Help Please.

[Robbiebunn]

Hi, I've just came back to fish keeping. And this time I'm trying sand instead of gravel as a base. The problem is that now I can see fish poo on my sand. I have a community tropical aquarium and in there are 3 yoyo loaches so snail's are out of the question. Im asking if there is anything that I can do to help this I.e shrimps or something like that. Thank you for your help and advice.

 

[Ninjouzata]

You have to vacuum the poo up during your weekly water changes. Feeding less would help but not sure how much you feed now. What's the tank size, stocking, and feeding schedule?

 

[Robbiebunn]

Hi. Thank you for the reply.  I have a 110ltr tank. I normally feed every other day and I use a gravel syphon I was wondering if there was anything I can add to my tank that might help. I have yoyo loaches a pleco,  4 mollies, 6 headlight tetras 

 

[Ninjouzata]

I hope this doesn't offend you but your tank is too small for the yo-yo loaches. They get up to 6" and need schools of 6+, though 8-10 would be much better.
Even in a 210l they would add a lot of bioload. I understand they're likely not full grown yet but it's still something to think about.
 
What kind of pleco is it? They're all poop machines. If you don't know what kind it is you can take a pic and post it here and someone should be able to ID it for you

 
I'm not 100% sure but adding plants might help. Do you have any?

 

[the_lock_man]

I agree with Ninjouzata - the only way to get rid of fish waste is to syphon it out. I don't know of any snails or shrimps that would do that.

 

[nic1]

No fish or snail will eat poo! Lol, once you get into a routine of vacuuming the sand it won't seem like too much of a chore

 

[Robbiebunn]

Hi thank you for your help. No comments where offensive so thank you very much

 

[Gruntle]

I've never had a sand base, but I understand you don't vacuum the sand, just swirl the end of your siphon hose just above the poo and it gets sucked up but leaves the sand behind. Am I correct, sand-base lovers?

 

[Ninjouzata]

I've never had a sand base, but I understand you don't vacuum the sand, just swirl the end of your siphon hose just above the poo and it gets sucked up but leaves the sand behind. Am I correct, sand-base lovers?

Yep Works well since on sand the poo just sits on top, rather than falling between the crevices in gravel.

 

[Alasse]

Depends on the sand....
 
Pool filter sand you can vacuum like gravel