I wanna get a fish tank but i dont wanna have to clean it. Is this possible?

Question

Im afriad of killing the fish like i have a million times before. Is there a way to clean the tank without taking out the fish if the tank has a filter and there is no gravel.???

Answer 1

Sorry, but no it's not possible. If it were, probably a lot more people would keep fish.

If your fish have died after you've cleaned the tank in the past, maybe the problem wasn't THAT you were cleaning, but HOW you were doing it. You shouldn't ever have to take the fish out to clean if as long as you have it in a tank. That's because you should never have to change all of the water at one time. The way you should clean is to do partial water changes (about 25% every week) so there aren't and big changes in the water quality from one day to the next. A big change, even from bad water to good, can shock your fish and stress it to the point where it may die. If you aren't used to doing weekly changes, it might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn't. You shouldn't have to spend more than 15-20 minutes unless you have a really large tank.

Here are some suggestion I'd give to so you don't have trouble with the next group of fish:

1. Make sure you have a good filter and heater to give the fish proper conditions for their home. A filter should move 5-10 times the volume of the tank every hour (so if you have a 20 gallon tank, look for one rated between 100 and 200 gallons per hour flow). A heater should be 5 watts per gallon of tank volume (if you have fish that need a heater).

2. Get you water ready for the fish. If you use tapwater in your tank, and the water comes from a public source, find out what chemicals are used to treat the water. It used to be that everyone used chlorine, but more water companies are switching to chloramine. You need to use a water conditioner that treats the correct chemical, and use the correct dosage. Call your water company to be sure what you have is correct.

3. Choose healthy fish to start. Don't buy fish if any in the tank are dead, or don't look healthy. Look for white spots, fuzz, or fungus, fins held tightly against the body, or odd swimming motions or position. Don't choose a fish if it looks too thin, or won't eat.

4. Only start with 1-2 fish, and read about cycling your tank. You may even want to cycle the tank before you add fish. Then only add 1-3 fish per week until you get a number you can keep in the tank at their adult sizes. Don't overcrowd the fish.

5. Float the fish in their bags on the top of the water for 15 minutes. Then open the bag, pour about 1/4 of the water into a bucket or down the drain (never into the tank!), refil with the same amount from the tank, and wait about 5 minutes. Do this 3-4 times, then net the fish and put it in the tank.

6. When you clean, scrape the glass to remove any algae, then use a gravel vacuum to clean everything laying on the top of the gravel, and about 1/4 to 1/3 of the tank down into the gravel. Do a different section each time. This is how you remove 25% of the water, so don't feel you have to clean the entire tank bottom - it won't be possible! Just be careful when you move the gravel vacuum that you don't catch any fish in the siphon.

7. When you replace the water, try to make it about the same temperature as the water already in the tank. Remember to add the conditioner to remove chlorine or chloramine, but that should be all you really need.

8. In between cleanings, be careful not to overfeed your fish. Only give them what they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day.


If you follow these, you should be able to clean without your fish having any problems. I'll put some links below that can also help you out with setting up and cleaning your tank:

Answer 2

Near possible if you cycle the tank and understock. But it takes a lot of research and work. I have a 30 gallon planted that is a complete ecosystem in itself and all I have to do is change water occasionally.

Your fish probably died from overcleaning. Beneficial bacteria grows in the filter and the gravel. Whenever you change the filter, you throw away all the good bacteria and the tank cycle is ruined. Then fish die. You only have to change most filters every few years really. But once every couple weeks you should rinse the filter off in a bucket of used aquarium water and squeeze out the sponges or media.

Never suck a gravel vaccuum to get it started. Fish can carry diseases such as bacteria tuberculosis. Never even put your hands in the water with any open cuts. To start an aquarium vaccuum, simply immerse the entire thing in the water and tip it up so the air bubbles run out. Then put you thumb over the hose end and bring it out of the water into the bucket. The syphon should start immediately.

Answer 3

Depending on the size of your tank it should be easy to clean without moving the fish. Generally you will want to clean a filtered tank about every week to 2 weeks. Easyiest way is to buy a gravel siphon, they are cheap to use. Just stick it in, suck on the other end till you see water coming out and drop that end into a bucket. Then take the end in your tank and suck all the poo of the bottom. Make sure you do not remove more than 25% of your water in doing this as it will screw with the fish.

As a side note gravel on the bottom will be much better for your fish. Fish do not generally like shiny things, such as the glass bottom, and become stressed. Stress leads to poor health.

Answer 4

You don't even have to take the fish out to clean the tank. We've never had to remove them. As long as you check the filter and change the water (you don't have to remove all of it. We remove about 3/4 but our tank is really big) it should be fine. You should have gravel because the fish need a little dirt in their environment but gravel stays relatively clean if you change the water. My fish like to eat scraps of food from the gravel.

Answer 5

Taking care of a fish tank doesn't have to be a huge hassle. You DON'T need to take fish out to clean the tank. Gravel for most fish is a good thing. If anything it is the way to keep plastic plants from floating up. The plants are decorations, but also provide fish with a level of comfort and a place to hide/rest.

Answer 6

well honestly there is NO way you cant clean a fish tank.....there are things like scrubbing brushes with handles(for aquariums) out there that you could use, and gravel vacuums(you could still use without gravel to suck up poo and stuff) so, just relax because fish keeping is supposed to be a relaxing hobby

by the way, if you want this cleaning stuff at a lower price, Walmart has a good variety of fish accessories, also a local petstore, or Petsmart(they sometimes have great sale deals)

Answer 7

when you clean a tank you do a water change,normally 25 percent there is no need to take all the fish out and completely clean it out,you destroy all the beneficial bacteria in the tank and you are basically adding fish to an uncycled tank,which will result in them dying.
buy your self a gravel cleaner it can either clean your gravel and empty the water at the same time,or it can just empty the water if you have no gravel in there.

Answer 8

if you have a filter you don't need to take the fish out to clean the tank. You should by one of those vacuums you can get from the pet store. They work really well bc it like siphens out dirt from the gravel. They work really well and if you don't know what I'm talking about just go to a pet store and ask them about the vacuum. They'll know

Answer 9

sparkling water might nicely be deadly poisonous. you are able to no longer verify undesirable water by ability of sight. Do regularly occurring weekly water ameliorations. i could recommend some a million/2 gallon a week. verify new water to be extra is close in temperature to the tank temp. in basic terms upload dechlorinated chilly faucet water. enable it stand - in one day if needed - to heat to a minimum of room temp in the previous including it. 5 ranges distinction won't rely. prepare the hot water the day in the previous if necessay, go away uncovered. Temp can rigidity fish. pH besides. you have a thermometer? purchase an basic attempt equipment for pH in case you pick. The stresscoat property you have is probable a dechlorinator and ph buffer - examine the label. in basic terms use respected call form stuff. you mustn't take the fish out of the tank while doing a water replace. in basic terms turn the clear out and heater off. Siphon a million/2 gallon out, preferrably from the gravel, and then upload the hot water. do this as quickly as a week, do no longer over feed - that's the huge form a million killer of tropical aquarium fish!

Answer 10

I change my filter every month and do a partical water change. Its easy i have 7 fish in a 10 gallon tank.