How to properly clean a fish tank???

Question

I have a small fish tank (small enough to be carried) and I am having trouble with ICK.I read online that ick can be caused by stress on the fish moving from tank to tank. Usually about once per week I take the fish out, empty the whole tank, clean it and then put them back in. Right now I am having a treatment done daily for ick but I don't know if I am doing this right. Is this the proper way to clean the fish tank? Am I causing unnessecary stress on the fish? How can I effectively clean the tank without causing ick? please help!

Answer 1

i think you're being overly clean!
what fish do you have and what decor is in the tank?
you only need to clean about 20% once a week anyway for a filtered tank. bi-weekly 50% at least for unfiltered!

this is how i clean my tanks, they're range from 5 US gallons to 7.5 US gallons. they're all filtered/heated/planted, 3 with gravel and one with sand. the only decor i remove are the large bits of bogwood so i can hoover underneath.

with my bettas i do take them out because they're dopey and get in the way! but i don't net them, i scoop them out in a small plastic box and put them to one side, do the clean and slowly pop them back into the tank, very gently, letting them swim out of their own accord. the other fish i leave in the tank and just make sure they don't get in the way!

to clean a small tank this is how i'd do it:
1. prepare the new water at least 2 hours prior to the tank clean, dechlorinate it then and leave it to get to room temperature at least, warmer if possible, to match the tank temperature.
2. turn off ALL electrical bits, don't forge the heater! and get a syphon, these can be got from fish stores. and have another bucket ready for the dirty water.
3. remove any large bits of decor that may get in the way and put to one side, put the syphon in and shake to start the vaccum, but your hand near the bottom of it to shoo away any curious fish! do not take your eyes off of it, else you syphon a poor fishy! keep the syphon close to the gravel, if you have sand you'll need to hover it at least 3-4cm above the sand and move in a circular motion.
4. once you've removed about 20% of the water, stop the syphon (just take it out of the tank). you can rinse your filter media in this old dirty water and put back in the tank. replacing this or washing it in clean water means you'll kill off the vital good bacteria that your tank needs to stay healthy.
5. now you can carefully and gently pour the new water in.
6. replace the decor, plug the electrical bits back in and your done!

this is how i've been doing it for 2 years now, and have yet to lose a fish because of a tank clean.

as you're medicating, make sure any carbon (black coaly type stuff) is removed from your filter. this stuff takes out medication from the water which you don't want to be doing right now!

Answer 2

First, don't try to keep the tank so clean. The tank and the fish need certain bacteria to provide a healthy environment. Changing water regularly however is needed. Depending on the fish load and your filter, that could be as little as 25% or as much as 50% of the tank. In most cases 25% is adequate. Change the water using a small gravel vacuum siphon available at any pet shop and clean the gravel with it as you go. This with a filter will provide a stable healthy environment for the fish.

The best ick treatment to use is simply heat and salt. Add salt to the tank at the rate of 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons and increase the temperature of the tank to 88 - 90F This will kill off the ick within a week or so. Treat for 2 weeks to be sure. You can do this as you use regular ick medications and it will all work together without a problem.

Changing water will not cause ick. Ick is a parasite and can only be in the tank if it is brought in. It's not easy to buy fish and not get ick from time to time, that's really quite normal. It's possible that what you are seeing isn't ick at all but damage to the fish caused by ammonia in the tank. Uneaten food as well as fish waste cause ammonia in the tank. The bacteria I mentioned earlier break down the ammonia into safer compounds and that's why you need them. Follow this set of guidelines and in a few weeks you will have a healthy, stable environment for your fish. Best of luck!

MM

Answer 3

Use a gravel vac to remove 20% of the water every two weeks. Get a lot of the uneaten food and waste that ends up in the gravel. Use a scraper or sponge to clean algae as needed. Every other water change, replace filter and add bacteria supplement like StessZyme or Cycle.
The tank needs to cycle and stay cycled. A 100% water change is taking away the bacteria that break down the waste.

If you actually have Ick, white spots on the fish, salt and raising the temperature to at least 85 will be a good start. Don't use table salt. Use aquarium salt. If you have catfish, they will not respond well to salt or Ick treatment. The cure may kill them as well. It is often suggested they be give a smaller dose. Same thing with neon tetras.

Answer 4

For one thing, only clean about half the water out at a time, because the fish don't thrive in squeeky clean water, they need some balance of all the ICK that's in the water. Just scoop out about 1/2 to 2/3 of the water and refill. Also, you may be overfeeding if you're getting filthy water really quickly. Goldfish are a bad choice for aquariums because they are constantly "pooping".

Answer 5

Are you sure it's ich? It may be ammonia poisoning. You are not letting the water in your tank cycle. You should never change all the water in your tank. Do you have a filtering system? Are you treating the water to get rid of the chlorine?
There is really too much info on water care and tank cycling to type here. You should get a beginners book and read how to maintain your tank properly.

Answer 6

visit the this website http://www.nunnie.com/ick.html i'm sure you'll find a solution

Answer 7

soap, water, and an algae sponge