I have 3 kuhli loaches, and a betta in a tank together. The loaches are feed a sinking carnivore tablet and algae tablets. most of the tablet is eaten each day, but if I gravel vac each day I end up doing a 20% water change, which is not necessary.
Are there any tricks to cleaning their mess without the massive vaccing?
Should I feed them every other day instead?
And how long can remnants stay in a tank b/4 needing to be removed?
Thanks
2007-05-23 12:29:17 · 5 answers · asked by Drag 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
If they don't clear the food in 5 minutes it should always be removed, otherwise it will rot and start to pollute the tank. You are obviously conscientious on the subject and your removing the waste maybe feeding once every two days would solve the problem for you.
A small tube to siphon directly the areas of food much the same as your vac is doing but more accurate.
Kuhli are more nocturnal so maybe feeding just before lights out maybe another solution for you.
AJ
2007-05-23 12:45:48 · answer #1 · answered by andyjh_uk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can purchase a battery operated gravel vac pretty cheap (saw one at Walmart for about $7). There are other vacuums that work off an air hose that work the same way as a pool vacuum..debris gets pushed into a bag by the air and the water stays in the tank.
You can leave an algae tablet up to 2 hours before removing (much longer than the 3 - 5 minutes for regular fish food!)
2007-05-23 20:16:53 · answer #2 · answered by Barb R 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had kuhli loaches and some corydoras (they're good with KLs, and they're active during the day, and they're so darn cute!), and some snails that came in on the live plants. I never had to remove mess from the bottom. I regularly changed water. About once a month or so I would change more water and before I did so I would disturb the bottom a bit (blowing through the tube) to stir things up, and then suck out the dirty water. My fish thrived.
2007-05-23 19:41:46 · answer #3 · answered by a 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're using the flat wafers, break them into pieces to feed. If your fish don't eat an entire piece, just give them half. Anything left beyond a few hours will start to foul the water.
This will save you from having to vacuum as often, and you won't be wasting the food.
2007-05-24 02:24:23 · answer #4 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
by using a hose but yu must be high tech to do this
2007-05-23 19:55:15 · answer #5 · answered by ihatepeoplewhostink 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋