How often do you need to clean a small fish tank?

Question

I have these two goldfish...they're really cute and live in a small desktop tank that holds about...three gallons?

It's starting to get murky and I've been neglecting to remember to clean it...so I guess I really have TWO questions.

(1) How often should I clean the tank?
(2) What's the best way to do it?

I'm worried about the little rocks getting into the drain, and the fish always seem to have a hard time adjusting to the newer water - I get worried. Plus, I don't really have a place for them to go in the mean time - and with cats it's dangerous. Will a bowl do? Even with no oxygen flow?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I’ve had fish for years, and I’ve always followed the “clean it when it’s murky” method.
(It seems to work well, one of my goldfish is 6 years old.)

It doesn’t matter how big your tank is, if it’s filtered, how many fish you have, or if you’re an over feeder (like myself) when the water starts to look murky, it’s a good idea to clean the tank out.

As for what to keep the fish in, I use a jug.
Well, I used to use a jug, now my fish won’t fit in the jug and I have to use a Tupperware container.

If you’re worried about your cat, try locking the cat in another room while you clean out the tank.
Or if your cat is like mine and simply impossible to lock up, cover the temporary fish accommodation with the fish tank lid.
Don’t worry to much about the oxygen flow in the temporary water. Those plastic bags fish come home in have enough oxygen for well over two hours, (although it’s not advisable to leave them in there longer than absolutely necessary) so sitting in a bowl of water for half an hour won’t hurt your fish at all.

Answer 2

You should never do a full water change so you don't have to worry about the rocks getting into the drain or a place to put the fish. Go get a gravel vac, you can get a cheap one for a few bucks. It will clean all the gunk out of the gravel and remove the water that needs to be replaced. You may need a bucket if you don't have one and you aren't close enough to a sink to let the water drain into. Since goldfish are so messy most goldfish owners have to do a partial water change once a week of around 20%-50% depending on the tank size and how many fish are in it. Your tank is also over stocked so its even more important to keep up with the water changes if you want your fish to be healthy. Another thing that most people don't know is, goldfish release a hormone into the water and if not removed by water changes it actually stunts their growth. That's why a lot of people say they grow to the size of the tank but it has nothing to do with that. Some may find that a good thing that their fish will stay small so they won't have to get a bigger tank but the fishes organs still grow so the more stunted they become the more compacted the organs get and they can die from that.

Answer 3

Small Fish Tank

Answer 4

hey.. if its a really small tank.. you should atleast wash it once in a month!actually it depends on how soon it gets dirty ! heres some stuff youll need to buy... a net it kinda looks like a strainer ( so you can take the fish out of the tank when you need to clean it ) some anti itch and anti chlorine liquid drops that you can buy at the pet store. Take the fish out of the tank and put them in a bowl or a mug of anything.. ( it should be full of water..duhh..and keep you cats away..) empty out the water from the tank.. you can simply pour the water into a bucket or youll have to take it out with a glass if your tank is fixed... take out the shells.. graves etc in the bucket.. hold the pebbels and drain out the water from the bucket.. rinse the pebbels within the bucket and get all the dirt out.. throw the dirty water away, now you have clean shells and pebbels in your bucket. clean the tank surface thoughrouly. Avoid using soap to clean any of the things. Pour all the pebbels etc. back into the tank, fill the tank with water.. put the anti chlorine and anti itch medicine in the water ( according to instructions) and put your fish back in! voila youre done!! lol its a lil hard.. but oughta do it. If you dont have much of time you can leave in about 1/4 th of th water in the tank. ( leave the fish down there ) change the rest of the water. But that way you dont end up cleening the dirt that gets accumulated in the gravel, pebbels and shells.. but you can do this more often and between full tank cleanups! All the best! happy cleaning!

Answer 5

Boy, it depends on a lot of things. Do you have a filter? If so, what kind? Each have there own way that is best for cleaning. Usually you only have to change a portion of the water though and the critters just stay in the tank during the process. If algae is the problem just put in a fish that eats it.

Answer 6

the best way to do it would be..,get the 3/4 of the water in the tank and leave the other quarter of the water just enough 2 make the fish swim and replace it,that way they would not be having hard time adjusting to the water...if u want 2 totally replace the water just make sure put some little amount of salt to stabilize the PH of the new water...do it even just once a week....

Answer 7

OK FIRST each gold fish should have 10 gallons of water since they poop A LOT! (you should have gotten a betta , its perfect for the 3 gallon tank)
even if your fish is REALLY SMALL at LEAST 10 gallon for 2!!!
and since its small and unfiltered change 50% per week!
you should get those gravel cleaning tube, those will suck up water! you shold NEVER try to DUMP water down the drain!! your fish might do down too!!

Answer 8

1st of all u should change it once every 2 weeks or more often depending on how dirty it gets, they have little things u can put in the tank to help keep it clean. also when u change it add a little bit of the old water to help them adjust, also they should be fine in a bowl of water as long as u keep an eye on them

hope it helps!

Answer 9

I would say change a quarter of the water weekly. Since its only a 3 gallon tank you have 384 ounces of water in there. 1/4 of that would be 96 ounces. If it were me I would change this amount (12-8oz glasses of water) every week or two weeks.

Answer 10

i have kept both fresh and salt water fish in a 10 gallon and a 55 gallon tank so i can help with the cleaning just take out a 8 ounce glass of water every week and replace it with bottled water unless you want to use what comes out of your sink and the you have to add chemicals to take out the chlorine etc.