Want To Do A Really Good Scrub-out And Re-decoration

[timmystood]

I want to take EVERYTHING out of my tank and give everything a good scrub and also re-decorate in the tank while i'm there... the question I have is... and I know it's a 50/50 thing, but do YOU think it's OK to take all the fish out and for a while put them in a filtered/heated place (such as an empty bin) while you do their tank?? I would obviously use tank water to keep them in, as well as their normal filters and heater.

I know it would cause them stress but I believe it would cause more stress to keep them in the tank.

Any Ideas??

 

[jarmado]

i started redecorating my tank last sunday...
removing background...
changing ornaments...
adding/removing airstones/lights...

but i haven't removed any fishes during the process...
my idea is to do it one step at a time and not on one sitting...
hoping to finish next week...

 

[Bloo]

Well it depends - how old is the tank again ? (in terms of being setup ?)

 

[timmystood]

It's around 9 months old

 

[@ombomb]

Unless I was taking the substrate out, I'd leave the fish in the tank. When ever I do big clean ups I do one half of the tank at a time with a break in between, so they always have somewhere to hide that's not being disturbed and a bit of a chill out half way through. A bit of stress for them, but not as much as chasing them around the tank trying to net them.

JMO

 

[timmystood]

I want to take out the substrate as well though

 

[@ombomb]

In that case you have not choice but to remove the fish. Just make sure they have some hiding spots in the container you put them into. They'll be fine.

 

[timmystood]

What should I put them in though cos there's a lot of them!

1 Simease Fighting Fish - Male (Betta splendens) - Dark Blue
6 Head and Tail Tetra (Hemigrammus ocllifer)
2 Albino Cory Catfish (Corydoras spp.)
2 Bronze Cory Catfish (Corydoras spp.)
6 Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon innesi)
1 Yellow-Spotted Pleco (Hopliancistrus tricornis)
6 Cherry Barbs

 

[Squid]

Well it depends - how old is the tank again ? (in terms of being setup ?)

You see thats an interesting point with regards to my maturity thread. Depending on what it creating the "Mature" environment, if timmy was cleaning the tank with the neons in (who like a mature tank), then what impact would this have on the maturity. The Filter may still be mature, but other elements of the tank may be set back by this process...

Cheers
Squid

 

[Bloo]

Well redecoration on a grand scale in a new tank wouldn't be great and would almost certainly cause a spike.
Doing that in a mature tank is generally not a problem if done carefully and monitored afterwards.
I've done 100% substrate & water changes (when moving house etc.) with no problems - in mature tanks. I didn't replace everying (bar the filter) in the tank though. And took care to preserve as much as possible. Stripping everything down completely and washing the insides of the tank would take away a lot of the maturity and stability of the tank.
This is purely based on my experience with tanks I've had over the years - I do not have the scientific explanation for this.

 

[timmystood]

But where can I put so many fish while i'm doing it?

 

[Bloo]

You'd have to use something like a large plastic bucket that hasn't been used for any other household purpose.

 

[timmystood]

I was thinking of maybe rising the bin out (obviously taking out the rubbish first!) and using that??

 

[Bloo]

No - not at all. Not even worth considering. You can buy a large plastic container for a few ££'s from your local hardware store, B&Q whatever. Not worth risking your fish's lives.

 

[timmystood]

OK... thanks