretty jungle to me:icon_mrgr

 

[Seedreemer]

I like the jungle best, but agree the second one looks good too as it's still pretty thick.

 

[tumbleweedz]

I like them both, but I think the fish like the room to swim. Nice tank.

 

[mitchfish9]

I vote the 2nd one because when my tank got too heavily planted it had a negative impact on the behavior of my fish. They started hiding more and seemed more stressed and cramped. I opened it up a bit and the fish seem a lot happier. I love the jungle look but you have to find the balance between jungle and swimming space, and your 2nd pic does a great job of that IMO

 

[Navyblue]

I think it is not a matter of jungle vs trimmed. As others noted, your "trimmed" is still pretty jungly. IMHO it has to do with the lighting.

In your first picture, the middle portion is dim because it was shaded by the plants above. This created a green/dark contrast. To me, this dark spot gives an "aged" and "wild" feeling, like the shade of a big old tree.

Whereas the later is pretty much all green. This has a more "conventional" and "fresh" planted tank feel to me.

The drift wood is more clearly seen in the second picture, and it looks more like a branch (because it is). And in the former picture it looks thicker and darker due to the shadow and thus look more like a tree trunk.

If you are asking my preference, I slightly prefer the former as it has a bit more character but both has their merits.