Tank Cleaning / Rearragning

[Edge]

Hi. I just posted a first ‘hello’ and a few details about my tank in the newbies forum, now here’s my first query, sorry if it’s a little long winded.

Me & my girlfriend currently have a 60 litre /16 Gallon tank containing 5 Pearl Danios and 3 Panda Corys, I believe our tank is in need of a major clean up, after being disturbed by frequent water changes to combat an ammonia problem (my girlfriend has already posted on this so I won’t go into it). Anyway; the airstone and tube have been disturbed and aren’t properly secured under the gravel, a lot of the plastic plants have come lose as well. The gravel also now slopes front to back, which I think is the opposite to what we want. This tank chaos is due to some fairly vigorous gravel vacuuming to get rid of some excess bloodworms (first time we tried them and we hadn’t really gauged the fishes appetites yet). There’s nothing causing an immediate risk to the fish, so we have put off tidying it up properly until we have a whole day to do it.

So this weekend we wanted to do another water change and sort out the tank; put the plants under the gravel properly, re-secure the airline and airstone etc. I was thinking that this would be a major stress for the fish though. I do have a spare 4-gallon tank and wondered if temporarily housing the fish in there while we carry out repair work would be better for them. Bearing in mind the tank is empty I guess I’d have to fill it up with mostly aquarium water, and top it up with fresh water. Would I need to use the equalising method if the fish are just being moved a few feet? Also do I need to add gravel / shelter etc to the smaller tank so the fish don’t feel too exposed. I would hope to only leave them in there for an hour at most, is this acceptable?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

[KimA]

Hi Edge,

Personally I would leave the fish in there as it might be more stressful for them to be caught then moved to a different tank, then re-caught and moved again an hour or so later.

I would take out the plants (maybe leaving one in there for the fish to hide in if poss), slowly/carefully sort out your gravel and airstone, then replace the plants afterwards. The fish will pretty much keep out of your way while rescaping your tank (I took out all my silk plants yesterday in my 180L and replaced them with live ones - finally bit the bullet and went for it - and my fish were fine as they still had some hiding places whilst I was replanting in the gravel, then had a slightly changed tank to explore afterwards).

Just take your time with it.

Meant to add - if your tank hasn't been running for that long, I assume you're just doing smaller/more frequent water changes rather than larger ones.

Anyone disagrees with me, feel free to comment - just my opinion/in my experience.

Kim

 

[phlawed]

Fish are usually fine with rearangements. But, in your case, i am getting the feeling that the tank is quite new and not cycled. Also meaning, the fish are quite new and not adapted yet. As for your substrate moving, is it gravel or sand? Water flow should not be enough to move gravel. Sand on the other hand is a different story. As for your fake plants, dont just put them in enough to stay for the moment. Shove them in a good 1-2 inches. Not like your going to kill them or anything haha. Just be sure to wash up well before throwing your arm in the tank. I use my shower and just turn it on and rub my arms and hands together alot for a few minutes. This gets rid of any salt or anything on your arms. DONT use soap. You might get nipped a few times, but this is normal. Usually only fish that are use to you will nip you. Most will just run and hide the best they can. Hope this helps.

 

[Edge]

OK thanks for that advice guys, I guess I'll leave the fish in ther and just be careful. The substrate is gravel and it's been moved by us vacuuming the tank. I have bought some more to secure the plants etc properly as i don;t think we have quite enough, do you think adding more gravel to the tank is a bad idea? I'm a bit nervous about doing to be honest. The tank is just over 3 weeks old and it hasn't cycled yet, we only have 8 fish in it because we thought it had (lps said 7 day cycle due to adding bacteria). thanks again

 

[KimA]

Should be okay adding a bit more gravel - obviously just make sure that it's well washed beforehand and mix it in slightly with the existing gravel.

 

[Edge]

Ok, tank all changed now, fishes seem ok, thanks for all advice.

 

[KimA]

Glad it all worked out okay