Beginner Questions

[Clear_View]

Okay, so yes I am new at the fish/fish tank thing. Okay these are some of the questions I have. I think they are all pretty simple to answer. Okay first of all, how do you "vacuum" your gravel in the fish tank? And is it true that fish will only grow to fit their surroundings, meaning they wont get bigger unless their environment allows it (my mother seems to believe that). Okay that's it for now, but probably will think of more questions .

 

[heresmike]

Vacuuming is done with a siphon. Do you have one yet? You start the water flowing through the siphon into a bucket, then stick the siphon end in the gravel. You'll see the poo and gravel rise in the siphon tube, and the gravel will fall back down. Then move on to the next section of gravel!

Keeping a fish in a tank that's too small for them is definitely not a good idea. Their external growth will be stunted, but their internal organs will continue to grow and cause problems.

 

[Clear_View]

No I do not have a siphon yet. Can you can usually buy them at a LFS?

Oh thats horrible. Thanks for the advice...again .

 

[heresmike]

Yes, they are readily available at any fish or pet store.

 

[K-Holed]

or you can make one using a plastic bottle cut of at the end and a piece of tubing.

 

[heresmike]

I guess, if you wanted to save $7, you could go to that trouble.

But with the size of tubing you'd need, IMO that would make the water flow rather fast and not allow you enough time to efficiently vac the gravel.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

How 'bout a turkey baster?

 

[Matty]

I dont think that it would be the best tool for the job....

 

[heresmike]

How 'bout a turkey baster?

 

[Blusypder]

about fish growing to fit the tank i dont think that true. not sure, but in my own case when i got my 1st 10 gal i put a oscar and it grew and grew and grew. he was about the size of my thumb when i bought him and he got bigger then my hand in a few months. he would go knock my signs in the tank over and drag the plants to one corner so he could have room to swim and he ate 3 of my goldfish. so i not sureabout other ppl but i had to give mine to a pet storefor free AND THE SOLD IT FOR $45. so watch the fish u buy.

 

[!guppy!]

as for vacuum....pfft wen i had old tank i had it a year and it didnt get vacuumed once and it was fine my current tank is new so cant say yet.

the fish will keep growing so keep that in mind

 

[heresmike]

as for vacuum....pfft wen i had old tank i had it a year and it didnt get vacuumed once and it was fine

Yikes!! You really need to vacuum more than once a year! Most people do it weekly... others bi-weekly. I wouldn't think of going any longer than that.

 

[Clear_View]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! B) I think I will just go to my LFS and buy a siphon, how much do they usually cost?

 

[!guppy!]

 

[njnauticalnut]

The cost depends on the size of the siphon and the amount of tubing. You can judge the size by how large your tank is. I have a small one for my 5 gallon and a larger one for my 75. The amount of tubing depends on whether you are going to use a bucket by the tank or if you need to go to the sink.

Because I needed a lot of tubing to reach the sink, I bought a siphon with minimal tubing and bought 50 feet of tubing from the hardware store. The guy at the hardware store is an avid fishkeeper and was able to set me up with just the right tubing.

Good luck.