Well, That was Interesting

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FishesRWishes

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Nov 29, 2010
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Bit of a story, so skip to the bottom for the actual questions if you don't feel like reading.

Today was water change day... normally I do this on sundays, but as I'd been writing essays over the weekend, I let it slide longer than usual. Naturally, things were a wee bit dirtier than usual.

I also decided that today was the day I would remove my cabomba as it was looking scraggly and was a pain in the butt, always getting stuck in my filter.

So I pulled out the plants, which released quite a bit of "junk" okay, fine. No problem, I'll suck it up with the vacuum. Took out about 1/4 of the tank water, filled the tank back up.

I then decided to move my java moss over to where the cabomba had been... when I moved it A LOT of crap was released from its clutches. Like A LOT. Ugh... so I just pulled it out and stuck it in a bucket of tank water.

All the crap from the java moss had created a new layer of filth all over the substrate. I took out another 1/4 of water.

I also managed to get water all over the place somehow. Normally I spill a bit, but today I was standing in puddles. Oh, and I managed to accidentally poke one of my otos with my finger too... he's fine, thank god! Worst water change ever!!! Pretty sure my fish all think I am stupid, deranged or both!

Now I would like to add the java moss back in, but holy smokes does it ever collect dirt! Is that okay? I mean, I can't really vacuum it, so how do I keep it clean?
 
I've stopped keeping mosses in my tanks for that exact reason. There are two ways to keep it clean...the first is to find a fish or shrimp that will clean it up (not always a good idea depending on tankmates and conditions), and the second is to use either your hand or the siphon to knock it around a bit during each water change. I got tired of doing this all the time, but those are essentially the only real options.
 
bitbot said:
Are you concerned about it being clean for aesthetics or hygiene?
I've never thought about cleaning Java moss.
Click to expand...

+1

My tank practically cleans itself, BN's, Weather Loaches, and Cory's do work on my java in my 55, never had to clean it. (Aside from WC's)
 
My java moss is a pain, but it is SO easy to keep. When it getts UGLY, I let the 'debris' settle in my WC bucket and "slosh" the moss in that to get rid of the yuk. I think the bigger java moss pain is keeping it out of my filter suctions and pumps.
 
I never let it get thick enough to collect too much debris. I would thin it out pretty often. I also found shrimp great for cleaning inside the moss. I don't think the "dirt" is hurting anything tho, there is always dead plant matter which accumulates in our tanks whether we see it or not just like in nature. In fact, there was an article in a TFH magazine back in 2009 I believe (I will look for it), but it was one of a two part series on "Everything you need to know about co2." I remember the writer of the section saying she actually needed to use less co2 after a while, because in an established tank with dead or decaying plant material, there was some co2 released from the decaying process....or something to that effect. I will have to find it and post the info here. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it much, as long as your water is testing ok and you can't see the crap inside the moss, there really isn't an issue unless your an OCD clean freak lol.
 
I'm more worried about hygiene... having gunk all over my tank isn't very nice either though. As long as I don't disturb it, you don't see any of the dirt though.

The water parameters have remained perfect, even with the moss collecting "dirt" so I guess it wasn't doing the tank any harm. I just want to be a good fish mom, so I worry. :P

I think I will give it another shot, spreading it more thinly this time around.
 
FishesRWishes said:
I'm more worried about hygiene... having gunk all over my tank isn't very nice either though. As long as I don't disturb it, you don't see any of the dirt though.

The water parameters have remained perfect, even with the moss collecting "dirt" so I guess it wasn't doing the tank any harm. I just want to be a good fish mom, so I worry. :P

I think I will give it another shot, spreading it more thinly this time around.
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Hygiene? The fish poop where they drink and eat. I wouldn't worry about "hygiene" so much. That mulm is great for plants. Natural Fertilizer. I use the water from changes for my veggie garden.
 
Hygiene as in fish don't deserve dirty water. I was worried that this build up would be too much to handle and that it would have a negative effect on my water parameters.

They may poop where they eat, but in a closed environment like a tank, none of that poop gets washed away.

So yeah... I like to have a clean tank.
 
sorberj said:
I've stopped keeping mosses in my tanks for that exact reason. There are two ways to keep it clean...the first is to find a fish or shrimp that will clean it up (not always a good idea depending on tankmates and conditions), and the second is to use either your hand or the siphon to knock it around a bit during each water change. I got tired of doing this all the time, but those are essentially the only real options.
Click to expand...

Would amano shrimp do this? I could pick up three of these little guys. From the research I've done they should be compatible with everything I have in the tank.
 
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