pick up the rest of the stuff
2007-03-05 09:41:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
No, it is best to use a siphon to clean the gravel because the filter will not pick up everything!
2007-03-05 09:44:27 · answer #1 · answered by jrose 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ewww! Imagine how the poor fish would feel!
If you take your fish out of the tank first, you can stir everything up and then change the water to get rid of some gunk, but that won't get rid of everything. As some people have already said, just relying on the filter won't do anything about getting rid of ammonia/nitrates, and it probably won't pick up all of the visible gunk either, so there is no way you can avoid changing the water without killing your fish.
If you do go for the remove fish - stir up - remove water option, make sure that you let any remaining gunk settle before putting the fish back in. This will get rid of some of the mess, but there is no replacement for a good siphoning and water change.
2007-03-05 18:34:30 · answer #2 · answered by Ombry 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, I wish it were that simple, but you can't do that. The waste that falls to the bottom and gets in the substrate won't float to the top if you stirred it. You need to siphone the water out and replace with clean water. A gravel vacuum is great for that. All you have to do is create a suction and then stir it around in your gravel and get all the bad gunk out, then let it sit until the desired amount of water has been removed, then replace with nice clean water. All of this is done with the fish out of the tank as to cause the least amount of stress.
2007-03-05 20:01:31 · answer #3 · answered by jdecorse25 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The water itself needs to be changed and you won't get enough waste out of the tank by stirring it up. The filter has probably already done it's job. You can get an inexpensive syphon at Wal-mart. It will be better for your fish.
2007-03-05 17:45:58 · answer #4 · answered by MSW X2 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO---------
SIPHON THE WATER from the lower 1/4 of the tank. only once a month.
2007-03-05 22:22:37 · answer #5 · answered by robrr03 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO!!!! the reason you need to regular PARTIAL water changes is to remove the Nitrate. Water removal is the only way to remove it and if it gets to high levels, is toxic to fish.
2007-03-05 17:45:12 · answer #6 · answered by Bridget W 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure, if the fish are already dead.. Otherwise it's not a good idea. How lazy are you??
2007-03-05 17:44:39 · answer #7 · answered by DP 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋