Is it ok?

R

Renshaw

AC Members
Oct 13, 2004
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Hey, well I'm new to fish tanks, so here goes.

Is it ok to take all my fish, around 20 or so out of the tank, put them in a bucket with the heater (so the temp is same) and then clean out all my tank, change the wanter and clean ALL the gravel. Well everything is very mucky. When I just move some gravel it all goes cloudy!

Is that safe to clean all the stuff and to put my fish in a bucket for abit?

Thanks. Matt

Edit-
Also yeh, I've got a little over crowded with snails. Put about 5 in (only little ones) and now there's 100's! I kill lots, then 10 minutes later, there all over again! Thats another reason I want to take all the gravel out, to get rid off the snails.
 
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How often do you normally clean the gravel? What kind of filter is this? What size tank do you have? What type of fish are these?

As long as it's a bucket that hasn't been exposed to chemicals, it's okay to use--but 20 fish is a lot of fish for a bucket. Splitting them up among several buckets would be safer. Clean the tank in several steps--remove half the water while siphoning, refikll, remove half, repeat as needed. It sounds like maybe you aren't cleaning the gravel often enough, or the tank is massively overstocked...
 
I think you're making a mistake with removing everything from the tank to clean it out.... what exactly is in the tank and what size is it.... what about the fish, what are they.... you should invest in a "python". It's really all that is needed to clean a tank out. What's important is that you have your bacteria colonies going well, taking everything out to scrub would deplete it.... and start a new cycle..... not something you want to do with 20 fish. The python would clean your substrate out pretty well to get rid of all of that "muck". I suspect this muck is uneaten food, suggesting you may be feeding a little too much? and the cloudy water, I would suggest more frequent water changes.... unless of course this tank hasn't been set up for long at all, and that being the case may be a bacteria-bloom.... which needs to happen. I realize this post might be a little confusing, but we'll walk through it as well as get chime-in's from others to get you through this....
 
I've only had the tank about 2 weeks, fish came with it. I'm completely new to this so i'll upload some pics..

Theres only actually about 14..

http://www.w8t.net/fish/bigfish.jpg

There's two of them, that ones the one with eggs, and theres a male one but its only young..they are the biggest.

Then theres 2 that look like gold fish (There orange, quite small, one has a black tail the other is all orange.. different shaped)

A medium sized catfish

6 little fish, I mean tiny silver ones

4 Small ones with silver/orange bodies and a black end

Sorry I cant explain good, I'll be adding pics soon.
Tank is 2ft long, 1ft wide and 1 1/2 - 2 foot deep.

Thanks.
 
Your tank is 20 gallons. It sounds like it is overstocked. The reason you have so many snails is because your tank is dirty. I would do a 50% water change while vacuming the gravel every oher day for about a weeek and that should clean up the tank, and the snails should stop growing. Snails only thrive when there is a ton of waste on the tank for them to feed on. You also need to get rid of some of the fish. Ive heard that putting in a lettuce leaf in overnight for the snails to feed on, then removing the leaf in the morning should help get rid of a lot of them, but without good water conditions they will never go away.
 
Humm yeh, I thought there was too many fish in too. Might get just another tank to put some more in. You got to remember I'm new to this, so when you mean vacuming the gravel..? And doing all this while all the fish are still in? Is that ok?

Couldnt I just keep doing that, removing 50% and then adding it again, then do it over and over for a few times the same day? Speed the process up?
 
Okay--there's a lot to learn. First, read through the threads on cycling--because th tank was moved, it's likely that you'll see some ammonia and nitrites spikes, so some test kits will be a good investment.

The fish in the picture is a gourami--probably a leeri. With gouramies, if there are eggs, the male builds a bubble nest, guards them, and does most of the protection during raising after the eggs hatch. If you disturb the bubble nest by removing the male and cleaning the tank, all the eggs will die. The smaller fish may be a barb of some kind? Hopefully it's not a goldfish--they need much different water than tropical fish. You'll want to determine what kind of catfish it is--they can be big, aggressive, and cause problems.
 
How would I remove some fish? I mean, what would I do with them?

Is there seriously too many fish in the tank?

And yeh I've noticed the catfish gets aggressive sometimes, like chasing the other fish around the tank...

Thanks
 
Matt -

To answer your question about removing fish: you'll either want to get a second tank for them or find someone you can give them to. Whether or not you need to remove any depends, at least somewhat, on the size of your gourami and catfish.

Along with supporting the advice already given to you, might I also suggest that you take advantage of the huge number of resources available on the Internet and in your local library to learn all you can about the hobby of fishkeeping? As Orion said, there is alot to know and knowledge is power when it comes to a successful tank. In addition to cycling, you might also brush up on tank maintenance, proper feeding, and fish identification.

Good luck! :-)
 
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