I know partial water changes are a must, but I've been wondering about their gravel. I know some people keep bottom-feeders to keep it clean done there but would snails do the trick too?

I'm not really crazy about getting another fish to take care of to clean the bottom and I'm hoping snails don't just clean the sides (as I've so often seen).

Ultimately how beneficial are these guys to the tank? I've heard it's hard to keep gravel clean and I'm curious if something will help keep it clean to start with.


Annnddd... a second question, the water in Gizmo and Peanut's old tank (hurray their in their new one with so much room it's ridiculous!) was looking a bit cloudy. Someone (not here, I think) said that would usually clear up in about 24 hours... and someone here said that it probably just meant it was bacteria forming which was good and that it would go away in time.

Well in the move I took quite a bit of their old tank water and mixed it in with the new and I can see some of that white-ish fog in the new tank (although the amount of old water added is a fraction of all the clean new water they had,) and I'm wondering if it's not actually bacteria and if I should be concerned?

Once again, you guys are lifesavers, not the candy, the actual thing and I don't know what I'd do without you.
Happy Fathers' Day by the way!

Oops, I forgot to add that I don't think I moved them correctly.
It was a bit quicker and I didn't let them sit for 15 minutes. But the big tank was a touch cooler and I slowly submerged them. They'll be okay won't they?

I mean they are really happy as far as I can tell. Sure Gizmo has less of an appetite as Peanut but that was the same before I moved them... but even he's eating some. I don't know how he would've survived in PetCo's monster tank. (You're safe now little guy, food competition is incredibly low.) He does eat, he just takes a much much longer time and will back off if Peanut starts to eat some.

Peanut seems completely unaffected and is swimming around a lot and eating like a horse. I mean if I had done something awful when I moved them, she wouldn't be like this would she?


Oh and I'm going to go out and buy another decoration for them today, any reccommendations?

A gravel vacuum is a great investment for anyone with an aquarium. You can use it with the bucket or look into the python system. The python will fill and drain your tank, and clean the grave. This is what I use for my tanks.

As for the clody water, this sounds like a bacterial bloom to me. This is a normal part of any new tank and it means that you benefical bacterial is starting to grow. If you added anything else to you tank, like a pH adjuster, this could account for the couldy water also. I have to add this to my tank and it gets cloudy for about 24 hours and then clears up.

Thank you Kimma!
A gravel vacuum hmmm? I'd better look in to that while I'm out shopping today.
Great suggestion, thanks!

Also, thank you for the reassurance with the cloudy water. I thought that's what it was but I wasn't sure.

Yeah, I guess it would just be because you did not cycle your tank so now you are having kind of a bacterial bloom. I'm no expert but I would say just do frequent water changes until the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are where they should be. As for gravel, I just use a siphon that you can buy at a pet store for like $7 to remove water and clean the gravel during water changes. Good luck with Gizmo and Peanut! I their names!

Sorry, I probably just told you a bunch of stuff that you already know!

Just a little note: There are NO critters that actually CLEAN an aquarium....well....except humans! Not catfish.....not snails....NONE! They dig around in the gravel & snails even eat some algae......but that NEVER replaces your weekly cleaning your aquarium!!

You MUST have some type of siphon (a simple hose with a barrel end is fine & a bucket to siphon the old water & eckies into or a Python system). But it is VERY important to great down into the gravel & clean it out regularly. I clean my tanks EVERY single weekend & I am often amazed by how much stuff can be pulled up out of the gravel!! You also need to dump out whatever items in the tank that might hold water. You don't want ANYTHING to be able to stagnate in the tank.

I have a regular routine I do on my tanks. I want to keep everything as clean as I can for my goldies. My family knows when I start my clean them I am occupied until I am finished.

Jeana gave you some great info!

And in case you don't know what a gravel vaccuum is, it is just a siphon with a larger tube on one end that you push up and down in the gravel and it sucks out all the junk. It does not have any electronics or anything...when i first heard the term "gravel vaccuum" I thought it was like a real vaccuum that you plugged in! Python makes a gravel vac, and there are other brands too, and they are like $5-10. Also, starting them can be a little tricky if you are not used to it, so ask for help on here (I think someone even made a video) or try and get a large oral syringe from a pharmacy (ask for a 60cc catheter tip) and you can use that to start the siphon. :-)

The Python referred to above is something that actually attaches to your sink and the water pressure allows you to suck water out of your tank and vaccuum the gravel and then you can reverse the flow and fill your tank back up (just add the dechlorinator right away). you can adjust the water temp using some warm water too so the temp matches as well. They are awesome, especially if you have a large tank. They come in different hose lengths depending on how far away from your sink you need to get. If you have a faucet that pulls out so you can spray dishes you may need to use your bathroom sink instead. I think a 25 foot one runs about $30, but watch for sales and PetSmart will match their online prices in the store if you print the page and bring it in with you. They are awesome for filling and cleaning big tanks, I do NOT miss my buckets!

But yes, you definitely want to be vaccuuming your gravel every week at least, the amount of crud in there is amazing. I switched to barebottom tanks and love it, but gravel can be really pretty too! Good luck.

Oh Yeah! The Python is Great!! If you have multiple tanks or a big tank.....or if you just hate lugging buckets you gotta get a Python!!!

maybe a magnetic algae cleaner could be used on the sides? a string attatches two magnetic blocks with padded sides used for wiping