In my tanks, I look at the plants and fish as cohabitants. Fish give off waste, and the plants use it. The plants give off waste and the fish use it. It is the way life on earth has been going for millions of years. If your plants require a certain water chemestry, I believe it is best to choose the best fish for that chemestry. A "happy" medium can be obtained in many cases but it is usually at some small sacrifice to the wellbeing of the plants, the fish, or both. I would lean more towards sacrificing the health of plants over the health of fish, simply because by observing social fish behavior, we can infer that the fish have feelings of some sort, at least they are concious of their life. If a plant dies, it doesn't know it nor do its "friends". Plants don't feel pain in a long slow death, but a fish does. If fish are looked at as just another medium, I would compare them to tattoos. A temporary tattoo looks bad from start to finish and wears off quickly but a real tattoo will stay forever and is much more beautiful IMO. Maybe it isn't the best analogy but it's all I've got. So, in short I guess I will say, if it knows it is alive, it should take priority over something that doesn't. |