Remove fish when changing water?

[tiggerfish]

I have a 20 gallon long tank with 3 Tetras, 2 Danios, and 2 Black Mollys. It’s time for a water change, substrate cleaning. I plan to remove all deco, filter, etc. To make things easier I plan to remove everything except substrate in the tank including fish. I plan to put fish in a large bucket with aquarium water and air stone. Does this sound safe to do and anyone else tried this?
Thanks for any and all replies.

 

[GaryE]

How bad is the substrate? I have tanks here where it hasn't been removed in years, just occasionally gravel vacuumed.

Remember, without the billions of bacteria and archaea coating what is a living tank, your fish will die. Too clean makes a tank very dangerous.

When you change the water every week or two (with water treated for chloramines or chlorine) you replace part of it, not all of it, and you do it regularly. 25 to 50% is the range you should stay in.

 

[tiggerfish]

How bad is the substrate? I have tanks here where it hasn't been removed in years, just occasionally gravel vacuumed.

Remember, without the billions of bacteria and archaea coating what is a living tank, your fish will die. Too clean makes a tank very dangerous.

When you change the water every week or two (with water treated for chloramines or chlorine) you replace part of it, not all of it, and you do it regularly. 25 to 50% is the range you should stay in.

I wouldn’t remove the substrate, just vacuum it.

 

[GaryE]

You can give the decor a brushing if it's unsightly. But I'd leave the fish in. Use no cleansers, just a brush. I know that seems obvious, but people have done it.

 

[tiggerfish]

Will it harm the fish to remove them briefly?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The is no need to remove anything But there are some good rules to follow. I never need to turn of almost anything nor do I remove things. I have been cleaning anywhere from 20- to 28 tanks weekly for over 20 years.

1. I always place heaters horizontally near the bottom of the tank which means I do not have to pull the plugs nor can I forget to plug them back in.
2. I have pre-filter sponges on the intakes of all my filters. I have to remove them and rinse them but I simply raise the intake on the hang-ons and then pull off the pre-filter into a fine mesh net to keep the gook stuck on the pre-filter from it going back into the tank. Then I remove the filter media to rinse it. During the later stages of the refilling the tank I put the intakes back into place. This means the filters are left left running the entire time.

For canister filters I do unplug them but they are easy to remember to put the plug back in because they will run immediately when plugged back in. Hang-ons take time for the outflow to get going again so are easier to miss when not on.

3. I never remove the decor fish nor live plants. It is too difficult to get the decor and plants back into the same places. Pulling up plants and returning them makes more of a mess. Having to chase down and catch the fish and then remove and return them after a stay in a container is stressful for them. It also introduces the potential to harm a fish during netting. Stress works to weaken a fish's immune system making it more susceptible to diseases.

4. Because I have a lot of heavily planted tanks or decor loaded tanks. I use a smaller diameter siphon so it fits ins small spaces between the things. I almost never vacuum the planted tanks as I want things to settle into the substrate where it becomes food for the plants. I may actually vacuum the plants of they get gunk on their leaves.

I hope you found the above helpful. It is how I do things but that doesn't mean it is either the best nor the only way to do things.

(Edited for a ton of typos- my excuse was I had a medical procedure yesterday and I posted this before I had recovered enough)

 

[tiggerfish]

The is no need to removed anything But there are some good rules to follow. I never need to turn of almost anything nor do I remove things thin. I have been cleaning anywhere from 20- to 28 tanks weekly for iver 20 years.

1. I always place heaters horizontally near the bottom of the tank which means I do not have to pull the plugs nor can I forget to plug them back in.
2. I have pre-filter sponges on the intakes of all my filters. I have to remove them and rinse them but I simply raise the intake on the hang-ons and then pull off the pre-filter into a fine mesh net to keep the gook stuck on the prefilter from it going back into the tank. Then I remove the filter media to rinse it. During the later stages of the refilling the tank I put the intakes back into place. This means the filters are left left running the entire time.

For canister filters I do unplug them but they are easy to remember to put the plug back in becuase they will run immediatley when plugged back in. Hang-ons take tike for the outflow to get going again so are easier to miss when jnot on.

3. I never remove the decor fish nor live plants. It is too difficult to get the decor and plants back into the same places. Pulling up plants and returning them makes more of a mess. Having to chase down and catch the fish and then remove and return them after a stay in a container is stresful for them. It also introuduces the potential to harm a fish during netting. Stress works to weaken a fish's immune system making it more susceptible to diseases.

4. Because I have a lot of heavily planted tanks or decor loaded tanks. I use a smaller diameter siphon so it fits ins smal lspaces beteween the things. I almos never vacuum the planted tanks as I want thingx to settle into the sbstrate where it becomes food for the plants. I may actually vacuum the plants of they get gunk on their leaves.

I hope you found the above helpful. It is how I do things but that doesn't mean it is either the best nor the only way to do things.

Thank you.

 

[sharkweek178]

Will it harm the fish to remove them briefly?

Netting fish is extremely stressful for the fish. To them, it's like getting caught by a predator. So it's better to avoid if you can help it.