water changes?

Question

i am so confused. ive always done a water change and vacume to my tanks once a week. but when i went to my local pet store and picked up my panda oranda they said to do a water change only once a month. they said by doing a weekly clean will cause stress on my fish. i have several filters and bio sponges (not wheels) and my water quality is always good. but what should i do? water change once a week or monthly? im just so use to doing the water changes on a weekly basis and tomorrow is the day i do them. plez help!

Answer 1

When I get new fish, I stay away from doing a water change for a bout a week, or I do a water change right before I add the new fish, as I don't want to stress out and already stressed fish.

That being said, weekly water changes of 10-15% or so is great! there is no problem with doing that!

I know if i went a month without cleaning my tank, it would look horrible!

Answer 2

Once a week is actually what is recommended by most hobbiests. If you under stock your tank you can get away with 2 times a month, but you vacuum you gravel every week, right? I bet you vacuum up lots of gunk. Imagine a whole month's worth!
The cleaner their water is, the better. You don't want to cause undue stress, but unless you're shaking up the tank, removing stuff, splashing new water in, etc, they shouldn't be very stressed. I always give my fish a treat of brine shrimp or some such after a water change; they know to expect it and follow the gravel vac around. The angelfish even try to eat the particles that they can see going up into the gravel vac. Silly fish. All in all, my fish are not very stressed by the water change.

If you have new, stressed fish, fish fry etc, you can give it 10 days, but no more than that, really. Wait 2 weeks and test your water if you want proof - you will see a small rise in ammonia, nitrites or nitrates.

Someone said get algae eaters. Don't. I mean, you can have plecos, algae eaters, whatever, but they poop a lot more than they clean! They are great for eating a bit of algae and left over food, but they won't clean the tank or take the place or regular, weekly water changes.

Anyway, use your discretion. You know your fish and you obviously care about them. If you see them looking stressed when you do a water change, do smaller changes. Frankly, doing a 50% water change once a month would be more stressful than doing 15-25% once a week. Fish aren't stupid, and they aren't as frail as people think if they're healthy. They know that water changes don't kill them, and they should not have any problems dealing with the new water if you properly dechlorinate and make sure it's the same temperature.

Answer 3

There is a natural bacteria in your tank that keeps toxic nitrite down. If you keep cleaning it out this bacteria is removed or killed and nitrite will build up. If you have filters you certainly do not need to clean your tank out once a week! If you find the tank gets dirty then you are overfeeding. Don't listen to the fish food manufacturers, they tell you to feed lots because they want you to run out and buy more food. Don't believe everything. The advert on the bus is for T bags but the bus doesn't go to China does it. Lol.

Answer 4

regular water changes are best, and if you care careful, it is no more stressful on the fish than a heavy rain in the wild. You are doing everything you should be doing.

If it ain't broke, don't ifx it.

If you do not do regular water changes, even if the water does "look" clear and the algae eater is doing his job, the water iteself will loose quality over time and you system will "suddenly" crash. Regualr water changes also puts in fresh minerals and electrolytes that are bennificial to your fish.

water can become stale, just like air.

Answer 5

If you change the filters regularly, have plenty of algae eaters, and water tests good; then as long as the tank looks clear and clean, leave it alone. It doesn't have to be cleaned on a regular basis. You've got to look at from an ecological point of view. Everytime you change the water, you stand to kill some fish.

Answer 6

You only need to do it once a month...about every 28 days...unless you notice the water becoming too cloudy...which is a filter problem.

You will stress the fish if you do it too often...

Answer 7

small partial water changes are best. if you can do a 10% water change per week that is great. the problem is most hobbyists don't have the time/inclination to do this every week and most experts suggest a 25% water change every 3-4 weeks.