I need to clean my fish tank with a siphon and I was wondering about the removal of fish. I have seperate containers I could put them in but I heard that could kill them. I have 4 baby frogs and they are VERY small. They stay on the bottom of the tank mostly and I'm afraid that if I am siphoning I could suck them up or hurt them.I also would like to know if it is ok to clean the filter then same day that I clean the tank. I heard that you should wait a day. Is that true?
2007-02-03 08:58:09 · 7 answers · asked by Stephanie 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
I would advise you NOT to move any of the fish or frogs, just be really careful not to suck them up in the syphon. If you are careful you can miss them most of the time. Be ready to stop the syphon and release one just in case one gets in the tube.
You can change the filter the same day, it won't hurt a bit. Plenty of benifical bacteria all over the tank.
2007-02-03 09:07:13 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should really never clean your filter, rinsing the media in syphoned tank water & change the carbon every month or so. If you have a "rite size" filter cartridge, rinse it in tnak water and swap it out every other month... the "slime" on the inside of the filter is your biological filter, that should not be removed. It is ok to take apart the intake & clean the impeller(motor) of the filter and clean out the intake tube on the same day as syphoning the tank. It is not necesary to remove fish, but if you fear that you might suck up one of your frogs then you should consider removing them place them in a small container (or fish bag) of tank water & be sure to re-acclimate them to the tank, the same way you would if they were new (float the bag or container on top of the tank and adding a bit of tank water at a time for about an hour) to prevent shock & minimize stress.
2007-02-03 17:11:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should never remove all the water from your tank when cleaning. Only siphon out 2 thirds of water.
I always clean filter,tank, pipes etc, all at once.
If your water quality is poor, use salts to remove chlorine etc.
If you are worried about sucking up any fish/frogs, let the hose hang over a kitchen sieve. Anything going through the hose will be cought, so you can save it.
2007-02-03 17:27:19 · answer #3 · answered by keeren a 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I tend to just watch the tank while I syphon the tank the fish and frogs tend to swim away while you sip hon and move from one side to the other. I usually change the filter on different days. I learned the hard way I did both and the tank looked really clean but it killed all the good bacteria and we had a mass death in the tank. Probably better to do them on different days.
2007-02-03 17:07:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I were you I would take your net and keep them away from the vaccum while you are using it and they will be fine. It would be ok to clean the filter right after you clean the tank, I always do. "Experts" might not advise it, but I always say they are too picky. lol. hope I helped.
2007-02-06 10:59:27 · answer #5 · answered by Jonathan B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes. I suggest you put the frogs in a large,large container and fill it with the things it needs. You can either wait a day ot not. I reccomend you do though.
2007-02-03 17:12:01 · answer #6 · answered by HoBo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Leave them in there unless you are taking out all of the water. Make sure the water you put in has same temp and Ph and is dechloronated and possibly buffed a little.
2007-02-06 12:17:59 · answer #7 · answered by Sunday P 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋