Small frequent water changes

Tyanna

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Mod Yvonne talking: I split off a few posts from a thread about showing pictures of members' aquariums, because the direction was going towards cleaning tanks instead of showing pictures. In this first post Tyanna was asking what kind of fish she could use to help clean the tank. I apologize for making the thread seem dis-jointed, and I hope it is still understandable.




For my 10 gal which ones would you recommend to help clean it? I don't want anything too big especially since I have limited space and some still "baby" guppies.

What brand/medication do you use? I don't want to drive over an hour to a small local shop for some fish..
 
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JAYGEE

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Mine I have never had to "clean" it either and I only have guppies! I occasionally wipe down the glass etc and that's about it! I'm looking for a good bottom feeder, still, though.
Look up pygmy corydoras, or other types of cories they are my favorite little fish. They are bottom feeders and will keep the bottom clean of food.
 

Amanda81

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For my 10 gal which ones would you recommend to help clean it? I don't want anything too big especially since I have limited space and some still "baby" guppies.

What brand/medication do you use? I don't want to drive over an hour to a small local shop for some fish..
Any Cory cat would work. I have thousands of babys and they don't both them. I started with like 8 Cory's (someone have them all to me) and now I'm down to just 2 and they take care of my entire tank. As for the name of that medication, I'm out of it right and can't remember the name so I will have to let ya know about that. It's in a big blue bottle and I got it at petsmart. I will check and let ya know.
 

Prairie Mom

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I love mine. If you have the right system set up, all u have to do is top of water level from time to time and feed them. Mine has been set up for 4 yrs and I have never had to clean it.
I have a filter system that cycles the water twice an hour and then I make sure I have fish that eat from the top of water, fish that feed from the bottom and fish that feed in the "middle" of the tank, works great for me.
Now the koi pond, I'm still working on a filter system to keep that beast running clear water.
You're still doing weekly water changes though, right? I'm a firm believer in 25% chgs for the health and safety of your fish.
 

CourtneyG

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You're still doing weekly water changes though, right? I'm a firm believer in 25% chgs for the health and safety of your fish.
The saying in the aquarium world is "once you start to mess with your tank, things go wrong"
I do water changes every 3rd month or so, and that is just because mollies poop a lot, and the get rid of dead plant material the cray fish does not eat. I once did nothing to my tank for almost 2 years, just topped it off with tap water, never had a problem.
 

Tyanna

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Mine evaporates quickly since I have no cover...so I'm filling that up at least once a week. I don't really do "water changes". Does that count?
 

Prairie Mom

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The saying in the aquarium world is "once you start to mess with your tank, things go wrong"
I do water changes every 3rd month or so, and that is just because mollies poop a lot, and the get rid of dead plant material the cray fish does not eat. I once did nothing to my tank for almost 2 years, just topped it off with tap water, never had a problem.
Please forgive a friendly disagreement from another "pet parent". You know how pet parents are about their kids!!!-Gosh we're so annoying!;) Poop isn't the only reason why you want to do regular water changes. I do 25% changes because I keep goldfish in one tank and a dirty crawfish in another, but for other aquariums you can simply do 10-15%. Water changes can be done while still maintaining your microorganisms and it so soooo important to the health of your fish to remove the buildup of nitrates and phosphorus that aquarium filters do not remove. Plus, trace elements and minerals from new water are really important to the chemistry of your tank. If you don't do it, your PH could really drop. We love our filters and those filters we spend so much money on DO REMOVE all the trace elements and minerals from the water. For fish to be healthy and strong, they really need to have trace minerals. Giving your fish a small regular water change is the same is giving your kid a multivitamin. Now, hopefully you survived any annoyance I unintentionally created.:D Whew! Have a great day!
 

Prairie Mom

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Mine evaporates quickly since I have no cover...so I'm filling that up at least once a week. I don't really do "water changes". Does that count?
That's REALLY GOOD that they are getting fresh water weekly. That means your giving your fish healthy minerals just like people give multivitamins to their kids. If I were you, I'd consider scooping out a glass or two of old water when you have some time in order to remove the nitrates and phosphorus build up and you are all set! Happy healthy fish:)
 

Delilah1623

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Evaporated water still leaves behind the "yucky stuff" for lack of a better word so it is better to take some old water out and replace it with fresh water every so often. I only do about a 10% water change every few weeks but my tank is very lightly stocked.
 

ZEROPILOT

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If you do the Cory cats get at least 3. They school together and do well when you have 3 or more in a tank. As for the pleco....the smaller ones will keep the glass clean but as they grow, they will devour your plants and they are poo machines. Buy one of the dwarf varieties. The canals and lakes here are swarming with extra large plecos that lost favor with their owners...here's a picture of a trio of green cories and a dwarf brushy nosed pleco.
 

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Tyanna

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Mod Yvonne talking: I split off a few posts from a thread about showing pictures of members' aquariums, because the direction was going towards cleaning tanks instead of showing pictures. In this first post Tyanna was asking what kind of fish she could use to help clean the tank. I apologize for making the thread seem dis-jointed, and I hope it is still understandable.

Hehehe funny seeing Yvonne talking from my username/photo.

I'll start taking some old water before I refill with new water, now.

I will look for some dwarf cory cats because I def don't need anything big or any more poo LOL
 

Prairie Mom

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Thanks. It was a bit convoluted.
I think your post about water changes in the other forum was REALLY WELL SAID! You should copy and paste it here:D (I even tried to PM you to tell you, but your profile wouldn't let me...I'll try not to take it personally...sigh...)
 
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Ha, I used to keep nano-reefs and would do water changes every week. Then I got a freshwater tank and worked on it with the same type of diligence; 80% of the fish would die every 7 days. I thought I was cursed and that people had been lying to me about freshwater tanks being easy. Then I just gave up and didn't do anything, and the fish all started thriving. A good pleco and a water change every few months worked great.
 

Prairie Mom

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To say that it was the water changes that killed your fish could really give new aquarium keepers the wrong idea. It sounds like you had a new fresh aquarium set up and I'm guessing your tank was still doing the cycling process. In bigger tanks, this can take much much longer than you'd expect (sometimes as long as two months). During that time, aquariums can become a toxic cesspool for fish. If you are doing small 10-15% (25% on dirtier fish) water changes on a regular basis you will improve the ph of your aquarium water and lengthen the life of your fish by adding trace elements and minerals. If water changes ACTUALLY DID kill your fish, then it means there is something wrong with the water you are adding to your aquarium. Just because water is "safe" for US to drink doesn't mean it is safe for the fish.
 
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Prairie Mom

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Here are a couple really cool youtube videos I came across of people that have made their fish tanks free of typical water changes using "aquaponics" and another where a guy made a fish tank "drip system" like city aquariums do. Cool stuff!

-aquaponics

-drip system
 

Randi

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I wouldn't recommend a pleco. You will notice fish, especially babies going missing. They are algae eaters but once they are big enough to eat the fish, sometimes they will wait for all the lights to be turned off (as the other fish are sleeping and in a trance), and eat the other fish. Plecos are nocturnal so this is a perfect opportunity to eat others. They start to become scavengers once they get bigger, more opportunistic feeding. Get corydoras or even kulhi loaches or hillstream loaches. They are all gentle fish, and the more of them you have in a school, the merrier and cleaner things should be.

most times when water changes affect fish, it's because too much good bacteria was taken from the tank. Good bacteria eats away at ammonia levels, which fish are very sensitive to. It inhibits normal breathing, etc. You can buy supplements of good bacteria to add in. Another tip would be to soak all filter media in aquarium water before reintroducing to the tank. You strip less good bacteria from the media when it is cleaned in tank water. Do your filter changes separately from your water changes
This way your good bacteria is not lacking in the tank. The gravel bed can re-establish bacteria and the filters can too. You also have a media in the filters that harnesses good bacteria and shouldn't be washed.
 

Randi

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You will generally see fish swimming near the top of the water, gasping for air. Also, cloudy or smelly water can be a tip off for ammonia. Frequently test for ammonia, especially with all these babies being popped out. :)
When fish are stressed, they release ammonia as well. It's one of the biggest killers of fish.
 
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