Vacuuming Gravel - Necessary?

[bholt]

I'm starting up a planted community tank in my 30 gallon. So far I've learned an amazing amount by reading postings here. I did a fishless cycle, which finished almost 3 weeks ago. At that point, I added 5 zebra danios -- great little fish that seem to really enjoy their new home.

My plan now is to add 3 corydoras sterbai and about 6 amano shrimp. Although I have been doing 30% water changes about twice a week, I've never vacuumed the gravel. I'm too worried about sucking up some of the fish. :( Those danios are quick and curious -- they often like to come see what I'm doing and get real close to the tube inlet! Once I have the shrimp in there, I have a feeling I'll be even more worried about inadvertent "teleportation". Without the gravel vac attachment, I feel like I have pretty good flow control on the infeed of the siphon. Now that it's summer, I want to start siphoning directly into the garden out the window, so it's not just a question of them ending up in the bucket...

So here's my question: once I have bottom scavengers like corys and shrimp, do I even need to worry about vacuuming the gravel during water changes? The tank is moderately planted, but most of the gravel is still uncovered. What do you guys think?

[Kasakato]

NO worries. I have lots of bottom feeder fish that are ok. They will either go and see what I am doing, and then swim away, or just leave it alone totaly. And fish should be able to swim away, they will only get stuck if they are sick or something.

[OrionGirl]

In the unplanted areas, you will want to vaccum. There shouldn't be too much waste, but you'll want to remove it before it can decompose and cause a problem. It's just a matter of being careful and watching for a fish. In 5-6 years, I've only 'gotten' 2 fish, and both were easy to see while still in the tubing.

[ergo sum]

I caught a little curious dwarf puffer in my vacuum tube last Friday. Luckily I noticed him and have an opposable thumb. I have had other fish take the plunge, one reason I still use buckets. They don't seem to mind.

[mooman]

Hold the outgoing end of the tubing so that your thumb is positioned over the end of the tubing. If you see a fish in the "gravel vac", just block the tube. This will instantly stop the suction, allow the fish to swim out and you won't have to re-prime the siphon, just remove your finger.

[bholt]

Thanks to all of you. It's encouraging to hear that I'm probably concerned out of proportion to the real threat. I'll keep using buckets for a while, though, just in case. :D