I Need Clean-up Crew.

[Mr.September15]

Hello everone I was wondering if I can get 1 more cory to go in my 10gallon tank. I know its already fit to its capacity but would it really bother the tank? I got pix of my current corys there Albino so I think they grow up to be 3inches. Is there any other fish that I can get that can clean up the bottom of my tank, Its really gotten messy since the alage wafers havent been cleaned up by them when I feed them.

Please & Thank You...

-Arrowhead

 

[dwarfgourami]

I had a similar problem until I found out that I didn't have to feed a whole wafer every meal- you can break them in half!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Arrowhead

Corys are not swimming garbage disposal units, they are fish that have their own needs.

I suggest that you feed them less and use your siphon more.

 

[Mr.September15]

Yeah I did that. But it still gets soggy and goes gets pushed through the gravel and stays there. Theres lots of algae to start with before I even gave them algae wafers so I cant really blame the wafers for all the mess. Do u have any suggestions on fish that can fit?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would personally just cut down on your feeding alot, if theres still fish food left in the tank after 30mins its a sign you are overfeeding- fish flakes and other fish foods go off very quickly in tank water and fish won't touch them unless they are very hungry, the same goes for corys really and they won't touch rotting food either.
As an alternative to getting food trapped in your gravel all the time, if cutting down on fish food doesn't help you could always change to sand substrate instead as sand doesn't trap food in it like gravel does .

 

[Mr.September15]

What do you need to do with the sand to make it safe? I was looking into putting sand in the tank instead of gravel but I just thought that it would waste money because I already have gravel. Well maybe for another tank I'll use sand. Thanks Alot.

Inchworm- Yeah I know they arent garbage disposal units. Just wanted to make the term cleaning up more so I used clean up crew. So sorry if you thought I was using them for cleaning up my tank. I'm really not, just need a little more help cleaning the algae up thats all...

-Arrowhead

 

[qwikimpss]

Well if you need help removing algae then corys are not what you want, they dont eat algae. In a ten gallon all u can really gt for good algae eaters are ottocinclus cats that grow to about 2 inches and do an OK job unless your tank is completely overrun with algae, then they wont make a dent. I wouldnt reccomend adding anything as you say the tank is full, just invest in a mag-float and use that syphon!

 

[Mr.September15]

Its so hard to use the siphon!!! I tried and tried I only got the sucking on for one second then I lost it. Anywho my tank is not over run by algae. Its just that some of the gravel have algae. Actually most of the gravel has algae. Whats the regular name for those algae eaters?

-Arrowhead

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Arrowhead

Whatever else you do, you MUST learn how to use that siphon. If you don't do proper water changes and vacuum the gravel, fish wastes and uneaten food will build up and at some time or other, your fish will get sick.

Using a siphon is something that takes practice to learn to use, but once you figure out how to get it started, it will become as easy as can be. A lot of people have trouble figuring it out too, so you are not the only one. I suggest you fill the kitchen sink and put a bucket on the floor to experiment with it.

I'll explain how it works and perhaps some of the other members can add suggestions too. First, a siphon works on gravity. This means that once the water is in the hose, if the bottom end is lower than the top end, the water will flow downhill. If the top (big end) stays under the water the whole time, once it starts flowing out the bottom, the suction will pull the tank water out along with it. If you let air get into the hose it will break the suction and the flow will stop.

In the sink, try pushing the entire hose underwater until it is full. Then, while keeping the big end under the water, put your finger over the small end to seal it and carry it down to the bucket. When you release your finger, the siphon should start.

If your siphon is small, like 6 feet or so, you can even start it this way in the tank, but once you practice for awhile, you will see that the idea is to just get the water flowing downhill while keeping the big end under the water. You will eventually be able to fill the hose by scooping up water, raising the hose to get it moving down, and quickly getting the top into the water so the suction can continue before air gets in the line.

Whatever you do, it's of critical importance that you learn to use it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I did hear of one easy method to clear up algae, but i have never needed to use it myself so i couldn't say how effective it is, but apparently if you leave the tank lights off for a couple of days the algae will just die off with no source of light- and the fish will be fine too as long as you do some regular water changes during this .

 

[Mr.September15]

Inchworm- Thanks inchworm for the information on how to use a syphon. I'm going to "experiment" it right now. Is there a such thing as buying too big of a hose? The package that the syphon came with said that the big end must be all the way down under water, im not sure the reason why though .

Tokis-Phoenix

I'll also try that algae dying away method also. Thanks a lot for the information.



I'll try updating this thread when I'm finished experimenting. Thanks all



-Arrowhead

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Arrowhead

What brand is your siphon? If I can look it up on the internet, perhaps I can find out something more specific to help you.

 

[Mr.September15]

Inchworm- No need for searching because I finally found out how to use my siphon. Hooray for me! I finished cleaning my tank an hour and a half ago but I havent got the chance to get online so now im updating with news. Well it was exciting for me to see all the algae from the gravel go. This time around was a bit messy though. Water everwhere and stuff . But I got it all under control after the second flash flood. . Anywho I took out all the fake plants that had algae on them and wash them out with water. Then I made a new set up for my tank. I especially found my Albino Corys enjoying it after I was done. The were all calm and swam a long happily. Im now convinced that I need to use siphoning instead of a "Cleaning Crew" . Once again "Yay For Me!"

**Thanks for all your help guys. Especially inchworm for telling me how to use it in the first place. . Your instructions are wayyy easier then the package and online instructions. You should make a video of it and pin it on the forum.

-Arrowhead